| This paper examines Hamlet's "strategic murder" as a form of vengeance in connection to his words, "antic disposition," while considering the military atmosphere of the time.
In the first place, some key words of my paper, "madness" and "antic disposition," "strategy" and "military" are clarified. The phrase "antic disposition" in the first act effectively leads to Hamlet's affected madness after-wards. The people around him, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Gulldenstern, perceive his madness individually. There is no denying that the play is filled with the atmosphere of war, for example, the sentinel scene at the beginning, the war preparation day and night, the appearance of Fortinbras during his way to Poland, and the title of "soldier" given to Hamlet by Fortinbras in the final act.
Therefore, Hamlet's path to vengeance can be expressed in the term, "strategy." It can be said that Hamlet seeks vengeance for his father's death through his "strategies" in four dimensions: in his feigning madness to the main characters and their reactions, in the process by which his strategic affectation of lunacy emerges, in Hamlet's action, and in the ritual stage end-Ing this disposition in the final scene.
In conclusion, it is possible to say that the "antic disposition" speech plays a key role in defining Hamlet's strategic achievement towards vengeance for his father's death.
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