Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are gathered here today to discover the truth about Polonius' murder. The biggest question we will have to answer will be the one that will decide Hamlet's fate: was Hamlet aware of his actions when he killed Polonius, or was he acting driven by the impulse of madness? To answer this question, we must first consider the circumstances that Hamlet had experienced before the murder. For one thing, Hamlet's father died not even two or three months before his mother married his uncle. A funeral and a wedding, this must have been a lot for Hamlet to take in. Hamlet was wallowing in his sorrows, this is made obvious to us when Gertrude asks Hamlet, “If it be so, why does it seem so peculiar to you?” to which Hamlet replies: “'It seems,' madam? No, it is. I don't know "it seems". It is not only my inky cloak, good mother, nor the customary robes of solemn black, nor the windy breath of forced breathing, no, nor the fruitful river in the eyes, nor the dejected attitude of the face, together with all the shapes, the moods, forms of pain, that can truly denote me. These in fact "seem", since they are actions that a man could perform; But I have what is seen inside me, These are but the ornaments and signs of pain. In addition to being an attempt to perceive the rapidity with which his mother experienced her grief over the death of her husband, we can see that Hamlet's grief is more than just an outward sign of distress; one could even go so far as to say that Hamlet suffered from severe depression. This, coupled with his new stepfather, sparked great contempt in Hamlet's heart for his uncle Claudius. This is especially seen in Hamlet's conversation with Claudius in Act I, scene 2, where Claudius says, "But now, my cousin Hamlet and my son-" and Hamlet replies......in the center of the paper. .....ional state. So, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I leave you: Hamlet suffered a lot mentally, yes, he was very tense. Like any other teenager he was grappling with concepts he could barely understand, life, love and death. The death of his father and his mother's “infidelity” left Hamlet isolated and depressed. Along with the appearance of his father's ghost, all these events lead to Hamlet's grand plan to avenge his father. While his plan of "madness" may have been poorly executed, it nevertheless served its purpose in keeping his true intentions hidden. His friends and family assumed he was crazy, so where would the blame be placed if he killed the king, which, by the way, would be considered treason. His defense would be that he had no conscience of his actions. Truly the perfect coverage. With this I close my speech.