Although William Shakespeare's Hamlet is itself a play, there is a lot of acting that takes place within the story. Both Hamlet and King Claudius pretend to be what they are not. Hamlet pretends to be mad and King Claudius acts as if he is innocent of the murder of his brother, King Hamlet. These characters act to manipulate others into furthering their own desires. The difference between these two characters, however, is that Hamlet is somewhat mad, even though he acts like one for most of the play. King Claudius is not innocent at all. Furthermore, when Claudius attempts to regain some innocence, he is unable to repent of his sin. For most of the play, Hamlet actually pretends to be mad. The audience can tell that Hamlet is only pretending because Shakespeare leaves clues in the characters' lines. For example, when Hamlet first talks to Polonius in Act II, Scene II, he appears to be truly mad. Hamlet mistakes Polonius for a "fishmonger" and responds irrationally to Polonius, saying, "Why if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion..." (II.ii.190; 197-198). Even though Hamlet seems to be talking nonsense, Polonius emphasizes “how significant his answers sometimes are” (II.ii.226-227). If Hamlet were truly mad in this case, he would not be able to have so much meaning in his words. Hamlet recognizes that he is pretending to be mad when he says, “I am mad only to the north-north-west. When the wind blows from the south, I know a hawk by a handsaw” (II.ii.402-403). It is clear that Hamlet intentionally uses madness in most of the play. Claudius pretends to be innocent at the beginning of the play when he first takes over the kingdom after King Hamlet's death. Claudio fakes a lament in the center of the paper because he refuses to give up everything he has gained by pretending to be innocent. Claudio says: “…I am still possessed / By those effects for which I committed murder: / My crown, my ambition and my queen. / Can one be forgiven and hold back the offense?" (III.iii.57-60). Because Claudius has gained so much by behaving innocently, he fails to truly regret killing King Hamlet. Both Hamlet and Claudius act flawlessly throughout the play; the other characters are unable to tell that they are acting. However, Hamlet does not act mad throughout the play because he is truly mad, to a certain extent they want, but when Claudius tries to stop acting and become truly innocent, Shakespeare does it on purpose to show that Hamlet is a more honorable character than Claudius because he is more genuine than Claudius...