Although William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play in itself, there are many actors performing within the story. Hamlet and King Claudius pretend to be something they are not. Hamlet feigns madness and King Claudius acts as if he is innocent of the murder of his brother, King Hamlet. These characters act in order to manipulate others into pursuing their own desires. The difference between these two characters, however, is that Hamlet is somewhat mad, even though he acts like a madman for most of the play. King Claudius is not at all innocent. Additionally, 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 understand that Hamlet is only pretending because Shakespeare leaves clues in the characters' lines. For example, when Hamlet first speaks to Polonius in Act II, scene ii, Hamlet appears to be truly mad. Hamlet mistakes Polonius for a "fishmonger" and responds to Polonius irrationally, saying: "For if the sun begets maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion..." (II.ii.190; 197-198 ). Although Hamlet seems to be talking nonsense, Polonius remarks "how fruitful his answers are sometimes" (II.ii.226-227). If Hamlet were truly mad in this case, he could not have so much meaning in his words. Hamlet recognizes that he is feigning madness when he says, “I am but a fool from the north to the northwest.” When the wind comes from the south, I know a hawk by a handsaw” (II.ii.402-403). It is clear that Hamlet uses madness intentionally throughout most of the play. Claudius pretends to be innocent at the beginning of the play when he first assumes kingship after the death of King Hamlet. Claudius pretends to lament in the middle of paper... because he refuses to give up everything he has gained by pretending to be innocent. Claudius says: “…I am still possessed / Of those effects for which I committed murder: / My crown, my own ambition and my queen. / Can one be pardoned and retain the offense? (III.iii.57-60). Because Claudius has gained so much by acting innocent, he fails to truly repent of the murder of King Hamlet. Both Hamlet and Claudius act impeccably during the play; the other characters are unable to say that they are acting. However, Hamlet does not act like a madman throughout the play because he is truly mad, to a certain extent. They both use drama to get what they want, but when Claudius tries to stop acting and become truly innocent, he is unable to. Shakespeare does this deliberately in order to show that Hamlet is a more honorable character than Claudius because he is more genuine than Claudius..