Act III Scene I

      In this scene, Polonius and Claudius are hiding and spying on Hamlet as he speaks with Ophelia. Hamlet's family and friends are really starting to get worried about him and they want to figure out why he is acting crazy. Hamlet's "to be, or not to be..." (3.1.56) speech is all concerning suicide. Hamlet is having a conversation with himself debating whether he should kill himself or not. The question that so many readers wonder about is this: does Hamlet know that Polonius and Claudius are spying on him while he speaks? Presently, in this part of the play, Shakespeare does not answer this question.
     However, I will gladly share with you my opinion. I do not think that Hamlet knows they are spying on him. At the end of Hamlet's "to be, or not to be..." speech, he says, "Soft you now, the fair Ophelia!" (3.1.88-89). To interpret this, Hamlet is basically telling himself to be quiet because he sees that Ophelia is coming toward him. Therefore, if Hamlet did not want Ophelia to hear what he was thinking, why would he want anyone else to? He does not care about seeming crazy in front of others because he had already admitted earlier in the text that he was going to act crazy in order to cover up his planning of killing his uncle. Polonius and Claudius think that Hamlet is acting crazy because of Ophelia, that is why they set it up so that Ophelia would start a conversation with Hamlet. So wouldn't you think that if Hamlet knew that Polonius and Claudius were spying on him, that Hamlet would not have talked out loud to himself in the first place? I feel like if Hamlet knew they were spying on him, he would have acted differently. But, I could be wrong. I am not positive that my opinion is the correct one, but that is why it is my opinion and everyone is entitled to his or her own.