Diction

Diction plays a pivotal role in communicating verbally the message each character wants to convey or conceal. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses diction to portray Hamlet as a complex and mad character.  "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.” (2.2, 327-331)." Here he admits that he only acts mad in certain circumstances which can confuse and baffle the people around him because they can't understand what he really means through his choice of language.