David Arthur Coke, DFC (1915–1941) was a British pilot. The eldest son of Thomas Coke, 4th Earl of Leicester of Holkham (Viscount Coke during his life), he was a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Reserve during the Second World War and is considered a flying ace. As a Flying Officer he flew a Hawker Hurricane with 257 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. He also fought in the Balkans Campaign, and the Syrian campaign. Had he not been shot down and killed later in Syria, he would have become the Earl of Leicester. He also became great friends with famed author Roald Dahl during the Syrian and Balkans campaigns, as detailed in Dahl's autobiography Going Solo.
References
Roald Dahl Going Solo ISBN:0141303107
“Is Hamlet Mad?”
In the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, the mind of a young man consumed by a whirlwind of fire after his fathers death is observed. There are times where Hamlet appears to be crazy with the way he interacts with other characters in the play. His words are accompanied with him actually addressing the person physically. He grabs faces, he grabs arms, he comes closed enough to the face to see the person's pores. All of which would lead someone to believe that he is indeed, crazy. There is a lot of evidence that can justify someone thinking he is insane, but if anyone actually read the book they would see that this is not the case. There are many reasons why 'tis easy to see that Hamlet is sane. Most people who are actually mentally unstable usually show signs of the unstableness at times, especially around the people they are absolutely in love with. There would be little signs in the way they react to small problems or how they solve problems. The way Hamlet began his madness was a shock to everyone. It was a total 180. His physical appearance changed instantly and manner towards his peers changed instantly. He went from looking like the rich prince he was to more or less a beggar look. Ophelia states his abrupt change in appearance in Act 1, Scene 2 “Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced...As if he had been loosed out of hell.“ (75-80). Also, the way he acted to Ophelia. If he was really mad, having been deprived of his love, he probably would've done something else. This could be seen as an opinion, but what makes it a fact is the scene at her grave. He expressed his true feelings, albeit too late, Hamlet displayed his affectionate love for Ophelia then. What he was doing the whole time was make her feel the pain he was feeling. The grabbing of the face and telling her that she should never be in contact with a man ever again in life and “Get thee to a nunnery.” (3.1, 119). Also with the time he saw her after she didn't return the letters. It was just for her to feel that the love of her life hated her. That, with her father's death sent her over the edge. When she killed herself we see that it was a hoax and Hamlet didn't want things to go the way they did at all. Ophelia was truly the only person that went mad. She showed readers the actual effect of a person who is sick mentally. Whenever Hamlet is speaking to or about Polonius is when his saneness truly comes out while Polonius looks like the one more on the crazy side. When Polonius questions Hamlet's, he says the most strangest things in the history of Western Civilizations, in example: . Polonius: Do you know me, my lord? Hamlet: Excellent well. You are a fishmonger. (2.2, 173-174) This is the first answer to a series of questions. Hamlet behaves like he doesn't know Ophelia, he answers everything with a question, and just plays with Polonius' emotions for a while. Polonius is shown as a man who is obsessed with other peoples lives rather than his. He usually oversteps his boundaries with his spying. He sends his son to France then sends people into tempting him to do the things he specifically asked his son not to. It becomes an obsession with Hamlet. He sets up Hamlet in spots where he can manipulate and spy on him. He constantly fails. Polonius, accompanied by the King Claudius, hides behind a window mirror and watches as Hamlet as he recites his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy. Ophelia enters the room to meet with Hamlet, a couple minutes in he notices she was sent to him. That is when he goes off on her to confuse her so she'd tell Polonius things that would puzzle him. This doesn't really matter though because Hamlet sees them spying on him anyway. Polonius insists on spying on Hamlet again when he meets his mother after he scares Claudius with his play. Earlier in this scene, the audience sees that Hamlet is hesitant to kill Claudius in certain situations, mainly when he's praying. An actual crazy person doesn't calculate their risks, they just strike. While Hamlet and his mom's talk becomes a heated argument, Polonius makes a noise that catches Hamlet's attention. The result of this was Polonius death. Some may see Hamlet's “random” act of violence as a reason why he is truly insane. This is actually not the case because it is revealed that Hamlet actually thought it was his uncle who had turned his world upside down, downside up, then upside down again. Polonius' obsession gets him killed. Madness kills. The key reason to Hamlet not being mad is, the simple fact that he is not crazy. There are many times where there is no need to ponder on it. While talking to friends he reveals that he's just plotting. When talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he tells them he only “but mad north-north-west” (2.2.378-379). When talking to his mother he says “mad in craft. “ Hamlet is just choosing to act mad to throw people off. He's making people think he's crazy. It might be what he wanted, so he could justify killing King Claudius.
