Feigned madness

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Feigned madness a term used in popular culture to describe the assumption of a mental condition or illness by a person for purposes of evasion or deceit.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Feigned madness in popular culture

Such an act can also be used to divert suspicion, perhaps in advance of an act of revenge. Examples of this are Shakespeare's Hamlet, who feigns madness in order to speak freely, Lucius Junius Brutus, who feigned madness until the time when he was able to drive the people to insurrection, and David, who feigned madness in order to escape from King Achish. In all of these examples, the act of feigning madness reduces the perceived threat of the actor, in the eyes of his persecutors.^{[citation needed]}