Evidence Of Insanity In Hamlet

There is a fine line between sane and madness that everyone can teeter on in some point in their lives. Sometimes this is the result of a broken relationship, a loss of a job, confusion about the future, anger, or can be a result of countless other events or reasons. This theme of insanity is present in countless pieces of literature due to its relatability to everyone, not just people with a diagnosed mental illness. People tend to do crazy things and act crazily without being completely insane. Along the same lines, when people linger in their crazy actions and start to do it purposefully, it can lead to something that is real and more permanent. Hamlet’s madness, in Hamlet by Shakespeare, is a complex idea that is constantly developing throughout

Throughout the play of Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy's the main character, Hamlet is faced with the responsibility of getting vengeance for his father's murder. He decides to pretend madness as part of his plan to get the opportunity to kill Claudius who was the suspected murderer. As the play goes on, his portrayal of a madman becomes believable, and the characters around him respond quite vividly. Through his inner thoughts and the obvious reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor faking insanity in order to complete the duty his father assigned him.

There is a distinct division of opinion among the other characters of the play about Hamlet's sanity and the split is along gender lines. Ophelia and Gertrude both state that Hamlet has gone mad, but the major male characters, on the other hand, like Polonius think that there is "method" in Hamlet's "madness," that his insanity is a surface mask to shield him as he plans the darker purpose of revenge. Since Hamlet is disturbed by the sudden death of his father and his mother's marriage to his uncle, King Claudius, the abnormality of his behavior to some extent is also understandable. Hamlet is naturally withdrawn, dark, and passive in the wake of those traumatic events. He also shows this when he constantly releases his anger with lines like "How (weary), stale, flat, and unprofitable seems to me all the uses of this world!" His self-exile and his self-reproach are essentially normal reactions to a series of events that he must avenge at his dead father's command but without further direction against a powerful chain of power within the guilty King.

     Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a complex play, filled with layers of meaning. These are often revealed through the madness of the characters and the theme of madness throughout the play. Although Hamlet and Ophelia are the only characters thought to be so afflicted, the reactions of other characters to this madness mirrors their own preoccupations.

Insanity can be defined as a mental illness that causes a person to have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Whether Shakespeare’s Hamlet was insane or feigning insanity is a controversial topic. Gregory Shafer argues that Hamlet is not insane and that he uses insanity or madness for his own political purposes (42). In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s circumstances force him to seek revenge for the murder of his father King Hamlet. He creates a plan that he believes will give him an opportunity to kill Claudius, and the main part of this plan involves him faking insanity. Further and further into the book, his actions of a madman become more believable. However through his thoughts and actions it is clear that he is not truly insane, and his is only acting in this way in order to reach is ultimate goal of revenge.

Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his

The insanity of a person can be contributed through the trauma that is caused by a few events in a person’s life, but in the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote the main character prince Hamlet experiences a few dramatic events from the play which his attitude changes throughout. In order to figure out whether hamlet is insane is by figuring out what the characteristics of his insanity. Characters see Hamlet in different shades of gray, each side more or less sane than others. His sanity can be his truth or his lie.

     When we first meet Hamlet, he is a sad, dark, loathsome figure; the loss of his father and the whoring of his mother have upset him indefinitely. Like a ticking time bomb, Hamlet’s noticeable temper reflects the storm of emotions and thoughts brewing in his head, and then like a catalyst, his meeting with the Ghost of King Hamlet brings his anger to a boil. With revenge in mind, Hamlet plans to fake his madness so that he may be free to pursue his father’s killer. Everyone, except his close friend Horatio, seems convinced that he is mad. Claudius however, fearful that someone will discover his evil deed, has also had his perceptions heightened by his guilt and he experiences chronic paranoia throughout the

Other times, he is completely psychotic. For example, when young Hamlet finds out his late father is dead, he is emotional at first but soon acts as if there is a mission for him to fulfill. Also, during this process of having a mission to fulfill, Hamlet's step's and processes are so concise and important it seems as if he would have to be sane in the moment. Finally, when Hamlet is doing his actions of trickery, the situation is so serious that it would seem possible for him to be insane and to come up with such wit. It is a fact that insane people come up with the craziest ideas and somehow pull it off, therefore, Hamlet does slip into insanity in some parts of the

Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, must seek revenge for the murder of his father. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to murder Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet becomes more and more believable in his act, even convincing his mother that he is crazy. However, through his thoughts, and actions, the reader can see that he is in fact putting up an act, he is simply simulating insanity to help fulfil his fathers duty of revenge. Throughout the play, Hamlet shows that he understands real from fake, right from wrong and his enemies from his friends. Even in his madness, he retorts and is clever in his speech and has full

Fatima Mossolem As the prosecuting attorney in the case of Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark, I would first like to state that Hamlet is not qualified for the insanity defense. Hamlets egregious crime, though not well thought out, was not an act of madness. The defendant was in full control of his actions at the time of the murder as you will see in the evidence we provide. We will see that Hamlet’s actions were not the actions of madness, but of greed and anger.

Since he lost his father, he has been crazy, or at least acting with madness. The readers do not really know if Hamlet’s behavior

The first act of Hamlet introduces the most horrific scene between Prince Hamlet and the ghost of the old king. Previously, Hamlet was warned about a ghost that had the dead king’s complexion, however, this apparition only signified bad omens for the land of Denmark, according to Horatio and Marcellus. Of course, Hamlet is intrigued by this apparition and is interested to see if it is indeed his departed father and of what news it brings. Prior to this apparition, however, Hamlet presented himself as a grieving son for his dead father and king, while his mother and uncle, who recently got married, put affairs aside in which concerned King Hamlet, notably having the wedding and funeral in rapid succession. Emotions of sadness, anger, and confusion levitate above Hamlet’s head as he deals with his father death, the marriage of his uncle and mother, and the imperial court’s swift dismissal of King Hamlet. Finally, when Hamlet is faced with his father’s ghost, he swears to avenge his father, for his father’s death was caused by his villainous uncle, Claudius. However, there is evidence within the scene to suggest that Hamlet may be indecisive in carrying out the murder of King Claudius. Furthermore, Hamlet’s indecisiveness could be the result of madness and the fear of consequences, such as being directed to hell for his murderous sin.

One of the primary debates surrounding the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, is focused on whether Hamlet is actually insane, or merely pretending to be. The primary cause of Hamlet’s madness, whether  it be voluntary or not, is questioned. Unlike many other novels or plays in which the “Discerning Eye” could determine whether the character is intended to be mad or not. This could lead to a possibility of multiple interpretations of the character. Hamlet’s eccentric behaviour could be viewed as rational, or at least having some seed of rational thinking, or it could be viewed as complete madness. In the play, Shakespeare satisfies his conscience  while allowing Hamlet to delay action throughout the play.  In the play, in spite of his troubles, Hamlet’s disputable choice to be mad characterizes himself as intelligent and wly and reveals his inner turmoil surrounding his mission to avenge his father.

The first signs of Hamlet’s downward spiral of insanity follow immediately after the Ghost tells him that Claudius killed his father, as Hamlet starts to eagerly speak of things that make no logical sense. Hamlet whole-heartedly believes the words of this “ghost,” which very well could have been a hallucination, and becomes excitedly obsessed over avenging his father’s death. This dramatic shift in Hamlet’s mood, combined with the circumstances of mystery surrounding the ghost, leave even Hamlet’s close friend, Horatio, concerned as he states that Hamlet is speaking “wild and whirling words” (I.ii.134). Forbes concurs that “this is the first allusion to the wildness and unnaturalness of Hamlet’s disposition” (123). Further evidence of Hamlet’s increasing madness occurs when Hamlet kills Polonius without cause and then continues to severely criticize his mother (III.iv.25-105).