Faking Madness In Hamlet

I think Hamlet by using his mad façade hides his real intentions and motivations from his enemies and people that will give away information,

Hamlet’s madness is questioned by many readers. The truth is that Hamlet portrayed madness before he came up with the plan of acting madness. This madness is an important characteristic in the play with Hamlet’s actions revolving primarily around the idea he has because of his madness. There are several occasions further in the play when the audience sees Hamlet acting mad even though there is no one else in the room that he was aware of. In act three, scene four, when Hamlet is in his mother’s chamber and hears a noise behind the arras the rash decision to stab the noise behind the curtain shows exactly how erratic and unstable Hamlet is. His rash behaviour to kill without seeing what he is doing shows that his madness is real and not something he is faking to have revenge for his father. In act five scene two, Hamlet announces that he has switched the letter that ordered Hamlet to be killed in England; instead writing that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are to be killed. This is perhaps because he thought they were the ones who ordered his death when in fact they were just following Claudius’ instructions. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were Hamlet’s friends which show that he was perhaps paranoid in his madness. They were there to help yet his rash character after seeing the Ghost has yet again ended people’s lives. It is important to consider that in the Elizabethan era madness was defined differently than what the

Hamlet's madness is not in vain. As Polonius says in Act II, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't" (109). The reason Hamlet is pretending to be insane is to exact revenge against his father's murderer, the King. He is aware that the King will be concerned about his behavior and he is right. After the play all the characters attend, the King is very disturbed. His reason for being disturbed is that he just witnessed a play which depicted the murder he committed against his own brother, the former King of Denmark. The King knows Hamlet knows of the murder and is aware that Hamlet may not be completely insane. Because he is afraid of losing his power and title of King, the King decides that Hamlet should go to England.

Similar to the quest for truth in Oedipus’ case, so does Hamlet lead to his own decease. In the first act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, after Hamlet is aware of the tormented ghost of his father walking on the ramparts, he goes to witness it for himself. This immediately exemplifies the theory that Hamlet, like Oedipus, is in search of the truth, until he realizes it is too much to bear. Subsequent to seeing the apparition, he is convinced to avenge his father’s murderer. The ghost tells him, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,” (29). As Hamlet lays the trap for the new King Claudius, he is procrastinating in order to solve his self-doubt. Even after the ghost tells Hamlet how his father was murdered, Hamlet has the players act

     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

If people think you are insane, you can get away with anything. That is what Hamlet was thinking. It was a really a good plan.

In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the character of Hamlet feigns insanity. For a person in his situation, having one's peers think of one as crazy can be quite beneficial. His father, the king, had just died, and he is visited by a ghost who appears to be his father's spirit. The ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who is now the current king and who recently married the former king's wife. Hamlet vows revenge and, as a tool to aid him in that plan, convinces people that he is crazy. The fact that he is acting, as opposed to actually being insane, can be seen in Hamlet's conversations with a watchman, two childhood friends, and his mother. Also, there are many actions in the play that he would not have

Many may argue that Hamlet is completely mad when in fact he sane and the most rational of them all through his use of feigned madness which he uses to confuse his enemies and hide his intentions. Throughout history

In conclusion, Hamlet is not mad; everything he does has a purpose. He is out to avenge his father’s murder. He proves this by telling Horatio that he is going to fake madness, and admitting to his mother that he is not crazy. He also only acts mad in front of Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. When Hamlet is with a trusted friend he is rational and symptom free, however when someone he wants to

The first scent of insanity comes from the guards who begin to notice Hamlet’s dead father, the old King, has started walking among the parapets at night, leading some to believe their own madness. At the same time, Hamlet himself is growing crazier from grief and anguish at his father's untimely death, even wishing, “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,...” (Shakespeare 1.2.133). Upon learning how his father died, he pledges to himself and his friends in a odd plot to act insane in order to get the truth out of his uncle, King Claudius, and in telling Horatio, “(As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on)” he assures them that he will remain perfectly sane under the new guise (Shakespeare 1.5. 191- 192). However, this breaks down and the thirst for avenging his father drives him to the brink of madness until the bitter end when he realizes his goal.

Hamlet is concerned with Claudius being let off the hook for his terrible crime if he killed him while praying. It would only be worth killing him if he catches him with his guard down when he is committing a sin. “Hamlet's soliloquy begins to paint Claudius's spiritual state brighter than we know it to be, and suddenly we find that we know more about the moral condition of Claudius's soul than Hamlet does” (Rappaport). Hamlet mistakenly misclassified Claudius as being forgiveful which led to him hesitating. If Hamlet had know what he really was saying in his prayer, he might’ve taken a sword to Claudius.

Hamlet comes up with the idea to fake and act out that he is crazy to throw off anyone that hates him or is going against him. This can be seen as very clever or something unexpected. Hamlet’s idea to act out being insane is just his

Hamlet had the prime opportunity to end Claudius’ life right then and there when he saw him in the chapel but Hamlet did not act on his thoughts, of course. “Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; and now I’ll do’t. And so he goes to heaven, and so am I revenged. That would be scann’d. A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven.”

The story of Hamlet written by William Shakespeare is an intriguing one. At first, it’s about Hamlet coping with his father’s unforeseen death. And later, it’s about Hamlet coming to the recognition that his uncle did indeed murder his father. When Hamlet comes to the realization that his uncle murdered his father he becomes consumed with animosity towards his uncle. Hamlet then decides to make it seem as if he is in a state of dysphoria in order to plot his plan to assassinate the king.

Hamlet is directed by the ghost of his father in the woods to “[r]evenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.25). Hamlet answers, “Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift… May sweep to my revenge” (1.5.29-31). By stating this, Hamlet shows his loyalty to his father and that he would do anything for him.