Hamlet's Insanity

One of the most significant incidents of dramatic irony in the play is when Hamlet discovers the real cause of his father’s death; his uncle, Claudius, murdered Hamlet’s father. This is a pivot point in the play that sets the plot into action. This knowledge makes Hamlet seek vengeance and to do this, requires him to pretend to be mad. Both his newfound urge to have revenge and his act of insanity cause people around him to be worried and want to investigate. More importantly, it causes a more apparent conflict between Hamlet and Claudius. This event also emphasizes the theme of uncertainty. First, Hamlet’s character is now vengeful. This newfound want for retribution causes Hamlet to act mad and eventually become mad in the end. This notion

"To be or not to be -- that is the question" (III.i.64) -- one of the most quoted lines from one of the most well-known plays penned by William Shakespeare, and that is known as The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. Hamlet follows the titular character who is visited by the ghost of his father, requesting him to murder Hamlet's uncle Claudius in revenge for killing him. The play then centers around Hamlet's plans to expose the guilt of his uncle and murder him, and the effects his plans have on those present in the Danish court. One of the points in Hamlet's plans is the guise of a madman, in which he puts on in order to deceive the royal court so that he may carry through with his plans and gain the upper hand against his uncle; Hamlet's

Insane, or not insane- that is the question. In the book “Hamlet,” by William Shakespeare, he leaves a lot of questions unanswered. A huge thing that he leaves unanswered is whether or not Hamlet is insane or just faking it. Whether Hamlet is insane or not, does not matter. There is a lot of controversy on this subject, but that does matter because the facts are the facts. Even with all the controversy, it is clear through the evidence of the book that Hamlet is marginalized as insane.

After the death of old King Hamlet, Hamlet was struggling to keep himself and his feelings contained. His mind has so many thoughts running from his father’s death, to his neglected relationships, and from his thoughts towards Claudius. As the story escalates, more events pile up on top of Hamlet’s troubles making him slowly go insane.

Hamlet’s insanity has always been a controversial topic within literary analysis. Many individuals believe Hamlet has always been insane, while others believe that his insanity was an act he played the whole time. Ultimately however, throughout the play, Hamlet becomes legitimately insane due to the events that occur, the primary factor being the death of King Hamlet, his father. Seeing the ghost of King Hamlet is the beginning of his descent into insanity. Soon afterwards his mother marries Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. Finally, Hamlet becomes so obsessed with Claudius that he creates a play re-enacting the events of his father’s death to try to persuade Claudius to confess to murdering King Hamlet.

Hamlet’s statements often show a level of awareness and cunning not usually associated with madness. His retention of good sense does not always go unnoticed by the people around him. Polonius, during a conversation with Hamlet, states in an aside: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” (Act II, scene ii). This statement shows that Polonius can detect some of the manipulation present in Hamlet’s speech. Hamlet is not merely spouting nonsense; rather, there is structure and purpose behind what he does. Hamlet’s own statements also hint at an awareness of the situation which he would not have if he were truly mad. During the same conversation he says, in an aside, “These tedious old fools.” (Act II, scene ii). This statement suggests that he is manipulating Polonius and is consciously behaving in a peculiar manner. He wants Polonius to believe he is mad, knowing that he will report back to the King, and, therefore, takes the time to convince Polonius of his irrationality. At another point he tells Guildenstern, “Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me” (Act III, scene ii). This quotation shows his continued awareness of the situation and his insight into the actions of others. He knows people have been spying on him and trying to influence him. When with Ophelia he recognizes that he is being watched, and asks her “Where’s your father?” (Act II, scene i). This awareness justifies the apparent madness he displays in his contact with her and other people he is suspicious of. He is acting the part for the audience that he suspects is present, remaining aware of his actions and deliberately deceiving

There were numerous baseis that arose to explain why Prince Hamlet had gone mad. A popular explanation was the sudden death of his father along with a hurried wedding of his mother and uncle. Such was the thought process of Queen Gertrude as she tells King Claudius that “I doubt it is not other but the main,/ His father’s death and our o'erhasty marriage” translating to Queen Gertrude suspects that the main cause of his madness is his father’s death and her own marriage (II.ii.54-55). This is understandable because everything happened so very quickly that it makes sense that a person would go mad to see their entire life change in the matter of days, in which your father dies and your uncle becomes your new father and your king, but still your uncle as well. Another rationale for the madness was created by the King’s Advisor, Polonius, and the father of Prince Hamlet’s Love, Ophelia. When Ophelia mentioned how odd Hamlet was acting Polonius simplified it as “the very ecstasy of love,/ Whose violent property fordoes itself”, which means that all this craziness was caused by the lack of love that harnesses the power to drive one to madness and suicide (II.i.102-103). Polonius downplays his madness by making it seem like it is a phase that everyone goes through and his craziness will subside if his true love is near him. These justifications for Prince Hamlet’s mad state have allowed for Hamlet to be kept away from the consequences of his actions.

Sometimes mothers can be hard to deal with. They can be overbearing and strict, and sometimes it’s hard to know what they are thinking. Still, mothers are an integral part of life and they help to guide one in the directions of life. In Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet has a complex relationship with his mother, Queen Gertrude. After Hamlet’s father’s death, which the ghost of King Hamlet tells his son is due to murder from his brother Claudius, Queen Gertrude hastily remarries Claudius. This shapes Hamlet’s rage for the majority of the play, as he is at odds with his mother. The audience only sees Queen Gertrude through the eyes of Hamlet, and he paints

In Act 3 Scene 4, as a result of Hamlet’s rash and reactive thoughts, he ‘Kills Polonius’. This act articulates Hamlet’s madness in his seemingly dismissive response to his murder of Polonius and the contemptuous treatment of his body. Hamlet through characterisation dehumanises Polonius as merely a “wretched, rash, intruding fool” who he will “lug the guts [of which] into the neighbour room”. Ultimately, Shakespeare characterises Hamlet as mad through his lack of remorse over his murder of Polonius. In these Scene, Hamlet’s madness is further conveyed in his verbal engagement with his father’s ghost to which Gertrude describes as a “Nothing at all, yet all that is I see…This the very coinage of your brain/ This bodiless creation ecstasy”. As Hamlet engages with an apparent projection of his mind, the contrast between Hamlet and Gertrude as she fails to see the Ghost, along with the connotations of hallucinogenic ecstasy, creates an image of Hamlet’s madness. This portrait of madness is further manifested in Hamlet’s comical repartee in Act 4 Scene 4 as Claudius asks Hamlet where Polonius is: “In heaven. Send a messager there if you want to be sure. If your messenger can’t find him, you can check hell yourself. But seriously, if you don’t find him within the next month, you’ll be sure to smell him as you go upstairs into the main hall”.

Emily Dickinson writes, “Much madness is divinest Sense/ To a discerning Eye.” In William Shakespeare’s epic poem, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the author portrays the character of Prince Hamlet as an insane and an impulsive individual with scenes of delusion, lovesickness, and indecision to murder. The populace surrounding young Hamlet in this work, confuse his character’s insanity for love that is not mutual, which they deem as a reasonable explanation for Hamlet’s current state of mind. As a result, the lunacy of Prince Hamlet contributes to the poem by creating a basis for the general idea of indecision and mental illness.

Madness can control people and cause them to do things opposite of their normal behavioral actions. The happenings in Hamlet’s life has driven him to this madness and has caused him to make some very important decisions. Death as a whole made this story and affected the pot in many ways. All of the reasons for his madness are justified but it may just be part of a whole scheme by Hamlet to get what he wanted. No one had known what had happened when Gertrude and Claudius got married just after King Hamlet’s funeral.

“Insanity- a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world” A quote by the writer R.D Laing, insanity is a very complex subject, just as complex as love. The boundaries of insanity reaches no limits, That is why the line is blurred in the very famous tragic play by William Shakespeare “Hamlet Prince of Denmark”. Given all that Hamlet had been through it's not surprising that he developed a certain madness, from the death of his dear father [The King] , Hamlet's mother marrying his uncle, his inability to distinguish reality from fantasy, & his love for the fairest Ophelia that inevitably plummeted. Hamlet was well aware of acting “mad”, he believed

Although Hamlet portrays himself as deranged to the public, it’s a façade; he is actually sane. He relies on this act to achieve his ultimate goal: to seek revenge on behalf of his father’s, King Hamlet’s, assassination by Claudius, his very own brother. For instance, while Hamlet is in discussion with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Polonius, he mentions, “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw” (II.ii.). The constant front of madness deceives everyone around and creates a rumor that Hamlet has actually gone insane. Upon his insanity, Hamlet is able to successfully con his peers in order to avenge his father’s murder. In addition, while Polonius tries to snoop and persuade Hamlet into sharing

Many people debate whether or not Hamlet subdues to madness in this play or if he is completely mad from the beginning, however his results prove that every action he makes is very well calculated and aids him in his quest for vengeance. In his quest, Hamlet proves to be most definitely in control of his mental state and acts in a well thought out manner.

Madness is more of a sense of not realizing others are their own self. It is a mental condition that can have paranoia and other psychotic symptoms, however it is more the breaking down of one’s reality. People who are mad tend to not care about what others think and do as they like. It could be a way of coping with a sudden traumatic event, or it could happen slowly over time. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, even though he had just lost his father, Hamlet does not act as if the world is ending. He mourns, but his reality is not broken. He may be obsessed with his mortality and avenging his father, and “putting on an antic disposition,” but he is not truly mad.