Insanity And Insanity In Hamlet

Many people have seen Hamlet as a play about uncertainty and about Hamlet's failure to act appropriately. It is very interesting to consider that the play shows many uncertainties that lives are built upon, or how many unknown quantities are taken for granted when people act or when they evaluate one another's actions. Hamlet is an especially intriguing production, both on the set and on the screen because of its uniqueness to be different from what most people expect to be in a revenge themed play. Hamlet's cynicism and insane like behavior cause him to seem indecisive, but in reality he is always judging and contemplating his actions in the back of his mind in order to seek revenge for the murder of

   William Shakespeare worked in the genres of tragedy, comedy, and history. Shakespeare's Hamlet, talks about a dark story of twisted love and ends in tragedy. Families have their differences but not going as far as to plot revenge and murder. The play has family members killing within their own family and plotting revenge and to kill more, and the content shows dark and depressing moments. Hamlet, son of Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, and Claudius, brother to late King and married to Gertrude, have several differences but some similarities. However, their differences is what creates the tension and divide between their characters. The comparison between Hamlet's and Claudius's manipulation, ambitions, and the false impressions they give off about their characters is what keeps the play interesting.

Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.

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.

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.

One of the recurring themes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is Hamlet’s unwillingness or rather inability to act and make decisions when necessary. Time and time again, he is given the chance to exact his revenge for his slain father and murder his uncle. Yet every time he comes up with an excuse as to not have to act. Granted he takes some action to prove that it was in fact his uncle that killed his father, however, he goes no farther than that. Hamlet’s inability to fulfill his destiny and take out his revenge that he wants shows insanity. Hamlet is a man who’s father passed away, his mother married his uncle, and he later finds out that it was his uncle, his mother’s new husband, who killed his father, this would cause serious mental issues in any man. Even though Hamlet may have feigned insanity, Hamlet is insane because he is clinically depressed, he shows signs of being bipolar and he has hallucinations. Eventually even in his insanity he is left no other choice but to kill Claudius, his uncle, however until then his depression, bipolar disorder, hallucinations, and overall insanity keep him from exacting his revenge.

The use of attitudinal tones makes Hamlet react in a way that develops his character to dislike his uncle, Claudius. Hamlet’s opening statement in Act 1 Scene 2, displays a sarcastic tone and his inner struggles surrounding his mother’s remarriage shortly following the death of her former husband, which is considered incestuous in his perspective. He describes his uncle as “a little more kin and less than kind” (I.2.65) which displays hatred towards his uncle and emphasizes the discomfort in their relationship. There is outward conflict between them as there is tension in the air whenever Hamlet and King Claudius are present together. He first expresses suicidal thoughts in a melancholic tone, when he describes the corrupted world he lives in as an “unweeded garden/ That grows to seed; things to rank and gross in nature/ Possess it merely” (1.2.135-136) where he wishes his “too sullied flesh would melt,/ Thaw and resolve itself into dew” (1.2.129.) He expresses his disappointment in his mother for marrying too soon and describes his father as “So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr” (1.2.138-140.) He explains how his father was by far a better king than his uncle. This betrayal exposes Hamlet’s repressed feelings about his mother, and the impact of his father’s death is increased through his perceived betrayal to faithful marriage and family ties. His tone changes in Act 3, Scene 3 as he is now exposed to Claudius’ confession of being responsible for the

In addition, Hamlets madness causes him to want to kill the king, Claudius, and clouds his thoughts. When Hamlets, fathers ghost comes to visit him, it tells Hamlet to get revenge on its death and to kill Claudius. While the ghost disappears Hamlet recounts what he has just done and states, “So, Uncle, there you are. Now to my word:/It is ‘Adieu, adieu, remember me!’ / I have sworn’t” (I.v.110-112). Hamlet is not even certain that the ghost is his father at first, yet he still aims to kill the king. His anger over his father’s death leads Hamlet to not think clearly, causing him to act out which in the end, leads to his death.

Insanity is an interesting topic to explore, tricky to determine and potentially deadly to those around the affected person. Although most people in society are sane beings, many argue that Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is not sane. His actions are not that of a sane person, but rather of a grieving man who is driven to his death by his insane lust for revenge.

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.

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

Hamlet portrayed extreme madness that recurred throughout the book. It started off with simply acting to be crazy, but eventually leads to true madness. Hamlet tells the queen “a beast… would have mourned longer, married with my uncle my father’s brother, but no more like my father” (1.2). Hamlet refers to his mother as a beast implying she is not human. Problems with Hamlet’s mother are not a huge contributing factor to his madness, but still fuel the problem. It also leads readers to believe Claudius could be a problem later on. This turns out to be true as he is one of the main sources to Hamlet’s madness. Another tremendous source is the ghost driving Hamlet to get revenge on Claudius. When the Ghost of Hamlet’s father comes back, he tells Hamlet “so art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear”(1.5). The Ghost explains what really happened to try to convince Hamlet to avenge his death. This drives him to insanity with the stress and pressure of should he, or should he not kill

Claudius is only acting out what Hamlet secretly wants to do, take his father’s place as his mother’s lover. This would explain why Hamlet puts off the revenge instead of carrying it out immediately after seeing his father’s ghost. It would also provide a reason for Hamlet’s later insanity.

Claudius and Hamlet are both very selfish men. Claudius wants to be the king of

In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare plants the plot of revenge into Hamlet's head. In Denmark, Hamlet's father is murdered by Claudius. Claudius is the new king and Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet does not like Claudius because he marries Gertrude, his mother, and because Hamlet's father dies. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to Hamlet to tell him to seek revenge on his murderer. The ghost then tells Hamlet Claudius has murdered him by pouring poison into his ear. Hamlet loves his father and believes he needs to kill Claudius. The opportunity to kill Claudius appears when Claudius is in his room. Hamlet walks in on Claudius praying and is about to kill him. Hamlet refuses to murder Claudius in that moment. In Hamlet, Hamlet does not kill Claudius when he is given the opportunity because Claudius is praying, Hamlet is not ready to kill, and Hamlet is insane.