Insanity In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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.

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

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.

Hamlet is a young man who has become crazy from his trials and tribulations in life. He lost his father due to his uncle murdering them and then had to watch his mother marry the killer. Hamlets insanity can be demonstrated by his crude language and disregard for the well being of his mother. It can also be shown by his depression, which causes him to second guess everything including his life and finally his love, Ophelia helps to justify his absurdness by acting as a mirror. His foolish behavior worries many in the kingdom and creates a hostile and paranoid environment for those around. While some in the castle may believe that Hamlet is putting on an act, he proves that he is mad through his violet actions, his mental health and Ophelia.

In the beginning of the play the main character, Hamlet, gets a visit from the ghost of his father that has recently deceased unexpectedly. His father’s ghost appears throughout the play but only Hamlet has the ability to see this spirit which leads to the conception that he has gone insane. He grieves his father’s death in very unhealthy

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.

Madness is defined as “mental delusion and the eccentric behavior arising from it.” In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the delusional state that Hamlet embodies has to be seen with a “discerning Eye.” While Hamlet claims his insanity is simply an antic disposition, his awareness of his deteriorating mental state is questionable. This state of madness can be judged reasonable as it allows him to investigate and avenge the unexpected death of his father. Consequently, Hamlet’s insanity results in a ripple effect, causing madness to become a central theme in the play through its effect on both Laertes and Ophelia.

Hamlet from the start of the play is driven to insanity as he tries to get revenge on his uncle, King Claudius. With loss of sanity, Hamlet proceeds to see a ghostly figure that no one else around him can see. This makes him appear even more insane to others around him and to himself as neither party knew what was going on. Believing that Claudius had killed his father, the ghost assured him a little more of this tragedy as they spoke saying,

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.

Truthfully, the only person to fully believe in Hamlet’s madness is Polonius though he attributes it to love-sickness due to “the pangs of despis'd love” from Ophelia (1765). Since he is thoroughly convinced of this, he brings it up to Claudius who very skeptically believes this, admitting that “though this be madness, yet there is method in't” (1307). In an effort to verify his suspicion, he sends two men to attempt to inquire about what it is that causes Hamlet’s recent demeanor. Hamlet sees straight through this and tells them exactly what the king wanted to hear, that he has indeed gone crazy but he knows not what caused it (1390-1392). Though he still does not believe that Hamlet is truly mad, Claudius uses it as an excuse to, what he thinks will, end Hamlet’s plan. In this is another example not only of Hamlet’s sanity but his intelligence as he foresees the reason he is being sent to England; he replaces the letter ordering his death with a letter ordering the death of his deliverers. There is far too much forethought in this for someone considered mad to have.

The insanity that Hamlet caused was beyond his comprehension. Throughout the play, Hamlet goes insane when he saw King Hamlet’s ghost and requested Hamlet to avenge his death. In that moment, Hamlet started going insane and promised to kill his uncle (Claudius). This topic relates to society, since there had been cases that all serial killers murder people, because they suffer from mental illness.

The focus is going to be more towards the definition that discusses the state of severe mental illness. Madness can sometimes be triggered by an event or it can be caused a disease or pre-existing illness. In Hamlet, nearly every character’s madness is triggered by an event. In cases where the madness is unable to be controlled, the person going mad may interfere with others in negative ways and/or take matters into their own hands(suicide). Even though one might think that madness has no relation to death, one may be more likely to die if they become mad because madness has a direct association to death.

Many criminal suspects today are found guilty by them attributing their insane actions to society by breaking human laws. In return, they are to make a contribution to in horrendous places such as place of confinement, guardhouse and correctional facility with their labour, effort and time. Nonetheless, what are the punishments for someone who feigned his or her madness and sparks off the death of the entire royal family? Shakespeare's Hamlet significantly demonstrates the consequences of dissimulating, in a way of dishonesty, but is Hamlet's madness simulated or real? This question is often left unanswered among the fans of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The idea of a character impersonating the concept or motif of insanity is not foreign to great literary works in modern days although many authors in ancient time use it to convey the sanity of the humor. There is much evidence in the play of Shakespeare's Hamlet, which Hamlet deliberately feigned fits of madness to confuse and plan to disconcert the king until he reveals his secret that he is responsible for Hamlet's father murder. However, the majority of the professors continue to argue that Hamlet's anti-decomposition is purely innocent and that he is not pretending. Nevertheless, with the similar saying of “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch”, in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, Hamlet’s fatal flaw of

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.

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.