Madness, Betrayal, And Madness In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Several emotions engulf Shakespeare’s Hamlet throughout the play, the most famous being Hamlet’s own emotional state. His madness, triggered by his incestuous uncle, has led several scholars to explore the psychological causes of his madness. This research into Hamlet’s madness will explore his madness in comparison to other characters, the psychoanalytical studies behind his madness, and defining whether his madness is genuine or another play within the play.

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

His feigned madness permitted Hamlet to express these emotions freely towards Ophelia: “...Get thee to a nunnery, / farewell. Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a / fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters / you make of them...” (3.1.138-41). It was also important for Hamlet to be so vulgar towards Ophelia because it would not have been possible for him to continue being a caring loving boyfriend while attempting to avenge his father’s death. Lastly, by pretending to be mentally disturbed, it provided Hamlet with an excuse for any sinful deeds he would commit on his pursuit of revenge. Hamlet exemplifies this conception as he seeks for Laertes forgiveness for murdering his father Polonius: “If Hamlet from himself be ta’en away, / And when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes, / Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. / Who does it then? His madness...” (5.2.230-33). Hamlet’s pursuit of the truth and revenge was much better accompanied by madness rather than sanity which gave Hamlet a clear motive to fabricate insanity in the play. In the midst of Hamlet’s supposed madness, the prince continues to speak rationally with certain individuals as well as maintain sensible and logical thoughts. This idea is depicted through his conversations with his good friend Horatio who is assisting Hamlet in his search for the truth behind Old Hamlet’s death. For example, before the

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, 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.

   Hamlet's public persona is a facade he has created to carry out his ulterior motives. The outside world's perception of him as being mad is of his own design. Hamlet is deciding what he wants others to think about him. Polonius, a close confidant of the King, is the leading person responsible for the public's knowledge of Hamlet's madness. The idea that Hamlet is mad centers around the fact that he talks to the ghost of his dead father. He communicates with his dead father's ghost twice, in the presence of his friends and again in the presence of his mother. By being in public when talking to the ghost, the rumor of his madness is given substance.

158-161). Claudius believes that whatever the reason for Hamlet’s madness, the end result or outcome will be dangerous. Polonius, however, believes that the reason Hamlet is acting so strangely is because he is madly in love with Ophelia. Because of Claudius’ fear of what Hamlet could do he decides that “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go” (3.1. 182-183) and sends Hamlet to England. Hamlet admits to others that he is mad, which would seem like something that someone who was actually mad would be unlikely to do because they wouldn’t want to bring attention to it. Hamlet wants to bring attention to the idea that he is mad because he wants it to be spread around so that it becomes a known fact. Hamlet says “How strange or odd some'er I bear myself / as I perchance hereafter shall think meet / to put an antic disposition on.” (1.5. 170-172) to show the reader that his madness isn’t real.

Hamlet’s sanity has made many people question him. “Hamlet certainly displays a high degree of mania and instability throughout much of the play, but his “madness” is perhaps too purposeful and pointed

Hamlet is far too on top of things to be mad. Hamlet’s intellectual brilliance is first brought out in Act I, scene V when he plans on acting mad to confuse his enemies. Hamlet is also quick to figure out who his enemies and who are his real friends. “I know the good King and Queen have sent for you” (I.iv.37). Hamlet instantly knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not paying a social visit to Hamlet, but were in fact sent as spies for the former King of Denmark to find out the cause of his sudden madness. Hamlet immediately knows that he cannot trust his former school friends, and that he must take caution in what he says when is around the both of them. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talk with Hamlet, but "with a crafty madness [Hamlet] keeps aloof" (I.iv.37), and they are unable to find the cause for his odd behavior. Hamlet’s true intellect is brought out in Act III, scene II when he plans on putting on a play. "If his occulted guilt do not itself unkennel in one speech, / it is a damned ghost that we have seen, and my /imaginations are as foul as Vulcan’s stithy" (III.ii.84). When Hamlet comes up with a brilliant plan to put on a play about someone killing a King, he determines whether or not Claudius is guilty of murder, or if the ghost is really his dead father or an evil spirit whose setting him up to kill an innocent man. Hamlet coming up with a successful plan to prove

Hamlet’s absurd actions began when he got a visit from his father’s ghost. As he was conversing matters with the ghost, he acknowledged that he may need to disguise himself with strange behavior (antic disposition) in order to not give himself away. He wanted to ensure that he wouldn’t make it conspicuous that he was planning to kill Claudius in order to achieve his own equanimity. Hamlet mentioned to Horatio, Marcellus, and the Ghost, “How strange or odd some’er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on)... ” (Pg. Act I Scene V Lines 175-177). He needed to surreptitiously act in a strange manner in order to convey the idea to the culpable King that he didn’t have a plan, although he did. Hamlet would not have given them the caveat that he would act mad if he actually was crazy. One who is mad will most likely not admit it, but Hamlet certainly admitted that he would be acting this way to communicate a certain impression. At the climax of the play, the queen claimed that Hamlet was mad when he interacted with his father’s ghost after he murdered Polonius. She vehemently claimed, “Alas, he’s mad” (Pg. 177 Act III Scene IV Line 109). She declared

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

   In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, there are several questions that come to the reader's mind regarding the emotional state of Hamlet.  Was Hamlet really suffering from madness, as many of his friends and family thought?  Was he mad or just pretending to be mad?  Did Hamlet start out pretending to be mad, and his obsession drove him to madness?  The reader gets insight into Hamlet's mental status through other characters and through Hamlet himself. If the characters had the information that Hamlet had about the murder of his father, would they have thought differently of his actions and his sanity?

As demonstrated throughout the play, Hamlet’s madness is evident whether real or fake. In his own words, “I am mad but north-north-west: / When the wind southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw” (II. ii. 377-78). Hamlet is claiming that he is frequently seen as crazy. However, he claims that he can choose the moments to be mad. Hamlet is speaking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern stating that Hamlet knows what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern plan to do. The reader is again asked to consider whether Hamlet is faking his madness or whether he is, in fact, mad. In a monologue, he says, “How strange or odd some’er I bear / myself / As I perchance hereafter shall think / meet / To pit an antic disposition on” (I. V. 190- 92). The death of Hamlet’s father is something Hamlet cannot

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

There is little confusion and certainly no sign of madness in Hamlet's character.  In the Chapel Scene, when Claudius is praying alone for his guilt, Hamlet accidentally sees him.  He realizes that this is the perfect opportunity to perform the act of revenge.  Seeing the opportunity, Hamlet states;