The Insanity Of Madness In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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 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?

Furthermore, Hamlet’s madness within the play can be interpreted as a subsequent result of metaphorical poison in the mind. At the beginning of the play when Hamlet gets to know of his father’s death and his uncle re-marrying his mother, immediately it is seen that Hamlet shows traits of a poisoned conscience. He says:

The definition of madness is as stated " The state of being mentally ill. Exsteremly foolish behavior. Or a state of frenzed or chaotic behavior." Have you ever exspirenced any of this symptoms? One would hope not. Clearly being mad is a dangerous state of mind. This dangerous and foolish behavoir that gradually turns into an illness of the mind is exsactly what Shakspear tackles and presents through out his works in Hamlet. In a personal perspective it is believed that Shakspear made Hamlets actions be the cause of his decline into madness.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 20% of Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Mental illness is a serious issue within society which can hinder the lives of all who are affected by it. Insanity (or “madness” as it is called in Hamlet), is defined by google as a state of frenzied or chaotic activity. Madness is something which can be exploited by those who appear to suffer from it. The exploiting of insanity stems primarily from the criminal justice system, where a plea of insanity could potentially get a murderer a sentence of some time in the mental hospital instead of a life in prison.

In the play “Hamlet”, Shakespeare portrays the series of unfortunate events that develops into tragic characters and illustrates the symptoms of madness through Prince Hamlet and Ophelia while identifying the difference between genuine madness and feigned madness.

One may put on an act of madness, but is it possible for one to slip into the true madness itself? Of course it is. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it is noticed that hamlet has not been acting like himself since secretly meeting with the ghost, but no one can understand why he is acting the way he does. In the meantime, Hamlet becomes overwhelmed with everything, actually becoming mad. Throughout, one will see the main character Hamlet go through a charade of pretending to be mad in order to confuse the king and is attendants, as well as also notice Hamlet slip out if his act, thus truly becoming insane.

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”.

A major controversy that has divided the literature community for hundreds of years is the debate of whether Hamlet, in William Shakespeare’s well known tragedy, Hamlet, is feigning madness or is actually mad. It can be proven though textual evidence that Hamlet is not mad but is disgusted by life because he cannot overcome his innocence which disjoints Denmark. This disgust has been created by uncertainty and changes which have changed the innocent view of the world into one of which includes experience. Hamlet, however, does not want to see the many shades of gray in the world; he wants to see the world in black and white, so he knows the absolute right from wrong. His disgust towards life can be seen thorough his interactions between Gertrude,

If any man has had a truly impactful effect on the course of history, then M'naghten is the founding father for the modern insanity plea because of his frantic decision making when he allegedly assassinated the secretary of the prime minister of England in 1843. To which, the case was under heavy scrutiny from the public, but the house of Lords ruled the convicted as insane and could not tell right from wrong. Hence, in the play “Hamlet,” the protagonist Hamlet, disregards the image M’naghten, and is to be deemed not insane due to his ability to differentiate between moral standards which were not negatively affected by any psychosis, for his affairs could be conducted as usual.

It is often debated if William Shakespeare intended Hamlet to be mentally unstable, however, the evidence is there. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet talks to his father in the form of a ghost, which is impossible because ghosts are not real.

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

You can’t be certain of the events or tomorrow or the next 30 seconds. In the bible, “ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life(James 4:14)”. In Hamlet, certainty is a tremendous concern. In the beginning, were the guards sure of seeing Old Hamlet’s ghost, or so they thought? Could Hamlet truly draw from the expressions of Claudius during the play that he killed his father? Did Claudius or the audience know that Hamlet was truly mad? Did they know their actions would lead to their deaths? In the play, Hamlet, the uncertainty of your actions can lead to madness.

Madness can be interpreted in many different ways, one of which being extremely foolish behavior. William Shakespeare 's play, Hamlet, explores this definition within the title character’s journey after the death of his father. Throughout the play Hamlet has glimpses of sanity, but ultimately the tragedy of losing his father causes all of his idiotic behavior. He allows himself to listen to what appears to be the ghost of his father, and begins a downward spiral into a want for revenge and chaos. According to Hamlet, madness does exist and can lead to very disastrous consequences. Through the character of Hamlet, Shakespeare is proving that madness is real and can affect anyone.

“Hamlet, a revenge tragedy, is about Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, trying to figure out the mist behind his father’s death. By talking to his father’s ghost, Hamlet realizes that his father, King Hamlet, was killed by his own uncle, Claudius” (Kara 2). Throughout the play, the theme of madness often occurs from multiple characters. Madness can be defined as a mental disability or a pathological condition of the mind eliminating all rational thoughts caused by an unthinkable injury. These injuries could sometimes be hard to understand, but they can occur in a time of major stress or despair. For example, “there is a psychological loss in Hamlet’s mind in which he plans to bring justice by taking his revenge” (Yucel 5).