The Sane Hamlet Essays

     In William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet, the main character of the story is one majestically elaborated, aside from being quite complex. There are infinite volumes written about this character because Shakespeare leaves no firm proof of many of his character traits. Yet on Hamlet's antic disposition, meaning his obviously absurd temperament or madness, Shakespeare leaves plenty of reason to believe that it is feigned, meaning that it is simply a ploy to help Hamlet carry out his plans for revenge. It is feigned, meaning that it is faked, merely put on as a façade. This is denoted in various aspects of his antic disposition. Hamlet's antic disposition is self imposed, meaning that he himself

Hamlet is understandably distraught. He may not be mad, but he likely is close to the edge of sanity during many of the most intense moments in the play” (Sparknotes).

In Act I, Scene V, after hearing the ghost’s demand for revenge, Hamlet says in advance that he will consciously feign madness while seeking the opportune moment to kill Claudius. Therefore, it is hard to conclude that he coincidentally became insane after making such a vow. Hamlet’s supposed madness not only becomes his way of relating to the other characters during the majority of the play, but also that which develops his character as throughout the play. Still, the question remains: Is Hamlet really crazy or just pretending?

I think Hamlet by using his mad façade hides his real intentions and motivations from his enemies and people that will give away information,

In Shakespeare's play Hamlet the main character Hamlet experiences many different and puzzling emotions. He toys with the idea of killing himself and then plays with the idea of murdering others. Many people ask themselves who or what is this man and what is going on inside his head. The most common question asked about him is whether or not he is sane or insane. Although the door seems to swing both ways many see him as a sane person with one thought on his mind, and that is revenge. The first point of his sanity is while speaking with Horatio in the beginning of the play, secondly is the fact of his wittiness with the other characters and finally, his soliloquy.

One of William Shakespeare's most well- known characters is Hamlet. This story has a great plot and entices the reader throughout the entire play. A controversial part of the play is whether the main character Hamlet is sane or insane. Readers may argue that Hamlet is insane, but, due to his cunning remarks and decisive plans, Hamlet is not mad, but instead completely sane.

   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?

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

Additional proof that Hamlet must be sane is that even in his ?madness? he is clever in his retorts and speech, and has a full understanding of the situations around him. He plays his madman character almost too well, and each phrase he utters appears to be an attempt towards conveying his

While it is true that Hamlet was merely playing the role of someone who had gone mad, many people may say that Hamlet’s madness was brought upon himself simply by the fact that he was trying to fulfill the orders from his dead father yet couldn’t because of his lack of acting upon a plan. It is strongly possible that Hamlet became extremely frustrated because every chance he got to expose Claudius and capture him in this enormous secret, he failed to do so. Therefore, Hamlet’s madness could be judged as reasonable but most likely for different reasons than one may think. Rather than going mad over the concrete facts that his father died and his mother remarried his uncle less than two months afterwards, he drove himself mad over his own flaws. Hamlet’s tragic flaw absolutely led to his tragic downfall as a

Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William

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

Many critics question Hamlet’s sanity, and the question still remains unanswered. Is his personal search for revenge driving him crazy, or the fact that he has to put up a different façade for numerous occasions to conceal his own doubt? Hamlet’s motives throughout the play seem uncertain, is he driven by anger to seek revenge, or is it a part of his mixed emotions in result of his fathers death and the corruption of Denmark? Shakespeare seems to suggest that Hamlet is intending to act on his impulse to avenge his fathers murder by killing Claudius, yet he also seems to be combatting some sort of bigger confusion within himself.

Throughout the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare applied a myriad of motifs to enhance the meaning and complexity of his work. One of the numerous motifs utilized in the play is madness. The question of Hamlet’s actual madness is profusely raised among readers in the Elizabethan era and is still brought up numerous times today. Some may assert that Hamlet was literally mad and others may argue that Hamlet’s madness was feigned. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet spotted his father’s ghost and discerned that his father’s death was caused by his uncle, Claudius. This situation initiated a whirlwind of events that took Hamlet on a downward spiral. These events are comprised of Hamlet’s actions to try to avenge his father’s death. They support and convey the impression that Hamlet’s madness was real. Although, Hamlet specifically claimed that he was not mad in the text. Hamlet’s madness was feigned since he confessed his reasoning for his antic disposition in order to avenge his father’s death and get revenge for Claudius’ actions.

In conclusion, Hamlet is not mad; everything he does has a purpose. He is out to avenge his father’s murder. He proves this by telling Horatio that he is going to fake madness, and admitting to his mother that he is not crazy. He also only acts mad in front of Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. When Hamlet is with a trusted friend he is rational and symptom free, however when someone he wants to