Sanity And Insanity In Hamlet

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Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, “insanity” is exposed by the main character, Hamlet. Although it is depicted, Hamlet’s intelligence allows him to mask his true sanity. Prince Hamlet falls into a state of emotional turmoil due to his father’s death and his lost love for Gertrude and Ophelia, but he is never insane. To avoid separation from his family and friends, Hamlet appears to waver between sanity and madness. He also plans on revenging his father’s death under the guise of madness. Hamlet feigns insanity, and he does so to state his emotions towards the two closest women in his life, to influence the opinions of those around him, and to avenge his father’s death.
Hamlet’s madness was deliberately acted in order to follow his future plans. He deeply wanted to gain revenge for his father’s murder. Hamlet wisely began to feign his madness intentionally to get around Claudius’ back and eventually kill him. He was fully aware of strategies and he acknowledged it himself, “That I am not in madness, but mad in craft.” (III. iv. 187-188) Hamlet also shows his “madness” towards particular characters and not to others. “When moving among his intimate friends, he is consistently sane, and feigns madness only in the presence of those who, he fears, will thwart his secrest design.” (Blackmore, 54) With Horatio, Hamlet seemed sane and kept his wits closely. However, with Claudius, Gertrude, and Ophelia, he hid behind a mask of insanity.
After encountering the ghost of his father and was told that he has been murdered, Hamlet began to act insane. At this moment, Hamlet began to concentrate on his plan to murder Claudius and hide behind a mask of insanity. He knew all along that this was his...

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...ually gifted and admirable person who put the supreme test of character and in the end triumphed over the moral problem he was confronted with.” (Utter Palfrey, 138) Throughout all of Hamlet’s experiences and situations, he was an expert of giving the appearance that he was mad.
Inspecting and analyzing every action he took, Hamlet demonstrated that he had total control over his mind and emotions throughout The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Being powerless to speak honestly about his emotions, Hamlet exaggerated his insanity to Gertrude and Ophelia in order to ease their perspective towards him. The mask of Hamlet’s madness also hid his devious plans from his rivals and King Claudius so that he can take action with his revenge plan. Mastering the act of insanity, Hamlet was able to successfully avenge his father’s death and remain sane throughout the play.

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