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In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, an extensive debate has been developing for hundreds of years as to whether or not the madness of Hamlet, the play's protagonist, was legitimate or simulated. Hamlet may have been sane throughout the play however it may also be true that Hamlet slipped into madness due to several different factors. Hamlet may have feigned his insanity but evidence shows that his insanity was truly authentic. Hamlet tried to feign insanity as a plan but was soon led into a dark hole causing his head to spin out of control. Hamlet has had several things in his life trigger his madness. Hamlet feigns madness in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death. Upon Hamlets arrival home from Denmark he learns of his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage to Claudius, the late Kings brother. All of these things are enough to make a person mad. Later on he meets with the ghost of his father and learns that his father was murdered by his own brother, in Claudius’s attempt to take the throne and become the new King of Denmark. All of this news overwhelms ...
that they had seen a ghost during the night watch. Hamlet was shocked at the
A consideration of the madness of the hero Hamlet within the Shakespearean drama of the same name, shows that his feigned madness sometimes borders on real madness, but probably only coincidentally.
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.
“I plead guilty by reason of insanity,” is Hamlet’s plea if he was sitting in a modern courtroom. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is evident that Hamlet himself is indeed out of his mind. The reader understands the reason for his anger and frustration, but how he “fixes” the situation is beyond a sane mind. To be fair, his madness deals more with emotional instability referred to as melancholy or madness than a person who is incoherent. Hamlet’s madness becomes clear in his actions and thoughts, in his erratic relationship with Ophelia, and in the murder of Polonius.
Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.
Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his persona of seeming insane to the other characters. Hamlet comes up with the idea to fake madness in the beginning of the play in order to confuse his enemies. However, for Hamlet to fulfill his duty of getting revenge, he must be totally sane. Hamlet’s intellectual brilliance make it seem too impossible for him to actually be mad, for to be insane means that one is irrational and without any sense. When one is irrational, one is not governed by or according to reason. So, Hamlet is only acting mad in order to plan his revenge on Claudius.
Shakespeare's tragic hero, Hamlet, and his sanity can arguably be discussed. Many portions of the play supports his loss of control in his actions, while other parts uphold his ability of dramatic art. The issue can be discussed both ways and altogether provide significant support to either theory. There are indications from Hamlet throughout the play of his mind's well being.
Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to seek revenge for his father's murder. As the play progresses, the reader may start to believe Hamlet’s “insane” act, but throughout the scenes, Hamlet shows that he knows right from wrong, good from bad, and his friends from his enemies. Hamlet shows that he still has power and control over his actions. As Elliot says “Hamlet madness is less than madness and more feigned”. Hamlet portrays a mad man, in order to be free from questioning, thus allowing him to have an easier path towards revenge.
While Hamlet was being in his "antic disposition" stage it allowed him to do several things that he otherwise would not be able to do if everyone thought he was in a normal state. The purpose of Hamlet feigning madness is in order to be undercover and see for certain if what has been told to him by the ghost is true. By not revealing the fact that he is not insane, he is able to get more information about the death of his father. Did his uncle kill his father and how can he get his mother away from his uncle are what Hamlet is set out to find.
Hamlet is a play that leaves you with your mouth gaping open as you ask yourself, “what just happened?”. There are so many open ended questions that will never be officially answered, leaving readers to interpret the play on their own. Was Hamlet truly in love with Ophelia? Did Gertrude know Claudius’s secret the whole time? Who is Fortinbras? These are the thoughts that make you question every piece of the play; these open ended questions are what makes William Shakespeare a timeless genius. People all over the world debate these thoughts still today, four centuries later. I would like to share with you my stance on one of these common debates: was Hamlet insane? Some signs of insanity include: inability to think critically, loss of morals, and loss of interest. Hamlet struggled throughout the play with mental and emotional challenges, but insanity was never truly present.
By the time Hamlet was written, “madness” was already a popular element within revenge tragedies in the Elizabethan period. But, the role of madness in Hamlet was deeply ambiguous, which set it apart from the other revenge tragedies in its time. Whereas other revenge tragedy protagonists were the complete opposite and just simply insane. Hamlet fiddles with the idea of being insane, which is where it all began. Hamlet states, “How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, / As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on” (1.5.58-60) but his sane mental state began to decay over time leaving him actually insane. As the play goes on the role of madness becomes much larger and more crucial, and begins to sweep the spotlight from the other themes within it.
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 Shakespeare Hamlet is sane but acts insane to fulfill his destiny of getting vengeance on his father's murderer.
In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character experiences many puzzling emotions. Readers usually ponder on who this man is and what exactly is going on inside his baffling mind. One of the most common debates is whether Hamlet was truly insane or just putting up a façade. Although the door may swing both ways, there is much evidence in the play to support that Hamlet deliberately feigned his insanity in order to bewilder the king and his attendants.
The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about Hamlet going insane and reveals his madness through his actions and dialogue. Hamlet remains one of the most discussed literary characters of all time. This is most likely due to the complex nature of Hamlet as a character. In one scene, Hamlet appears happy, and then he is angry in another and melancholy in the next. Hamlet’s madness is a result of his father’s death which was supposedly by the hands of his uncle, Claudius. He has also discovered that this same uncle is marrying his mom. It is expected that Hamlet would be suffering from some emotional issues as result of these catastrophes. Shakespeare uses vivid language, metaphors, and imagery to highlight how Hamlet’s madness influences several important aspects of his life including his relationships and the way he presents himself.
Hamlet still maintains his sanity thus far, however he does a very good job at convincing everyone that he is crazy. He still thinks sensibly and if he were really crazy he would make rash decisions and not think things through. He had the chance to kill Claudius at the end of act 3 scene 3, yet he didn’t. He says “Now I could do it easily, now he’s at prayer. And now I’ll do it. And then he would go to heaven. So much for my revenge!” (III.iii.76-79). He’s thinking rationally by not killing the king while he is praying because that would send him to heaven, instead he plans to kill him at a later date while he is not doing something in the name of God. He also had the mental stability to plan the play in such a way that he would be able