Is Hamlet Mad Or Insane

The tragic play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare follows the main character, Hamlet, and his journey of revenge for his father’s death. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet appears completely sane; however, as the play progresses and after his father dies, he chooses to change from depressed to insane. Hamlet is perceived as mad for different reasons: the revenge for his father’s murder and his love for Ophelia. Hamlet wants revenge for his father’s death because although the death is staged to look like an accident, Hamlet is visited by a ghost who tells Hamlet that his uncle Claudius is actually responsible. Only Horatio, Hamlet’s best friend, truly knows Hamlets motives, and Hamlet acts as if he is mad; he acts this way in order to

draw attention away from himself so that he can more successfully execute his plans for revenge on Claudius for killing his father. Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, wants revenge on Hamlet at the end of the play because Laertes believes that Hamlet kills both his sister Ophelia and his father Polonius. In reality, Hamlet is sane and only pretending to be mad, and his rationality is justified through his deliberate ways of deceiving the people around him and through his relationships with Horatio and Laertes.
Hamlet shows his sanity with his deceptiveness throughout the entirety of the tragedy by master planning a cunning rendition of the play “The Murder of Gonzago,” choosing to not kill Claudius while he is praying, and rewriting the letter sent to England.

After Hamlet decides he wants revenge on Claudius, Hamlet pretends to be insane so the attention would be taken off of himself, and the people would dismiss his crazy actions. By doing this, Hamlet could lay low throughout his ploy for revenge on Claudius and have a coverup for his actions, and if he were to actually kill Claudius, the murder could potentially be blamed on his “mental illness.” As the story progresses, Hamlet constitutes a way to deceive Claudius with a clever play. Only a sane person would contrive a plan so intricate to prove his skepticisms of Claudius to gain more confirmation on his conclusions; contrary, an insane person would be hastier to kill even with little evidence. After Hamlet gets more evidence for Claudius’ murder after Claudius’ reaction to the play, Hamlets decides he would get the most out of his revenge if he were to kill Claudius in one of his more sinful states: “Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent” (Shakespeare III.iii.2371). He does not want to give Claudius the satisfaction of going to heaven since he is confessing his sins in this moment; Hamlet wants Claudius to suffer in purgatory just as his father King Hamlet had. This well thought out act of Hamlet proves him to be sane

because an insane person would be impulsive and act upon this opportunity. On the other hand, Hamlet deeply thought out his plan of action and was able to withstand himself from killing Claudius impetuously. Lastly, Hamlet proves his sanity through his deceitful way of rewriting the letter sent to England by Claudius. While on a ship on his way to England, Hamlet found the letter that Claudius writes to the King of England ordering for Hamlet to be killed. Hamlet cunningly rewrites this letter saying that the deliverers of the letter are to be killed. These deliverers are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s acquaintances who are dishonest towards Hamlet throughout the play. Although this well contrived plan already shows Hamlet’s sanity, Hamlet took this trick even further by sealing the letter with his father’s ring to prove the letter’s credence. Hamlet is not remorseful for putting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to death as they were both deceiving Hamlet throughout most of the play. Hamlet’s sanity is shown by these actions because he is able to reflect upon his relations with others and execute plans smoothly in order to accomplish his ultimate goal of revenge. Hamlet’s sanity is proven with his keen logic shown in many circumstances including tricking Claudius with his cunning play, deciding not to kill Claudius as he is praying, and sending for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be killed instead of himself through an intricate rewritten letter.
Secondly, Hamlet validates his sanity through his relationships and encounters with both Laertes and Horatio.

After wrestling Laertes in Ophelia’s grave, Hamlet apologizes to Laertes for losing control when he says, “That to Laertes I forgot myself,/ For by the image of my cause I see/ The portraiture of his. I'll court his favours./ But sure the bravery of his grief did put me/ Into a tow'ring passion” (Shakespeare V.ii.3730-3735). Hamlet admits that he should be unbothered by Laertes’ grief. Hamlet blames his actions on his “mental illness,” and this deed proves his sanity because Hamlet realizes that Laertes would be more likely to forgive him since Hamlet’s wrestling Laertes was not a just, true intention, rather a result of his apparent insanity; Hamlet is able to get the blame off of himself in this way. Hamlet shows his sanity in this instance because a mentally insane person would not go out of his or her way to apologize for his or her actions. Later in the play, Laertes makes a plan with Claudius to kill Hamlet. Laertes wants revenge on Hamlet for the death of his father and his sister. Claudius wants to kill Hamlet because of how much Hamlet threatens Claudius and his throne by knowing the truth of King Hamlet’s death. During a duel between Laertes and Hamlet, Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, betrays Claudius by drinking the poison cup and confessing the truth to Hamlet. Although Laertes and Hamlet have both been slain by each other at this point and are bound to die

soon, Laertes still asks Hamlet for forgiveness. Since Hamlet is truly sane, he forgives Laertes; in return, Laertes also forgives Hamlet. If Hamlet were truly insane, he would not forgive Laertes for deceiving Hamlet in the way he did and for killing Hamlet. In addition to Hamlet’s encounters with Laertes, Hamlet also put a strong trust into his friend Horatio. Throughout the play, Horatio was the only person to fully know what Hamlet was doing in his plan of revenge. In the beginning, Hamlet tells Horatio of his plans to fake insanity and put on a mad act: “How strange or odd some'er I bear myself/ (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on)” (Shakespeare I.v.190-192). Hamlet also has Horatio watch Claudius’ reaction to the play; Hamlet’s trust for Horatio shows that Hamlet is sane for prioritizing a second opinion to prove his suspicions. In the end of the tragedy, Horatio wants to die with Hamlet; Hamlet requests that Horatio lives to tell Hamlet’s story and deliver the truth of his story. By making his story public, Hamlet is able to prove his sanity to outsiders by exposing his motives and show that Claudius is the murderer of King Hamlet. The experiences and relationships between Hamlet and Laertes and Hamlet and Horatio substantiate Hamlet’s genuine sanity by means of forgiveness and trust.
In conclusion, Hamlet’s clever gimmicks and actions along with his relations with Laertes and Horatio illustrate Hamlet’s sanity in the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. The gimmicks that Hamlet plot include his interpretation of the play “The Murder of Gonzago” to spy on Claudius, his refraining from killing Claudius as he is praying, and his trick of rewriting the letter sent by Claudius to England. In the circumstances of the play and the letter, Hamlet is able to manipulate people, especially Claudius, to work in a way that benefits Hamlet’s own plan of revenge. His level headed thinking in these situations prove him to be sane. Additionally, Hamlet is able to reason by abstaining from killing Claudius while he is asking for forgiveness for his sins, showing his sanity. Secondly, the relationships and rendezvous Hamlet has with Laertes and Horatio show Hamlet’s sanity in different lights: forgiveness and trust. Hamlet’s sanity is shown through the forgiveness between Laertes and Hamlet because Hamlet overcomes many obstacles and still manages to be rational enough to forgive Laertes, proving his good sense. Furthermore, Hamlet puts a deep confidence and trust in Horatio as Horatio is the only person to understand Hamlet’s authentic motives. Key qualities such as rationality, self control, forgiveness, and trust along with significant patience can prove to greatly benefit a person in the long run, even when extreme measures are needed to achieve a goal.