Is Hamlet Really Mad Essay

Is Hamlet Mad? “There is a fine line between genius and insanity”. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, prince Hamlet plays jump rope with this line, sometimes appearing utterly mad and yet other times carrying out an ingenious plan to avenge his father. So is Hamlet’s madness merely part of his cunning plot or is he truly out of his mind? It really depends on how one looks at the situation. Throughout the play it can be hard to believe Hamlet is truly mad because he always seems to be in control, with an overarching scheme in mind. Then again, how sane can he be if he is conversing with a ghost that is telling him to murder his uncle? At first glance it appears that Hamlet truly is mad, and Polonius even states to the king, “Your noble son is mad”. Polonius believes Hamlet went mad because of unrequited love for his daughter, and judging by the letter he wrote Ophelia it seems quite plausible. It’s also possible that the death of his father is all it took to drive him mad. Hamlet cared for his father, as is evident by his willingness to commit murder to avenge his death, and it is possible that his death broke his will and drove him mad. However; lots of the evidence of Hamlets madness seems fabricated, specifically his love for Ophelia. If he was so madly in love with Ophelia, why

Even Polonius, who is entirely convinced of his madness, admits "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't". While Hamlet rambles like a mad man, he continuously makes clever comments and crude jokes at the listeners expense that go unnoticed. While talking to Polonius Hamlet calls him a fishmonger, and Polonius assumes he is just confusing him with a seller of fish, although “fishmonger” can also be interpreted as meaning “pimp”, making Ophelia a whore. It is subtle little hints like these that show that Hamlet is only feigning his madness. But if Hamlet is not mad, why does he act like