Madness in William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Madness was considered a seriously bad thing in the 17th century, but
the meaning for madness now compared to then has changed dramatically.
Hamlet in the 17th century plays may have seem mad by Shakespeare's
audience then but not now in the 21st century. In the 21st century a
madman means an insane person, which is quite an offensive word. But
in the 17th century a madman was just a person acting a bit out of
character.
Hamlet's behaviour throughout the play changes from a high to a low
quite a lot. Although we do never find out if hamlet is sane or not,
his first line I find is a little bit confusing, "a little more than
kin, and less than kind" I don't really know what it means and sounds
like a sign of madness. As we progress through the play then hamlet is
slowly and slowly becoming more and more mad, unlike Ophelia's
madness, which is very sudden and is spurred by a certain event, the
death of her father. The play begins with guards, whose main
significance in the play is to give credibility to the ghost. If
Hamlet were to see his father's ghost in private, the argument for his
madness would greatly improve. Yet, not one, but three men together
witness the ghost before even thinking to notify Hamlet.
There are many events that may have impelled hamlet to go mad. The
first one being the loss of his father, there is however no proof for
this as it happened ahead of the play so that we do not know if he was
already mad. The second main event that may have caused hamlet to go
mad is seeing the ghost of his father this is one of the most obvious
one as this may make anyone go mad. But he seemed sane enough to
understand that the ghost was saying that his uncle killed his father
so this is a very doubtful answer to his madness.
Another event that could have turned hamlet mad was the marriage of
But I am convinced that he was "…not in madness, but mad in craft." I also
... is a fictional character. This is also true because to categorize a person as ‘mad’ or melancholic there has to be a defined societal norm but that norm is different for everyone making that classification nearly impossible. Hamlets madness also acts as a buffer for speaking the truth so bluntly that it seems impossible to agree upon. His language ensures no one is able to decide if he is sane or not. Ultimately Shakespeare uses Hamlets ‘madness’ to share the truth that humans categorize each other to affirm their own sanity against someone different.
death when his mother and the king enter the room and question him on his
“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.
" You fancy me mad? Madmen know nothing about this. But you should have seen how wisely I proceeded-with what caution-with what foresight-with what dissimulation I went to work!" In addition, every night at midnight the narrator slowly went into the room of the old man. He claims this was done so wisely that he could not be insane.
Intelligence is often mistaken for brilliance, and conversely genius is mistaken for madness. Some of the greatest minds have been misconstrued in there time, and it is not until their whole life is taken into observance from the outside looking in, that their genius is realized and appreciated. Websters dictionary defines madness as "the act of being foolish or illogical." Ironically this form of thought has prompted some of the greatest advancements in government, science, and technology. It was the thought that every common man and woman should be included in his or her respective governments that prompted Democracy, a form of government unheard of before the signing of the Magna Carta. It was scientists and inventors thinking outside of the lines that inspired the cure for Small Pox and the invention of the computer. It can clearly be seen that serious thought is often the by-product of irrational thinking, this is also true for literature. It is while in madness, both feigned as well as sincere, that the characters in William Shakespeare's Hamlet are able to practice true mental clarity and express themselves in a manner free of treachery and falsehood.
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.
An insane person is one that demonstrates foolish acts because of their poor mental state. In the beginning of Macbeth, Macbeth is characterized as a brave soldier. His bravery on the battlefield earned him the titles of Thane of Cawdor and Glamis. The play leads the reader to believe that Macbeth is sane, but when he receives prophesy from the witches that he will be king, an insane character emerges from within. Macbeth demonstrates these characteristics when he claims to see a floating dagger and an illusionary ghost and also becomes obsessed with the idea of killing others, and not being completely human.
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.
Even in his madness, he retorts and is clever in his speech and has full understanding of what is going on around him. The characters might have learnt to never trust anyone, because your best friend can be spying on you and your uncle can be your fathers murderer; you should be careful of the people around you. Through all this, Hamlet is able to use common sense, rationalize, and think like a normal man. showing his is in fact not crazy. Hamlet acts no more crazy, than any other man would in a situation like that.
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 of 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 so'er I bear myself, / As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one of the most evident and important themes is the theme of madness. The theme is apparent throughout the play, mainly through the actions and thoughts of Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes. Madness is defined as the quality or condition of mental illness or derangement (being insane). Madness is at the center of the conflicts and problems of the play and is conveyed through Shakespeare’s elaborate use of manipulation and parallels between Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes to contribute to Hamlet’s tragic character.
Davis, Tenney L. “The Sanity of Hamlet.” The Journal of Philosophy 18.23 (1921): 629–634. JSTOR. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
situation and rid all the limitations that a “cultured” state of mind would pose. The term “mad” is defined as mentally disturbed, while the term “sane” is defined as to be free from mental derangement. In this tragedy, I feel that the characters that were deemed sane, such Claudius, are just as crazy, if not more so, than they deem Hamlet to be.