Insanity In Hamlet Analysis

Throughout the play, Hamlet claims to be feigning madness, but his portrayal of a madman is so intense and so convincing that many readers believe that Hamlet actually slips into insanity at certain moments in the play. Do you think this is true, or is Hamlet merely playacting insanity? What evidence can you cite for either claim?

In William Shakespeare’s classic, Hamlet, the question concerning Hamlet’s underlying sanity is a major element in the interpretation of the text. In the play, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as a dynamic character to cause a mental state conundrum among the audience and explore the themes of suicide, spying, friendship, madness, providence, love, hate and humour. Furthermore, by utilising literary devices such as soliloquy, characterisation, dialogue, personification, metaphor, dramatic and situational irony Shakespeare exploits these themes and questions Hamlet’s sanity. In the beginning, Hamlet is portrayed as an overthinking person, claiming to act an antic disposition. However, as the play advances his manic rage and irrational acts such as Polonius’s murder and

a rat? dead for a ducat, dead!”. This impulsive moment expresses a change in Hamlet’s character, as he is a man of thoughts, not actions to this point. Therefore, with the use of exclamation marks and situational irony Shakespeare explores the theme of madness and conveys Hamlet is a maybe converging psychopath and also creates a ironical scene with the play. On the other hand, when Hamlet discovers Claudius’s plan to have him executed in England, he manages to switch the letters and escape the conspiracy, as follows, “kind of fighting That would not let me sleep... such bugs and goblins in my life... My head should be struck off...”. Therefore, Shakespeare utilises this dialogue to explore the theme of providence and to illustrate a Hamlet, with the ability of counteracting tough