Hamlet is Not Insane There is quite a bit of evidence in this play that Hamlet deliberately foraged his fits of madness in order to confuse and make the king believe there was genuinely something wrong with him. Hamlet’s soliloquies at the end of Act I are often used as proof of his insanity, but much of what is deemed insanity isn’t really insanity. Hamlet may have a mental illness, but he was far from insane.
A major controversy that has divided the literature community for hundreds of years is the debate of whether Hamlet, in William Shakespeare’s well known tragedy Hamlet, is feigning madness or is actually mad. It can be proven though textual evidence that Hamlet is not insane and his feigned insanity is just a ruse to distract those around him from seeing his superior conscience, given to him though the late King of Denmark, which makes him more aware than the average citizen. The higher sense of consciousness separates Hamlet from the others because it makes him a thinker instead of a follower. This can be seen in his interactions with other characters and how his feigned insanity affects Ophelia, who is also a thinker. Hamlet’s feigned madness can be exemplified in his interactions
Hamlet's Heightening Insanity In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is clear that Hamlet was once sane, but the tragic events of his life led him to be insane. Grieving over the loss of a loved one, yet a parent, is extremely difficult. These hardships can cause a lot of problems in one’s life. In Hamlet, Shakespeare incorporates a theme of madness to serve a motive. In fact, Hamlet is not initially crazy, but plans to use the insanity as a trick to achieve what he wanted-- revenge.
There are many examples of times where Hamlet seems truly insane. We have the time when he is talking with Polonius in the castle, after the King, the Queen, and Polonius were discussing the love letter that Hamlet wrote to Ophelia. Hamlet walks in reading a book, and Polonius asks “What do you read, my lord?” Hamlet replies with “Words, words, words.” “What is the matter, my lord” “Between who?”
Everything is Not as it Seems. Throughout Hamlet, Shakespeare makes Hamlet appear to be insane, however, Hamlet is just putting on a phenomenal act. Hamlet appears to be crazy but in reality, his madness is just a very convincing act. In act one, Hamlet forewarns Horatio that no matter “How strange or odd soe 'er I [Hamlet] bear myself/ ” (I.5.190), it is just an act and under no condition can anyone give him up.
Crawford states that Shakespeare includes Hamlet’s fits of madness were deliberately used to make Claudius and his attendants confused and for them to think Hamlet’s mental health is deteriorating. Crawford analyzes, “The fact that he [Hamlet] has made it appear like real madness to many critics today only goes to show the wideness of his knowledge and the greatness of his dramatic skill” (Crawford. 1916. p 1.). Crawford states that Hamlet is merely acting insane and he is extremely clever for doing this.
Hamlet’s conditions and actions indicate that he is insane. His father dies in the beginning of the play, and such a significant loss is bound to have effects on one’s mental state. Furthermore, his mother remarries quickly and shows little grief for the death of her husband. Then, his father’s ghost visits him and tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his mother’s new husband. It is obvious, and reasonable, that these occurrences would drive Hamlet to insanity.
The whole play of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is filled with relationships that either shape or influence Hamlets quest for vengeance and ultimately ends in tragedy. The romantic relationships in the play have a major impact and eventually leads to the death of all the central characters in them. The patriarchal power struggle at Elsinore leads to the death of the women and eventually Claudius ' and Hamlet 's as well. Hamlet is cunning, calculated and intelligent. His continuous puns, insinuations and theatrical behaviour could suggest that he is indeed acting mad in order to achieve vengeance for his father.
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.
Countless literary critics have written about Hamlet’s insanity throughout the years. Though many may believe Hamlet had gone mad, Hamlet is, in fact, not insane but rather going through an extremely tough time in his life and experiencing regular human emotion. In "Character Analysis of Hamlet: Psychological Disorders." by the renowned literary critic, Ivana
The main turning point for Hamlet 's madness when Hamlet facing his mother Gertrude and the conversation is : Gertrude: " Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended" Hamlet: " Mother, you have my father much offended" (Act 3, Scene 4) Hamlet and his insanity can be argued in many ways. Shakespeare displays two many ways; his abilitynof acting or his
He uses his deception of madness to make this sound like mad ramblings to everyone else, but he is truly asking these questions and wondering about the ins and outs of how life truly works, and what it all means. So Hamlet basically acts insane to cover up the seriousness of these questions he is seeking the answers to. “But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,/Could force his soul so to his own conceit,/That from her working all his visage wann’d,/ Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,/ A broken voice, and his
There are many mislead interpretation throughout the play that give a different type of feeling to the play . So in conclusion was Hamlet in the play insane or was just a gimmick to make every one else believe that he was. Hamlet is a play that is about ambition and revenge and conscience that go
The Misdiagnosis of Insanity: The Problematic Interpretation of Madness in Othello and The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare Introduction: This drama study will critically evaluate the problem of “madness” that arises in the characterization of insanity in Hamlet and Othello in Othello and The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Two articles by Levy (2000) and Macaulay (2005) present evidence of the complex variables that are involved in the perception of madness in the behaviors of Hamlet and Othello. Levy (2000) defines the complex interrelationship of “reason” and “madness that occur after Hamlet witnesses the ghost, which provides evidence of the realness of the ghost through the multiple observations of Marcellus, Bernardo, and Horatio. This perspective defines the deception of Hamlet’s “madness” he is not merely a singular vision/delusion , but one that has been shared by others.
In the play Hamlet, we are introduced to Hamlet’s character who stumbles upon the Ghost of his father and swears to avenge his father’s murderer. Shakespeare uses the character, Hamlet, to illustrate the theme of madness. Due to the chain of events that has occurred in Denmark, it is proven that these events drive Hamlet towards insanity. As the play progresses, Hamlet has starts transitioning into a mad person through his act of madness. By the end of the play, Hamlet’s state of mind has gone out of control.