Hamlet Essay

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet, is well known for the madness he portrays. Moreover, it has been argued on whether Hamlet was truly mad or if it was just and act. There are clues in the play to where this is evident and how a “discerning eye” can see the “divinest sense” from it, as once written by Emily Dickinson. The insanity Hamlet brings makes the play as a whole. Most of his actions are results of this very thing. In the beginning it seems as though Hamlet has complete control over his mentality. He does not portray madness until he converses with his father’s ghost where he learns that his father was brutally murdered by his uncle Claudius, in his attempt to become King of Denmark. Upon receiving this news, he becomes devastated and vows to avenge his father’s death. As part of his scheme he will pretend to be mad. “I perchance hereafter shall think meet, to put an antic disposition on” at that very moment he lets his friends in on his intentions to appear insane so they won’t be concerned. Hamlet carries out this action, for he feels it’s the only way to obtain information on whether the ghost is telling the truth or not. “The spirit that I have seen May be a devil, and the devil hath power t’ assume a pleasing shape…” he is unsure on whether the ghost is a real spirit or the devil. By pretending to be mad, Hamlet can gain details of his father’s death, behave without question, and not be accountable for his actions. The question of the source of Hamlets insanity is often asked and looked for. At one moment in the play, the source is thought to be over Hamlets love for Ophelia and the way she has been distant. One night, after seeing the ghost, Hamlet goes to Ophelia in her chamber and acts very oddly. She exclaims to her father, Polonius, that Hamlet has “his doublet all unbraced, No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled, ungartered, and down-gyved to his ankle, pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other, And with a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosed out of hell…” Polonius being the spy for the King Claudius, tells him of this and here the king is thrown off of Hamlet’s plan.
With pretending to be mad Hamlet changes his complete personality. He becomes extremely rude and he acts irresponsibly with little thought to consequences. With his lover Ophelia, he becomes someone she no longer recognizes. Before his madness she describes Hamlet as being “a soldier” and “a scholar” with “a noble mind”. However this all changes, not only does Hamlet’s hurt Ophelia, but he also offends his mother, Queen Gertrude. He later on kills Polonius and shows no signs of remorse towards this action. In a result Hamlet’s plan of faking madness to avenge his father’s death ultimately backfires. Not only does Hamlet offend those he is close to, he directly or indirectly kills them. When Hamlet murders Polonius, it leads to Ophelia’s suicide. Laertes then becomes upset with Hamlet for murdering his father, Polonius, and conspires with King Claudius to seek revenge. The plan Laertes and the King create results in their own death, as well as the deaths of Hamlet and Queen Gertrude.
What was supposed to be Hamlet’s scheme of pretending to be mad becomes a drastic tragedy. Insane Hamlet is unaware of the complete chaos that he inflicts on himself and everyone he loves. Instead of controlling his “antic disposition”, it controlled him which resulted in tragedy and death.