Preview

Hamlet's Insanity

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
500 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet's Insanity
In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Hamlet, the main character, displays a very indecisive and uncertain demeanor throughout Hamlet. This recurrent behavior is displayed when: Hamlet first encounters the Ghost of his father, to learn that Hamlet's Uncle, the King, killed Hamlet's Father, also in Shakespeare's most prolific monologue of Hamlet and lastly when Hamlet stabs one of the King's confidants, Polonius. Hamlet's wavering decision making as well as his uncertainty in everything leads to Hamlet's apparent insanity; although he is not completely insane, just to a certain degree that allows him to be somewhat sane.

Hamlet first shows an uncertain and indecisive demeanor when he first converses with the Ghost of his Father. The Ghost informs Hamlet of what has really happened to his Father in regards to his death. This comes as a shock to Hamlet; even though he had a sneaking suspicion that something didn't play out right. "O, my prophetic soul! My uncle!" (p.59 l.48). Hamlet knew it was possible all along; this did however help to reassure it. Hamlet was uncertain all along about his Father's real death and even after confronting the Ghost he remains very indecisive as to what he should do.
…show more content…
In the conditions of his life Hamlet even demonstrates extremes of indecisiveness and uncertainty in issues as important as his own life.

"To be, or not to be: That is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Hamlet seems to be the one who lets things dwell in his mind before taking any action or making an attempt at trying to get on with his life. After the death of his father he becomes depressed and gradually becomes enraged with his mother's immediate marriage to his uncle Claudius. He was lead to believe his father died of natural cause but he became aware of the murderer when his father's ghost appeared to him. When Hamlet learns the truth of his father's murder, he cries, but promises action, though he delivers none. He says "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge." (Act 1, Sc. 5, 29-31). At the end of the scene he says "The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!" (Act 1, Sc. 5, 188-189). This shows that he is no longer in such a rush to avenge his father's death by killing his uncle Claudius.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet became mad over a course of period as it seems, but Hamlet is only acting. So the question will be does Hamlet want to die before he conquers his revenge on Claudius or will he want to continue on with life? Hamlet becomes very wishy washy with his emotions throughout the play. Sometimes Hamlet is happy and sometimes he is mad, as well as crazy. Claudius is on the hunt to get rid of Hamlet, but little does he know Hamlet could be considering getting rid of himself without the help of Claudius.…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet’s behavior makes everyone worry about his insanity, but his sagacious thinking shows his actions are thought out, and his depressive state of mind. Hamlet does not appear to be suffering from insanity or from the disabling mental illness, schizophrenia. The National Institute of Mental Health describes the illness, “People with positive symptoms often ‘lose touch’ with reality” (“What is Schizophrenia” 2). With schizophrenia, just like with insanity, someone might lose their understanding of what’s right and what’s wrong. In the play, Hamlet states his plan, “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on” (I.v.172-173). Hamlet clearly confesses to Horatio he will have to act erratic behavior. Through this…

    • 147 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    He obviously shows his depression, expressing his contempt for his father 's successor Claudius, as well as his mother for marrying Claudius shortly after the late King Hamlet 's death. Depression also links to suicidal thoughts, of which Hamlet also suffers, as seen from his first soliloquy- "To be or not to be: that is the question" (III:i:131)₂. Despite suffering from depression, Hamlet clearly proves he has full sanity. For example, he talks to Horatio in a sane manner when he discusses his plans for revenge with him. His only acts of "insanity" occur when around nobles or figures of high authority, such as Claudius or Polonius. The acts of insanity have a deep underlying motive- to fool the entire court of Denmark into thinking he has gone mad. He does so in order to convince Claudius that he serves no threat to the king 's throne. The seemingly insane behavior also cloaks his plans for revenge and prevent him from looking suspicious to Claudius. These sources prove that Hamlet has indeed not gone insane. Therefore, his eccentricity serves as a part of his plan for…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The line “to be, or not to be, that is the question” refers to being alive or dead, but can apply to many different conflicts in life and within ourselves (III.i.62). The tragic play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, brings out many of these inner battles of madness with oneself, which can include choosing life or death for oneself and others. The play Hamlet tells the story of a boy, whose father was murdered by Hamlet’s throne seeking uncle, Claudius. Hamlet portrays many examples of madness, but points out the question of whether Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s madness is real or fake.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Why Is Hamlet Crazy

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide”. Although this quote by John Dryden was not directed towards Hamlet, this quote relates well to the argument of whether or not Hamlet was insane. The character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is perhaps one of the most complex tragic heroes and possibly the most analyzed in all of English literature. Whether Hamlet was actually insane, or simply acting mad depends on the reader’s interpretation of the play. Hamlet is a complex character, he is the direct result of his psychological disorders. He is capable of quickly changing his emotions and state of mind from being happy, to being sorrowful, to being seemingly…

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Madness played a major role in the book Hamlet. Madness didn’t just take place with one character ,but two. Ophelia and Hamlet were both of the characters that seem to have let anger and depression get the best of them. In these scenes we get to know both of the characters very well, and exactly what caused them to flip their script.…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since Shakespeare first wrote Hamlet there has been discussion about whether or not Hamlets madness is real. Some would say it is not madness that leads Hamlet, but the death of his father or his mother marrying his uncle. Throughout the story, Hamlets actions of thinking about suicide, getting rejected by Ophelia, and believing in the ghost can lead the audience to believe that Hamlet has been overtaken by madness.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We can definitely see his madness and the evidence that he really goes mad when he said he sees his father’s ghost in his mother’s chambers while his mother does not see the ghost. Hamlet intentions in acting insane in order to get to his goal: "I essentially am not in madness”, Hamlet tells his mother that he is not mad and that he is mad in craft. [Act III, scene IV, lines 188-199]. Hamlet believes he is sane all the times, and did not realize that his actions and his madness is overwhelming him. His attitude resulted to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. He is more desperate with the marriage of his mother to his uncle. We realize his violence and jealousy towards his mother. With these events, he builds frustration and anger and which turns him into an insane character. After Hamlet had killed Polonius, he had nothing to say and he even went on to call him a rat. This shows that he doesn’t care much about killing someone and moreover it does not affect him too much because he is so persistent in revenge. It seems as if he will go above and beyond his limits to get revenge. After the death of Polonius, Ophelia dies and this does not affect Hamlet as much as we believe in the consequences because he does state that, “[He] did love [Ophelia] once,”…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, Hamlet, he was believed to have feigned his madness. I believe he did this as a way to get away with murder. The entire time Hamlet knew what was coming for him if he succeeded at getting revenge for his father’s murder. Overtime, Hamlet begins to cross the line into madness. Ophelia, also feigned her madness just to get Hamlet’s head back in the game. She was on a mission to figure out why Hamlet has gone mad.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Oxford Dictionary defines insane as,” Not of sound mind; extremely foolish; psychotic, neurotic; demented, out of one’s mind.” Insanity is typically thought as someone who is acting different from society whether it is in words, thoughts, or actions. Hamlet, a play by William Shakespeare, shows how craziness can affect one’s mind and other people’s minds. Hamlet, the main character, is shown as being psychotic on multiple occasions throughout the play which leads to the formation of other people’s opinion about Hamlet. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows how Hamlet’s actions, thoughts, and the thoughts, actions, and words of other characters reveal why Hamlet is a truly demented person.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In conclusion, as you can see the speculation behind this was because he overthinked about the consequences of every action. Hamlets chaos incapacitates him as he can’t physically and mentally think clearly for himself to execute the revenge. His depression and the marriage of his mother and vicious uncle had all piled stress on his shoulder. As the only person left in the family besides his mother, who he doesn’t trust, poor Hamlet had nobody to expose his feelings to for advice. Instead, his only way of going around it was to act like a lunatic to get what he wanted, justice. Ultimately, at the end it was all worth a try because the city of Denmark lived in tranquility as the Fortinbras army replaced King Claudius.…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet’s use of logic and reason in the first three acts demonstrates his ability to control his emotions and make a valid decision without any interference. Furthermore, the ghost and his fear of committing to a passion were his main reasons why he found an answer and took action towards the end of the play. For instance, when Hamlet encounters his father's ghost, he does not believe it is his father even though he has an emotional reaction upon seeing it. He pushes his feelings aside and says, “Let me not burst in ignorance, but tell/Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death,/Have burst their cerements;/Say why is this? Wherefore?…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet vs Sr Thomas More.

    • 901 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the play "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is described as daring, brave, loyal, and intelligent, but he is consumed by his own thoughts. Hamlet's duty to take revenge for his father's murder. This leads Hamlet, a philosopher not a killer, to search deep within himself for the solution to his plight. Hamlet's "pale cast of thoughts" has constantly undermined his resolution, resulting in his inaction, which, in turn, causes him deep unrest and depression. Hamlet's indecisive pursuit in avenging his father's death is shown as evidence of his tragic flaw. Hamlet repeatedly rationalizes and analyzes the ineffectiveness of his actions. Due to the uncertainty of the truth, Hamlet feels…

    • 901 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Madness Essay

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What is madness? Is it chaos, or is it lunacy, perhaps? In literature, madness and mental illness span across many fields of discussion. William Shakespeare strongly explores the topic, especially in his tragedy, Hamlet, and in his Sonnet 147. The former tells a story of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, who must avenge his father’s death and falls into a dark mental state. The latter reflects a miserable and ill state of mind, incurable and without hope. The two selections both express how madness corresponds with death thoughts and how madness can make one speak out of line. However, though both describe how love can provoke madness, different kinds of love can stimulate different modes of the mental illness.…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays