Was Hamlet’s insanity to be present throughout the book? Sanity can be a difficult character trait to figure out, but even harder to determine his sanity. Throughout the story Hamlet presented himself as insane yet he was sane the whole time. Considering the fact of what happened after Hamlet’s first encounter with the ghost, plotting the mousetrap play on Claudius, and knowing what Claudius’ cunning plan was.
The first point to agreeing on Hamlet’s sanity was what happened after he encountered the ghost. In Act 1, scene 5, Horatio and Marcellus are with Hamlet while he is talking to the ghost which is confirmed to be Hamlet’s dad since he was “wearing his exact armor” and he “frowned just like the king did”. The ghost tells Hamlet how his
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Hamlet plans out what the performers are going to perform, which was called the “Mousetrap.” The mousetrap was a play that was performed in front of King Claudius and in this play it reenacts a scene, of an actor pouring poison into a sleeping actor’s ear, which was how Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father. Hamlet expects that if that ghost was telling the truth about how Hamlet’s father died, then Claudius will react to the scene. This is important because it displays Hamlet’s sanity and that he knows what’s going on. While Hamlet was talking to Horatio, he states it by saying in Act 1, Scene 2, line 69, “One scene of it comes near the circumstance, which I have told thee of my father’s death. I prithee, when thou seest that that act afoot, even with the very comment of thy soul, Observe mine uncle.” The quote displays his sanity because anyone who is able to plot this and be able to think that far in advance has to have control over his mind. With the quote being said you can tell he still has a concept of what emotions are and uses it to his advantage, which is something an insane person would be to foolish to comprehend. Later in that scene Hamlet does what he told Horatio and observes King Claudius while he is watching the play. The book then says while the play in being performed and one of the performers pours the poison into the player King’s ear “Claudius stands up” line 248. This shows Hamlet is indeed …show more content…
In this scene Claudius thinks Hamlet is too insane, which is what Hamlet wants him to think. Claudius thought that, his plan was to send Hamlet to England to be killed. However, Hamlet finds the document before getting shipped off and this is another point where he brings out his awareness to what’s going on. In reaction to showing he is secretly sane he takes the letter that says to kill Hamlet and rewrites it. In line 34 of Act 5, Scene 2, the new letter Hamlet wrote had small details incorporated in it stating he had “A baseness to write fair, and labored much, how to forget that learning, but, sir, now it did me yeoman’s service.” This quote says he had put much effort into how he was going to rewrite this by having neat handwriting and overcoming the prejudice. The thought process he took to rewrite the letter was way too complex for someone who 's insane, thus showing he is perfectly normal and stable. In this letter Hamlet wrote, it had instructions saying “That, on the view and knowing of these contents, without debatement further, more or less, he should the bearers put to sudden death, not shriving time allowed.” Many people would first think that’s completely insane: why would you kill your friends. However it’s just part of his intricate plan for vengeance. Hamlet knew what his friends were up to, so in results he
He is mentally disturbed by the thought of his uncle killing his father to the point where he loses touch with sanity. Hamlet is a tragedy that will never have a straightforward answer as to if he faked being crazy or not. My belief is that Hamlet had in fact lost touch with reality. The slow decline of his mental health throughout lead me to believe he did go crazy, even if he might have been faking it at first. After seeing his father’s ghost, I believe he started acting like he had lost his mind to blame his future actions on the fact that he was crazy. I also believe he truly did lose his mind shortly after when he found out about Claudius murdering his
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, we, as readers, increasingly question the sanity of the protagonist, Hamlet, as the play continues. His seemingly psychotic banter with the other characters of the play begins to convince us that Hamlet is, indeed, insane. Hamlet, however, states, “How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself, as I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (1.5.171). He specifically tells Horatio and Marcellus that he will be acting mad, as a front. Hamlet has an exceptional grasp on mental philosophy and the uses and effects of logic, more so than the other characters of the play. Because of this, Hamlet appears insane to others, but in fact remains true to his original statement of simply using an “antic disposition.”
death when his mother and the king enter the room and question him on his
After the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet proclaims that he saw his father’s ghost when he, Horatio and Bernardo were in the forest. The ghost spoke to the trio and apparently told them that Lord Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, now the King, was behind the murder of his father. This troubled Hamlet and at that point he came up with a plan to see whether the ghost’s prophecy was true. A huge part of his plan included him acting insane. “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put on an antic disposition on” (I,I,191). This statement is significant as Hamlet himself ...
To begin with, Hamlet portrays himself as sane. Hamlet sanity can be recognized when mourning for his dead father
In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the main character Hamlet experiences many different and puzzling emotions. He toys with the idea of killing himself and then plays with the idea of murdering others. Many people ask themselves who or what is this man and what is going on inside his head. The most common question asked about him is whether or not he is sane or insane. Although the door seems to swing both ways many see him as a sane person with one thought on his mind, and that is revenge. The first point of his sanity is while speaking with Horatio in the beginning of the play, secondly is the fact of his wittiness with the other characters and finally, his soliloquy.
Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius and finally, the ghost of his. father visits him in the future. Though at this point these situations create plenty of reasons for Hamlet to be insane, he remains sharp and credible. “ [ Hamlet] concocts this state of madness.his intellect remains clear, his discourse. sound and comprehensive,” Harris, p. 129. & nbsp; Hamlet reveals to his friends and his mother of his plans to pretend to act insane.
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.
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.
‘ “To be or not to be” -- “that is the...” soliloquy. “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to...” agree, the question that no one knows. To think, to know, to know perchance to understand, the truth behind it all... ’ Was it, or was it not true that Hamlet was faking his insanity, really suffering, or perhaps even both. First, this is what insanity is; insanity is acting peculiar, but not knowing that they are. Also, it is going through a lot of stresses at the same time causing you to not think straight. Hamlet was not completely suffering from insanity. It wouldn’t make sense.
Justification of Hamlet's Sanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is sane but acts insane to fulfill his destiny of getting vengeance on his father's murderer. We can see this when he talks to Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia, and his mother.
I’m not saying that Hamlet was faking the whole thing. I mean, having your dad die is bad, but to have your mom marry your uncle. Also to see the ghost of your dead dad. That might make you a bit crazy, but not as crazy as everyone thought Hamlet was. If it wasn’t for Hamlet’s insanity, the King would have known that something was wrong with Hamlet, and might have him killed. If Hamlet didn’t act to make the king believe that he was insane, then the King would have seen it and would figure that Hamlet knew the truth.
Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare Hamlet is sane but acts insane to fulfill his destiny of getting vengeance on his father's murderer.
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.
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.