Hamlet: Sane Or Insane In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Sane or Insane - That is the Question How can a person tell if another individual is truly insane or if he/she is just faking insanity? This question is hotly debated through Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. As a part of his plan for revenge against his uncle Claudius, Hamlet pretends to be insane. In this state of mind, Hamlet does not appear to be a threat and avoids arousing the king’s suspicion. Some people believe that Hamlet slips into insanity while he feigns madness; others believe Hamlet remains sane. Even as a depressed actor imitating a state of insanity, Hamlet continues to subtly demonstrate rational behavior throughout the entire play. Depression, some believe, can turn into madness if left untreated. From
After hearing an account about Hamlet’s peculiar behavior from Ophelia, Polonius comes forth as the first to title Hamlet insane (Ham. 2.2.108). The king and the queen take Polonius’ word and never make their own conclusions about Hamlet’s behavior. No one takes the time to realize that Hamlet’s words and actions show intelligence. Also, the majority of the individuals diagnosed as schizophrenic are not violent. Instead, diagnosed individuals tend to display symptoms including a nonsensical way of speaking, feeling indifferent, a change in personality, withdrawal from social situations, an inability to sleep, irrational anger towards loved ones, and bizarre behavior (“Schizophrenia…”). Throughout the play, Hamlet exhibits these symptoms. Some may be due to his depression; but as an actor, he could easily fake many of the symptoms
A more effective method of discerning mental status would benefit more individuals and aid the court system of today’s world, allowing more accurate sentences to be reached. An individual’s mental health determines how others treat that individual. For example, a murderer could plead insanity – as in the case of the Kalamazoo Uber driver shooting – and possibly receive a “lesser” sentence. Hamlet accidentally murders Polonius, but the King doesn’t punish him, partly because he attributes the act of violence to Hamlet’s madness (Ham. 4.1.35). If dangerous criminals can “escape” the law based one’s mental stability, a definitive method for the determination of one’s mental status must be created. In the case of Hamlet, the multiple instances of rational behavior proved to be the crucial separation point between the sane and the insane. A correctly diagnosed individual couldn’t possibly be sane one minute and insane the next, as though on a whim. Hamlet displayed this “crossing over” between the boundaries of mental health and he was proved completely sane, just depressed. The presence of rational behavior is what makes the final judgment on an individual’s

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