Hamlet's Sanity
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.
Hamlet only claims madness because it allows him to say and perform actions he otherwise would be prohibited from, while keeping people from taking his actions seriously. This seems to be part of his initial plan that is first mentioned when he asks Horatio and Marcellus not to make any remarks in relation to his ?antic disposition (1.5.192).? Hamlet?s madness allows him to talk to Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and Polonius in a manner unsuitable for a prince. He is often disrespectful and insulting in his remarks. Although his acting backfires during his speech to Gertrude, Hamlet is able to severely criticize her for her actions because she thinks he is insane. During the play he also makes many sexual innuendos and even blatantly sexual remarks towards Ophelia such as ?That?s a fair thought to lie between maids? legs (3.2.125).? His convincing insanity act gives him the chance to vent his anger towards Ophelia for her abandonment.
Similarly, in another scene, he is able to tell Polonius his true feelings through his guise. Upon Polonius deciding to ?take leave? of Hamlet, Hamlet replies, ?You cannot, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal (2.2.233).? Furthermore, Hamlet uses his madness as almost an excuse, and definitely part of his apology, towards Laertes for his murdering of Polonious. Would a madman be able realize he was mad and call his actions uncontrollable? Were it not for his ?madness? he would have been reprimanded rather than feared, pitied, or ignored. Hamlet?s madness redirects attention away from what he is thinking about his father?s death, and puts it on why he has gone insane. This allows only himself to know what he is truly thinking, does not require him to answer any questions as to why he might be acting strange, a...
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...th him in case he is biased. A madman would not have had the foresight, reason, or possibly even care, to think in this very organized fashion. Even when questioning whether ?to be or not to be (3.1.64)? Hamlet is sane in his thinking. He measures the ?pros and cons? of his situation, and although at this point he appears mad to most everyone, he is most definitely sane in thought.
Hamlet can be considered no worse than an eccentric, determined, and possibly single-minded man, who was made so by his father?s murder and his request for revenge. His feigned madness is maintained because it allows him to continue with his plans. This madness is not, however, sustained when guard is unnecessary. Maybe Hamlet thought too much, but he thought as a sane man would. He commits no actions without reason, and he is far too astute and organized to be proclaimed mentally unstable. Hamlet?s portrayal of a madman is also very complex because it allows not only his points to be made, but in a believably insane way, which contrasts greatly with the expected ramblings of a truly insane person.
Bibliography:
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1992.
If Hamlet were truly mad, he would not have been able to give such a guileless and processed response.... ... middle of paper ... ... Hamlet’s feigned insanity was all part of his overall scheme to avenge his father, King Hamlet.
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet undergoes a transformation from sane to insane while fighting madness to avenge his father’s death. The material that Shakespeare appropriated in writing Hamlet is the story of a Danish prince whose uncle murders the prince’s father, marries his mother, and claims the throne. The prince pretends to be feeble-minded to throw his uncle off guard, then manages to kill his uncle in revenge. Shakespeare changed the emphasis of this story entirely, making Hamlet a philosophically minded prince who delays taking action because his knowledge of his uncle’s crime is so uncertain. To begin with, Hamlet portrays himself as sane.
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.
...on the matter, that Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet is most certainly of sound mind. He appears insane merely as an act to throw his would-be enemies off his trail and suffers the same pangs of despair any sane person would in his situation. Branagh has clearly put significant effort into the part, and his portrayal is evident of nothing less.
...ind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles...With this regard, their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action (Act III, Scene I, 58-89)." The difficulty and the amount of issues addressed within this soliloquy give us a good look within his mind. This shows that Hamlet is sane in his thinking. He measures the good and bad of his situation, and although at this point he appears mad to most everyone, he is most definitely sane in thought.
...l, those who truly believe in Hamlet’s madness have died, and the rest are either in cahoots with him, or plotting to kill him. In the Zefferelli film, Hamlet behaves foolishly because he is playing to the crowd. There are no textual allusions to madness. He is sound of mind and clear-headed; as soon as his mother dies, he springs into action and suddenly kills Claudius. Therefore, Hamlet, though he fears for his own sanity at first, eventually turns his alleged madness to his own advantage and succeeds at his task of revenge. Hamlet is an everyman character who must use his dramatic conflict to help define himself. He emerges from his strife not as a madman or ineffectual pawn, but as a hero can act for his own and his country’s safety. The tragedy is that, even though Hamlet succeeds at revenge, he must sacrifice his own life and with it, his country falls.
Many people question the psychological condition of the character Hamlet in the sixteenth century play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. One of the reasons that the mental health of hamlet is in question by many people is the result of hamlet's actions as well as his reactions to events that occur during the play. Some people argue that the character Hamlet is insane, while others may argue that his insanity can be justified by several means such as his need for justice of his father's murder. However, Hamlet's need for justice or revenge does not necessarily justify Hamlet's behavior in the play. In addition, Hamlet's behavior falls into several categories of insanity such as shizophrenia. Therefore, there are many ways in which it can be proven that hamlet may truly be insane.
Logan Gaertner Mrs. Amon English IV 1 March 2014 Is Hamlet’s Insanity Real? Is Hamlet truly insane? While the play is not extremely clear on the matter and often contradicts itself, many of Hamlet’s wild ramblings and words of nonsense seem to be not the true words of a madman. Hamlet says that he is merely “putting on an antic disposition” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 181). He admits very early on in the play that his insanity will be nothing more than a ruse to fool those around him.
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 play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, the unclear representation of the protagonist’s actions is present. The protagonist, Hamlet, conducts the idea that he is turning mad. Although, there are many indications which support that this so-called “madness” is part of an act that Hamlet portrays. The other characters within the play try to understand the reasoning behind Hamlet’s madness, but cannot figure out the truth behind it. The main cause of Hamlet’s madness is the realization of his father’s death and the numerous influences his father’s death has on his life. Hamlet can control his actions of madness and specifically acts differently around certain characters. The characters who are more concerned
...encumbered thus, or this headshake, or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase, as ‘Well, well, we know,’ or ‘We could an if we would,’ or ‘If we list to speak,’ or ‘There be an if they might,’ or such ambiguous giving-out, to note that you know aught of me-this do swear, so grac and mercy at your most need help you.". This quote is supported with Hamlet’s actions; when Hamlet is around he is in around certain characters. When he is around Polonius, Claudius! Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern he acts crazy. However when he is around his friends, Horatio, Bernardo, The Players and the Grave Diggers, he acts quite sane. Even King Claudius confesses that Hamlet’s is sane when he says "...His affections do not that way tend; Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, was not like madness. There’s something in his soul...." [II, i, 176-178] Even though Polonius accuses Hamlet of being mad he also admits that Hamlet’s actions and words have a meaning this is shown when he says "Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t...."[II, ii, 222-224] Hamlet also admits that he is not mad to his mother he states "...That essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft."
The theme of madness is broad, the word itself has many different definitions. In the play the only definition of madness is said by Polonius, “To define true madness, What is’t but to be nothing else but mad?” (II, ii, 93-94). In this quote Polonius defines madness as taking over your thoughts that you cannot focus on the things around you only the madness itself. This would mean that to go mad breaks you off from reality causing the person to not function as they had. As said in Emily Dickinson's quote pertaining to madness can also be faked to gain different benefits. This theme is prominently seen through the characters Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet puts on a persona of madness after the ghost tells him of his father’s true murder, to make certain that no one figures out what he is trying to do. This persona helps Hamlet to figure out if Claudius actually killed his father or if the ghost was trying to trick Hamlet. This persona had tricked both Claudius and Polonius into thinking he was mad. In contrast there were times where it had seemed that he was mad such as act three during his confrontation with Ophelia. During this confrontation Hamlet dragged
Hamlet’s so called friends and family all thought that Hamlet had gone mad and was in the wrong about many things. Hamlet may have done crazy things at times, but was he truly senseless? Some things can be argued to a point, but this topic is not one. You could argue if Hamlet was truly sane or insane for a long long time. There is enough textual evidence for people to go through three times and still find new evidence from the story supporting either point. Although, I believe Hamlet was not mad. I think he was not mentally insane because his Uncle, Claudius, killed King Hamlet, he had a lot going on amid Ophelia and his friends, and he was deciding the variety of options he had to make.
Only a few acts later, he murders Polonius in cold blood, and has no reaction, saying ‘I took thee for thy better’ (L.34) suggesting how he mistook Polonius for the King. In contrast Hamlet spends most of the time, thinking and not acting; it could be considered strange behaviour that he should suddenly react in this way. It can be argued that these, are not the actions of a sane person, and the question of to what extent is Hamlet’s madness is feigned. The OED defines ‘Mad’ as when ones actions are ‘uncontrolled by reason or judgement; foolish, unwise’ which can be argued to encompass Hamlets behaviour, and it might be thought that from Polonius’s murder,
...ing madness to sanity are reminiscent of a bi-polar disorder such as manic depression. It is possible that Hamlet put on his antic disposition to allow himself freedom from the usual constraints and etiquette of the court so that he could use different means to discover Claudius' guilt without being discovered himself. Or his feigned madness may have been a reaction to the stress of his predicament, because in doing so he frees himself from having to make decisions on courses of action and he effectively becomes a spectator in the running of his own life.