Insanity In Hamlet

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince Hamlet serves as one of the most multi-faceted characters in the entire play with critics deeming his personality “paradoxical”. Ultimately, Hamlet provides the audience with the epitome of internal contrast and instability by rapidly transitioning between periods of caution and rash action, introversion and extroversion and calculation and spontaneity. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s character is characterized both by periods of extreme caution and moments of impulsivity. One of the best examples of Hamlet’s heed can be found in Act 2, Scene 2 where he decides to have his theatre troupe perform his play, The Mousetrap. With this, Hamlet hopes that he will be able to “catch the conscience of the King,” by monitoring

Hamlet’s strategic, cunning nature is best displayed in his decision “to put an antic disposition on,” (Act One, Scene Five) as well as in his plan to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern murdered in place of himself. Ultimately, Hamlet’s resolve to feign madness is the true highlight of his craftiness, as he acts increasingly mad in an attempt to prevent Claudius and the rest of the royal court of Denmark from realizing his mission to kill his uncle. This strategic move though, ultimately backfires on Hamlet, as his ruthless scheming eventually results in the suicide of Ophelia, who he claims to have loved dearly. With this in mind, Hamlet’s calculating ways, and his decision to give priority to his vengeful chess game over Ophelia’s needs and sanity, also force the reader to question whether he ever truly did love her at all. Hamlet’s methodical, Machiavellian perspective is again seen in his scheme to send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths as he states, “they did make love to this employment, they are not near my conscience, their defeat does by their own insinuation grow.” In this declaration, Hamlet is essentially denying any feelings of remorse, stating that the fate of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was of their own doing. When considering this, along with Hamlet’s decision to, essentially, verbally abuse Ophelia to

However, upon closer inspection, the presence of so many seemingly independent contrasts carry much greater meaning. Ultimately, when considered as a whole, Hamlet’s conflicting personality traits serve to emphasize the considerable internal conflict he is suffering, which in some ways, eventually allows him to fall vulnerable to the development of his madness. This is incredibly relevant as Hamlet’s fall from “putting on an antic disposition” to genuinely suffering true insanity, is a turning point of the play as it showcases the unraveling of Hamlet’s character as one of the most notable instances of the unintended damage that often comes with revenge. Ultimately, though, while Hamlet’s nature is seemingly absurd and self-contradictory on the surface, such differences intertwine on a deeper level to form a consistent narrative. Hamlet’s caution and impulsivity are linked by the fact that Hamlet extensively searches for caution after he feels his impulsivity has rendered him morally vulnerable. His introversion and extroversion find common ground in the reality that Hamlet only shows concern with affairs outside of himself when he perceives them to somehow relate to his personal concerns. Finally, Hamlet’s calculation and spontaneity are united by the prevailing theme that no matter whether or not he intends to, Hamlet’s thirst for revenge ultimately