Insanity In Hamlet Analysis

Topic 3: An Analysis of Hamlet’s Insanity in “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare

In this drama study, an analysis of the theme of insanity will be defined through a critical and text-based evaluation of Hamlet’s behaviors in “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare. The “ghost scene” in Act I defines the dramatic shift from sanity to insanity as hamlet is informed by his father that Claudius has poisoned him to death and taken his wife, Hamlet’s mother, as his new wife. This supernatural scene defines the underlying madness that hamlet experiences, which transforms him into a psychotic and paranoid individual throughout the rest of the play. This form of psychotic behavior negates the

After the initial visitation of the ghost, hamlet begins to obsess about killing Claudius as part of a new plan to rid the royal court of his father’s murder. More so, he begins to despise his mother for marrying Claudius right after her husband’s death. Hamlet begins to hate his mother just as much as Claudius, which defines the expanded psychosis of the ghost’s message as part of a long term delusional state. This is one aspect of Hamlet’s deteriorating madness that dictates the paranoia that drives him to kill Claudius and shame his mother into

Hamlet’s misinformed and delusional state of mind mistakes Polonius for Claudius, which results in his death. More so Hamlet also induces Ophelia to lose faith in their love, which results in her own suicide. Not only is Hamlet delusional, but he also begins to relentlessly obsess about possible enemies in the royal court. Ophelia’s death is one of the great tragedies of the play, since Hamlet is completely obsessed with the ghost’s message of revenge. This delusional state does not go unseen by Gertrude and Ophelia, as they discuss the “wildness” of Hamlet’s state of