Proving that Hamlet Feigned Insanity in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Visualize this: A man is trapped inside a world he never made. This world begins with the conventions of tragedy through fiction. By the end this masterpiece, the flashing, delving presence of his mind and sprit has been transformed. It becomes the real world. In the real world, appearance and reality is a hard thing to differentiate. Appearance "is" reality in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Appearance (insanity) is used as a disguise, an excuse for his free will and a costume for Hamlet. This is proven by the nature of Hamlet's true thought process, why he feigns insanity, and, proof that Hamlet was not crazy.
A reporter asked John Wayne Gacy why he killed over five young boys, he kindly responded, "I forget my logic when I'm asked this question… The only thing I can remember is… the overriding impulse" (Sheperdson 32). Hamlet always thought things through. He never acted on impulse. He never had time to use impulse, he was always thinking. Hurbage suggest that Hamlet suffer from "lymphatic temperament". Apparently this type of person lacks the "energizing temperament to act". It is easier to think then act. Thus the body clogs the aspirations of the mind. He is very intuitive throughout the play. He thinks logically. Witness this in act two with his "What a piece of work…"(Shakespeare 2.2. 327) and the play that he logically plans. Polonius even believes that Hamlet is sane in act two, "…there is method in 't." (Shakespeare 2.2. 223-24). Hamlet treats Polonius like the fool that he is. Never does Hamlet's impulse to kill Polonius come up. He logically plays mind games with Polonius instead. In the famous closet scene with Gertrude, Hamlet asks his mother to keep his act of lunacy a secret. He tells her he is only putting on an "antic disposition" (Shakespeare 3.4. 64-104). She truly believes that he is sane because she decides not to sleep with Claudius. If she had really believed Hamlet was insane she would have thought nothing of Claudius's guilt and slept with him. Lastly, when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive to greet Hamlet (Act 2.2) he is totally normal. But, once he finds out they've come to spy on him he puts on his disguise of "antic disposition" so he won't give himself away. "I am but mad, north, north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (Shakespeare 2.
that they had seen a ghost during the night watch. Hamlet was shocked at the
“I plead guilty by reason of insanity,” is Hamlet’s plea if he was sitting in a modern courtroom. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is evident that Hamlet himself is indeed out of his mind. The reader understands the reason for his anger and frustration, but how he “fixes” the situation is beyond a sane mind. To be fair, his madness deals more with emotional instability referred to as melancholy or madness than a person who is incoherent. Hamlet’s madness becomes clear in his actions and thoughts, in his erratic relationship with Ophelia, and in the murder of Polonius.
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.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, must seek revenge for the murder of his father. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to murder Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet becomes more and more believable in his act, even convincing his mother that he is crazy. However, through his thoughts, and actions, the reader can see that he is in fact putting up an act, he is simply simulating insanity to help fulfil his fathers duty of revenge. Throughout the play, Hamlet shows that he understands real from fake, right from wrong and his enemies from his friends. Even in his madness, he retorts and is clever in his speech and has full understanding of what if going on around him. Most importantly, Hamlet does not think like that of a person who is mad. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to seek revenge for his fathers murder.
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.
In Hamlet, he seems to be mad, but there is a question that everyone asks when reading or watching this play “was it, or was it not true that Hamlet was faking his insanity, really suffering, or maybe even both.” First, this is what insanity is: insanity is acting crazy, but not knowing that they’re acting crazy. Also, it’s going through a lot of stress at the same time causing you to act stranger then a normal person. Hamlet was not totally insane. It doesn’t fit.
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.
The reasoning behind Hamlet’s madness is the investigation that occurs with the cause of his father’s death. As Hamlet recognizes the truth associated with his father’s death, he realizes the death was committed by murder. This is revealed in act one, scene five, as his father’s ghost explains that Claudius poisoned him (1.5.64-80). In addition, the circumstances concerning the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude enhances Halmet’s urge to act mad. When Hamlet encounters his father through the figure of a ghost, Hamlet reveals his sanity: “Here, as before, never, so help you mercy/ How strange or off so ever I bear myself/ As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on” (1.5.187-190). Hamlet describes his madness to be an act, to put on a show. This madness allows for Hamlet to advance his intention of finding out the truth behind his father's death. As Hamlet presents this form of madness, it allows him to advance his plan on killing his stepfather, Claudius. Claudius believes that Hamlet is mad, although he does not know the reason for why he is mad. This allows for Hamlet to create a plan to kill Clausius without many questions being asked. In act two, Hamlet admits that he can alter his madness: “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from handsaw” (2.2.390-391). With this information, the suggestion is that Hamlet is clever in the way he acts. During the beginning of the play, some of the characteristics of Hamlet are identified. The explanation of Hamlet being a student and attending university provides the audience with information that as a character, Hamlet has an abundance of knowledge. As Hamlet conducts his form of madness and the plan for the death of Claudius, his intelligence characteristics are displayed. The act of a madman creates successful opportunities for Hamlet as other characters reveal
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.
Then there is the. And finally, Hamlet appears to be mad and insane, but really. He is using his madness to hide his intentions of seeking justice for his father's murder, and his death. The question of appearance versus reality is one. of most significance in philosophy.
During parts of the play one can argue, Hamlet is no longer feigning madness and has already crossed onto the side of insanity. For instance, during his meeting with his mother in her bedchamber, he begins to yell at her, scaring her in the process causing her to believe her own son is about to kill her (III, iv, 22). In that same scene he stabs and kills Polonius without the slightest hesitation (III, iv, 24-26), and then he essentially mocks Claudius and plays games with him when asked where he has taken the body. However, one can also conclude his erratic behavior only surfaces in the presence of these specific characters. When in the presence of other characters, specifically Horatio he is sane, calm, rational, and in complete control of his behavior. His word exchanges with Horatio are not from a madman, but rather
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,
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character, Hamlet, is often perceived by the other characters in the play as being mentally unbalanced because he acts in ways that drive them to think he is mad. Hamlet may very well be psychotic; however, there are times when he “feigns insanity” in order to unearth the truth surrounding his father's death. This plan seems to be going well until Hamlet's mental state slowly begins to deteriorate. What began as an act of insanity or antic disposition transitions from an act to a tragic reality. After studying Hamlet's actions, one will notice that as the play progresses, his feigned insanity becomes less and less intentional and devolves into true mental illness.
As the play progressed, young Hamlet became victim to the insanity he first feigned. Not only did it bring the death of others, but it eventually killed Hamlet, too. Often, what people set out feigning at first, will, in the end, become them. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this could never be more true.