Sanity In Hamlet

His first words in the play is an aside saying "A little more than kin and less than kind" (Shakespeare. 1.2.64-65). Hamlet is already distrustful of those around him, shown in the way Shakespeare uses an aside. This displays a lack of trust and ability to speak his mind out loud. Due to the death of his father and the quick and untimely coronation of Claudius as the new king, Hamlet becomes hostile and distrustful of the people around him as people tell him to move forward and accept his father 's death, just as they have.

As well as Hamlet is giving clues to Claudius, that Hamlet knows who killed his father. Hamlet asks for a play that gives the same story line to scare his uncle. This is a tactic to send not only Hamlet into insanity but also Claudius. The tactic of the play works Claudius is fearful of what Hamlet knows about the murder of King Hamlet. Prince Hamlet is now fearful of everyone that is proximate to him.

His disheveled look and nearly abusive behavior towards Ophelia when he visits her in her chamber, as well as his out-of-control argument with his mother lead these women and many other characters to believe that Hamlet is crazy. With nearly the entire kingdom against him, his now insane conscious forces Hamlet to contemplate committing suicide several times throughout the play. Although this is never done, Hamlet is still deemed crazy. Through Hamlet’s questionable actions, heart wrenching words, and scattered thoughts, Shakespeare characterizes Hamlet as a suicidal and insane man. Hamlet’s use of sarcasm develops his character into someone who is very bitter about his life, and definitely has the right to be upset about his circumstances.

Furthermore, Hamlet’s misogyny continues as he disrespects his own mother, as he states, “She married—O most wicked speed! To post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets” (1.2.156-57). Despite his uncle Claudius being half the relationship, he continues to solely blame his mother for the act. Hamlet continues to hurt others for no reason, disturbing natural order. Additionally, Hamlet murders people for no good reason.

However, as the story goes on, the pretending to be mad decreases a large amount and it seems that Hamlet is actually becoming insane. In the end, the insane Hamlet is unaware of the chaos and grief he inflicts on himself and everyone he loves. Instead of controlling his mentality, it controls him which results in tragedy and death. The events at the beginning of the play are so tragic that they are enough to drive anyone mad. When he returns home, he discovers that his father is dead and his mother is now married to Claudius, the brother of King Hamlet.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further.

Had Hamlet anticipated the dept of Ophelia's guilt for driving him towards what she believed insanity and her love for Polonius, he might have been able to save her life. While Hamlet is cunning, clever, and well educated, he still posses character flaws that ultimately led to his downfall. His hesitation throughout the play causes miss opportunities to take revenge against Claudius, the death of Polonius, and the revenge and death of Laertes. Likewise to his indecisiveness, Hamlet undergoes an internal battle of religious reasoning and lacks the ability to anticipate the consequences of his actions which results in the deaths of almost all the characters. While Hamlet is not solely to blame for the destruction of the Danish Monarchy, his character flaws cause a ripple effect of disastrous events which leads to death, destruction, and tragedy.

He does this by insulting her and convincing her that he is mad and never had any true feelings for her. "I loved you not" (III; i; 117) "Get thee to a nunnery......Marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them" (III; i; 135-137) Hamlet also kills Polonius (by mistake thinking it was Claudius). Both of these incidents cause Ophelia a great deal of grief and so she kills herself. Hamlet is of course devastated because he never actually meant to hurt her. "I loved Ophelia.

In his soliloquy, Hamlet conveys a tone of worthlessness. He is feeling useless and inept, because the Player has performed a scene with such passion and emotion. Seeing this, Hamlet finds it “monstrous (562)” that he has not yet fulfilled his commitment of avenging his father’s murder. The Player is engorged with emotions over a fictitious character, and Hamlet compares this to his own struggle to find the strength and courage to murder Claudius. This is seen in the lines “ but in a fiction, in a dream of passion, could force his soul to his own conceit…visage wanned, tears in his eyes…(563-566)” and “And all for nothing!

He struggles with indecision and hesitation as well as brash and impulsive decisions. This causes him to not get much of anything done. He desired to avenge his father 's death and kill King Claudius, but he never got revenge over Claudius because he became consumed with proving his uncle 's guilt before acting upon it. This caused Hamlet to be unable to murder Claudius before he died. The standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" is simply intolerable to Hamlet.