The Insanity of Hamlet

1153 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay by hamlet

In the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare the reader gets to see how Hamlet's life pertains to his insanity. “In life of Hamlet as represented by Shakespeare we have a full history of a case of insanity, of a peculiar kind” (Kellogg). “It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane” notes Philip K. Dick. Even though Hamlet is aware in the play there is a side to Hamlet that takes control of him. Though Hamlet often demonstrates awareness; his mind ultimately succumbs to insanity, which brings about his tragic end.
Hamlet is aware while he shows signs of insanity. Hamlet's awareness is being torn away from his body. “Hamlet’s salvation- his awareness of his human failings- comes only with his death” (Boyce 146). Boyce states that Hamlet shows awareness and that it will eventually be the death of him. His awareness drives him into madness. He shows that he is aware but, people do not know that he is crazy. He always knows what is happening and Hamlet also knows about every situation that is put together. The first major situation that Hamlet experiences in the play is where the Claudius had called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to talk to Hamlet.
Claudius. “And can you by no drift of conference
Get from him why he puts on this confusion,
Grating so harshly all his days of quiet
With turbulent and dangerous lunacy?”
Rosencrantz. “He does confess he feels himself distracted,
But from what cause he will by no means speak.”
Guildenstern. “Nor do we find him forward to be sounded,
But with a crafty madness keeps aloof
When we would bring him on to some confession
Of his true state (Shakespeare. III.i.1-10).
Hamlet is aware of the conversation that Claudius is having with Rosencrantz and Guilde...

... middle of paper ...

...insanity does not have to affect their awareness.

Works Cited

Boyce, Charles. William Shakespeare A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York.
Facts On File, Inc. 2005. Print.
Bradley, A.C. “On Hamlet.” Bloom’s Literature. Facts on file, inc. Web. 24 Mar. 2014 www.fofweb.com Greenfield, Sayre N. “Quoting Hamlet in the Early Seventeenth Century.” Bloom’s Literature.
Facts on File, Inc. Web. Mar. 2014 www.fofweb.com
Hassle, Chris. “Hamlets Too,Too Solid Flesh.” Sixteenth Century Journal. 25. 3 (Autumn 1994): 609-622 Jstor. Web. 20 March, 2014.
Kellogg, A.O. Commentary from “Insanity-Illustrated by Histories of Distinguished Men, and by
The Writings of Poets and Novelists.” Bloom’s Literature. Facts on File, Inc. Web. 15 Mar. 2014 www.fofweb.com
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat, et al. New York: Simon and Schuster,
1992. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Hamlet: Insane or In Control

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Tragedy of Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare about a young prince trying to avenge his father’s death. In the beginning of the play, young Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, killed him. Meanwhile Hamlets mother, Gertrude, has gotten married to said uncle. Now it is Hamlet’s job to kill his Uncle-father to avenge his dead father, a task that may prove to daunting for Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Hamlet, the author uses diction and syntax to make Hamlet portray himself as mentally insane when in reality, he is sane thorough the duration of the play, tricking the other characters into giving up their darkest secrets.

    Read More

  • Insanity in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Madness and Insanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet - Investigating Hamlet's Sanity

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    death when his mother and the king enter the room and question him on his

    Read More

  • Hamlet Sanity Analysis

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hamlet: Hamlet's Sanity

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet: Hamlet's Sanity & nbsp; & nbsp;          “Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do. their bounds divide.” Though John Dryden's quote was not made in regard to William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it relates very well to the argument of whether or not Hamlet went insane. When a character such as Hamlet is under scrutiny, it can sometimes be difficult to determine what state he is in at. particular moments in the play.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Insanity

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    Riddled with ambiguity by its very nature, the text of William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been a commonly debated subject in literary circles since its first performance. The character Hamlet undergoes intense physical and emotional hardship in his quest for revenge against his despicable uncle. This hardship, some argue, leads to an emotional breakdown and, ultimately, Hamlet's insanity. While this assessment may be suitable in some cases, it falls short in others. Since Hamlet is a play, the ultimate motivation of each of the characters borrows not only from the text, but also from the motivations of the actors playing the parts. In most respects, these motivations are more apt at discerning the emotional condition of a character than their dialogue ever could. Thus, the question is derived: In Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of Hamlet, does the character Hamlet suffer from insanity? Giving halt to the response, this paper will first endeavor to establish what insanity is and will then provide sufficient examples both from the text, film, and Branagh's own musings on his motivations as proof that Hamlet's character, at least in Branagh's version of the play, is not insane.

    Read More

  • Hamlet- Truly Mad, for Freigned Madness?

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Sanity

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Madness and Insanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet - Both a Sane and Insane Hamlet

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Sanity In Hamlet Analysis

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Hamlet Insanity Essay

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Justification of Hamlet's Sanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1594 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Madness and Insanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet's public persona is a facade he has created to carry out his ulterior motives. The outside world's perception of him as being mad is of his own design. Hamlet is deciding what he wants others to think about him. Polonius, a close confidant of the King, is the leading person responsible for the public's knowledge of Hamlet's madness. The idea that Hamlet is mad centers around the fact that he talks to the ghost of his dead father. He communicates with his dead father's ghost twice, in the presence of his friends and again in the presence of his mother. By being in public when talking to the ghost, the rumor of his madness is given substance.

    Read More

  • Hamlet

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hamlet’s Madness

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about Hamlet going insane and reveals his madness through his actions and dialogue. Hamlet remains one of the most discussed literary characters of all time. This is most likely due to the complex nature of Hamlet as a character. In one scene, Hamlet appears happy, and then he is angry in another and melancholy in the next. Hamlet’s madness is a result of his father’s death which was supposedly by the hands of his uncle, Claudius. He has also discovered that this same uncle is marrying his mom. It is expected that Hamlet would be suffering from some emotional issues as result of these catastrophes. Shakespeare uses vivid language, metaphors, and imagery to highlight how Hamlet’s madness influences several important aspects of his life including his relationships and the way he presents himself.

    Read More

More about The Insanity of Hamlet

Open Document