William Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Evaluate whether Hamlet is pretending to be mad, truly mad or a little of both.

Justice? Is it fair to have a human being killed for authority and power? A deep scar inside the heart has been formed after the death of a great personality, forgotten about. It is a life of a man who is in grief and misery because of disclosure and mysterious actions. Feeling revengeful, wanting to kill. Knowing the truth, keeping it secret until the end; the time for a great heartbreak. Is this the nature of a man who is passionate?

Hamlet, one of the most famous plays in the entire English language, explores the revenge tradition of a huge kingdom during the time period of great troubles and wars. Learning that his uncle Claudius killed his father the previous king of Denmark, Hamlet takes into battle vengeance. Retribution can cause anyone to act blindly through anger, rather than through explanation. It is based on the belief of settling the scores, but this principle is not always a clever theory to live by. The way in which Hamlet seeks for revenge is rather mystifying; his family are all affected by the consequences and are shocked to see him acting strangely. A big question remains behind, is Hamlet sane?

For centuries, people have been discussing the topic on whether prince Hamlet was mad. This question is not as simple as it sounds to answer; this is for the reason that there are several point of views to support both sides of the argument. It is easy to believe that Hamlet was certainly mad since his behaviour throughout most of the play is extremely unpredictable and violent. Nevertheless, there is another way to look at his actions; there is support within the play that there was actually a process in his madness, suggesting that he was not mad at all and only pretending to. Through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad but is simply an excellent actor, acting mad in order to fulfill his revenge duty to his father.

Furthermore, Hamlet claims madness because this allows him to say and perform actions he otherwise would be forbidden from. This seems to be part of his initial plan for seeking revenge. His madness allows him to talk to Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and Polonius in a behaviour inappropriate for a prince.

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