Hamlet Essays On Madness

Hamlet Madness Analysis
One of the most controversial arguments about William Shakespeare's Hamlet is whether Hamlet,
indeed, went insane or if his madness was no more than an act. Proof for the latter is given in several
instances throughout the play; Hamlet undeniably kept his sanity intact. Loved ones of Hamlet
insinuate that he is not mad. Hamlet himself justifies that his mental state is sound. Shakespeare also
shows what he believes is the true definition of madness in the character Ophelia, not Hamlet. Even
though Hamlet's disposition seems as that of a madman, statements of others around him,
declarations from Hamlet himself, and contrasts between Ophelia and Hamlet prove otherwise.
Amid his feigning of madness, several individuals suspect that Hamlet truly is sane; encounters with
Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius show that Hamlet's rather false insanity is possibly discovered.
Claudius, of course, pays very close attention to every move Hamlet makes. After all, Claudius did
kill his father and marry his mother shortly thereafter. When Hamlet begins his mad behavior the
king states, "...what he spake, though it lack'd form a little, / Was not like madness. There's
something in his soul..." (56). King Claudius believes that even though Hamlet is acting differently,
he is not mad. He specifically states that what Hamlet says is not like madness at all, yet he feels as
though there is something else within Hamlet's soul that is bothering him. Upon Claudius and
Polonius informing Gertrude of what they believe is the source of Hamlet's behavior, Gertrude
reminds them "...that it is no other but the main: his father's death and our [Gertrude and Claudius]
o'erhasty marriage" (35). Thus, both Hamlet's "uncle–father and aunt–mother" declare their son sane
and decide that something else is making him act oddly apart from madness (44). Even though
Polonius says that Hamlet is mad, he comments "...yet there is method in't" to suggest that even
though Hamlet may be crazy, perhaps there is a reason behind it (39). Polonius also suggests that
Hamlet has a way with words and reflects on "how pregnant sometimes his replies are..." (39). He
suggests heavily that perhaps Hamlet is only putting on madness to carry out a plan or a
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Madness In Hamlet Research Paper
Harley Arps
Dr. Palla/ Professor Morgan
Hamlet Essay
10 November 2015
Methods to Madness "Tho this be madness, yet there is method in 't"(Act 2 Scene 2, Hamlet) This is
potentially one of the most important lines in the play, Hamlet. Polonius is foreseeing that Hamlet is
faking madness. Even Polonius, The dullest brained character, to notice that hamlet was maybe not
actually crazy. There is evidence of method to madness in this play. There is a reason Shakespeare
includes madness in the play, the causes of madness, how it affects others, and ultimately what it
does to people in the end. Madness is a theme present in Shakespeare's classic tragedy Hamlet. It is
mostly found in the plays main protagonist, Hamlet, but can also be seen in Ophelia, another
supportive character. Madness is presented throughout the whole play from beginning to end. "Here,
as before, never, so help you mercy, How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, As I perhance hereafter
shall think meet to put an antic disposition on,"(Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet) Act I scene 5 is an
introduction to Hamlets sanity. When Hamlet encounters the ghost important details about his father
death are revealed, the audience finds out who killed...show more content...
This metaphor points out that Hamlet is not as mad as people think he is, it tells us that he is
smart enough to tell the fine distinctions. This phrase also relates to the fact that Hamlet is
confused and reflects on his inner conflicts and madness. When Hamlet overhears Claudius
confessing to the murder of Hamlets father he does not seek revenge at that point. Claudius is
confessing his sins which means that he will have a purified soul so Hamlet delays the killing of
Claudius because he has invoked himself in a problem of knowledge. Now that hamlet knows
Claudius is guilty he seeks a more sufficient and violent revenge. This brutal and cruel train of
thought leads back to his

Hamlet's Madness in William Shakespeare's Hamlet
At any given moment during the play, the most accurate assessment of Hamlet's state of mind
probably lies somewhere between sanity and insanity. Hamlet certainly displays a high degree of
mania and instability throughout much of the play, but his "madness" is perhaps too purposeful and
pointed for us to conclude that he actually loses his mind. His language is erratic and wild, but
beneath his mad–sounding words often lie acute observations that show the sane mind working
bitterly beneath the surface. Most likely, Hamlet's decision to feign madness is a sane one, taken to
confuse his enemies and hide his intentions. On the other hand, Hamlet finds...show more content...
Hamlet speaks these lines after enduring the unpleasant scene at Claudius and Gertrude's court, then
being asked by his mother and stepfather not to return to his studies at Wittenberg but to remain in
Denmark, presumably against his wishes. Here, Hamlet thinks for the first time about suicide
(desiring his flesh to "melt", and wishing that God had not made "self–slaughter" a sin), saying that
the world is "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable." In other words, suicide seems like a desirable
alternative to life in a painful world, but Hamlet feels that the option of suicide is closed to him
because it is forbidden by religion. Hamlet then goes on to describe the causes of his pain,
specifically his intense disgust at his mother's marriage to Claudius. He describes the haste of their
marriage, noting that the shoes his mother wore to his father's funeral were not worn out before her
marriage to Claudius. He compares Claudius to his father (his father was "so excellent a king" while
Claudius is a bestial "satyr"). As he runs through his description of their marriage, he touches upon
the important motifs of misogyny, crying, "Frailty, thy name is woman"; incest, commenting that his
mother moved "[w]ith such dexterity to incestuous sheets"; and the ominous omen the marriage
represents for

Essay on Hamlet Madness Analyzed
Gabrielle Donofrio
February 16, 2012
AP Literature
Free Response
2001. One definition of madness is "mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it." But
Emily Dickinson wrote "Much madness is divinest sense to a discerning eye." Novelists and
playwrights have often seen madness with a "discerning eye". Select a novel or play in which as
character's apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role. Then write a
well–organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of
and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the "madness" to the work as a
whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. It is safe to say that many of Shakespeare's plays have
some sort of...show more content...
It was no longer an act. Ophelia was warned by her father, Polonius and her brother, Laertes to stay
away from Hamlet, however, she denied their warnings. There were many attempts for Ophelia to
get away from Hamlet, yet none of them worked and Ophelia wound up dying, most likely as a
suicide. Hamlet's madness drove Ophelia mad as well and it became the downfall of her as well
as many other characters in the play. While it is true that Hamlet was merely playing the role of
someone who had gone mad, many people may say that Hamlet's madness was brought upon
himself simply by the fact that he was trying to fulfill the orders from his dead father yet couldn't
because of his lack of acting upon a plan. It is strongly possible that Hamlet became extremely
frustrated because every chance he got to expose Claudius and capture him in this enormous
secret, he failed to do so. Therefore, Hamlet's madness could be judged as reasonable but most
likely for different reasons than one may think. Rather than going mad over the concrete facts that
his father died and his mother remarried his uncle less than two months afterwards, he drove
himself mad over his own flaws. Hamlet's tragic flaw absolutely led to his tragic downfall as a

Madness In Hamlet Essay
Hamlet was one of the most interesting works of Shakespeare. One of the themes that appear in
several characters is madness. It shows how the mind of characters acts in different circumstances of
their life and how in some cases is used to deceive others. Some of the characters who demonstrate
this theme are Hamlet, the main character, Laertes and Ophelia. Considering Hamlet, he was not
crazy, he acts in this way in order to take revenge of his father, and he knows he wanted for this
reason, in some cases his insanity was questioned because if he could prepare a plan and in this
moment he demonstrates sanity. Besides, Hamlet shows a truly upset when his father death but
some behaviors towards his mother and with Ophelia can illustrate...show more content...
He had more than one reason to kill hamlet. Mentioning Ophelia, she was another of the characters
that show madness, but I considering that her insanity was the most real. She develops different
variations of madness according to some moments of her life. One of the case was the tragic father
'death, this moment was devastated for her, it was evidence when she song about the "barker
daughter",in relation with Ophelia'hatred. Another evidence is the loss of love, she sings about
valentne'days "To–morrow is Saint Valentine's day/All in the morning be time/And I a maid at your
window/To be your Valentine" (IV.v.46
–49), she references to the love she had for Hamlet. Therefore
Ophelia develops her madness to express that she was unable to cope with her losses. In conclusion,
considering all the characters within the play, Ophelia was the character that was affected by a true
insanity, whereas Laertes and Hamlet madness was affected by revenge. However, I believe that all
the characters have a thing in common, their insanity was mainly caused by a devastated lost in their
lives and their actions had important influences on the

Crazy as a Hamlet?
Perhaps the world's most famous mental patient, Hamlet's sanity has been argued over by countless
learned scholars for hundreds of years. As a mere student of advanced–level English Literature, I
doubt I can add anything new to the debate in 2000 words, but I can look at the evidence supporting
or dispelling each argument and come to my own conclusion.
Hamlet is obviously experiencing grief and despair right from the beginning of the novel, with the
death of his father and his uncle's seizure of the throne and rapid wedding of Hamlet's mother, and
we can observe his great grief bordering on irrational suicidal tendencies as early as Act II Sc I,
where he gives his first soliloquy. He cries:
"O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the
Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self–slaughter!"
Macbeth wants his flesh to dissolve into a dew ("solid" contrasting with "melt" in the first line), and
wishes that God had not forbade suicides from going to heaven. This is also the first glimpse of
another recurring theme in the play, that of Hamlet's unhealthy obsession with the afterlife. This is
one of the reasons that the ghost of his father has such an effect on him, which is a trigger for all the
subsequent events in the play.
Moving on to the fourth scene, the next interesting speech is on l. 23. It is a long and complicated
speech, but its general gist is that if a

The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare can be interpreted in many different ways due to its
ambiguous nature. This causes for conflicting arguments and theories to be held throughout the play.
One argument is whether or not Prince Hamlet is overwhelmed with madness or he uses it as a
persona in order to give others a false perception of him.
On the one hand, proponents argue that Hamlet uses his proposed madness in order to lead people
to believe that he is not capable of action towards anyone by claiming that there is structure in the
way he acts, telling others that he is not mad, fulfilling his quest set out by his dead father.
On the other hand, opponents contend that because Hamlet was hesitant in his actions throughout
the play and claimed to believe in matter not seen by anyone else, he truly had not the mental
capability to be sane in any of his actions and that they be reactive at most.One such example of
this can be shown by how he had blindly killed polonius with no previous knowledge of him being
in the same room as he was at the time showing his reactive nature.
Therefore Hamlet is not mad As the words spoken by him prove his antic disposition by using his
perceived madness to eventually fulfill the quest sent out by the late King Hamlet and cleanse the
state of Denmark.
Admittedly, in act III scene four the interaction between the ghost and Hamlet makes it appear as if
he were mad. Hamlet speaks to the ghost of King Hamlet for why he has visited him and his future
actions against Claudius in which the Queen responds with, "Alas, he's mad" (I.iv.121). She say this
as when hamlet asks her about the presence of the ghost she sees "Nothing at all" (I.iv.151). This
demonstrates that Hamlet is in grief over the death of his father and is believing that the presence of
the ghost is real, even though through the eyes of others, he is not real. Although the presence of the
ghost allows for Hamlet to have justification for his actions towards Claudius.
However as seen as mad by the Queen, this is not the case. Again in act III scene four, hamlet is
speaking to his mother on the matter of the ghost in which the Queen still strongly believes in the
fact that Hamlet is mad. Instead of trying to acquit this,

Hamlet Essay The theme in Hamlet is that disloyalty and betrayal drives people to madness.
Basically, all of the main characters have gone mad in this story in their own ways. They have all
been betrayed or have betrayed someone. The madness spreading was like a domino effect. Someone
would do something to hurt the next person. It all started with Claudius and King Hamlet. King
Hamlet was the King of Denmark and Claudius was his brother. To gain power, Claudius killed his
brother and took the throne. He then married his sister in law,Gertrude, soon after. Claudius tells
everyone that there is no need to mourn over the king, saying "Though yet of Hamlet our dear
brother's death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief, and our
whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe,Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature
That we with wisest sorrow think on him Together with remembrance of ourselves" Hamlet
(I.IV.1–7), upsetting Hamlet even more. Claudius ends up going mad from the guilt eating him
alive from killing his own brother. He says "O, what form of prayer Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me
my foul murder?' That cannot be; since I am still possess'd Of those effects for which I did the
murder ––My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen" Hamlet(III, iii, 55–58). Hamlet continues
the madness by "acting" mad; "How strange or odd some'er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter
shall think meet To put an antic disposition on)
Hamlet (I.V.190–192). He did this to fool the other characters into thinking that he was harmless and
didn't know much of anything. This took the attention off of him. By acting mad Hamlet finds out
Claudius's involvement in his father's death. He plans a play called The Mouse Trap to "Catch the
conscious of the King" Hamlet(II.ii.586). Later in the play, acting mad begins to actually drive
Hamlet mad.
Hamlet also constantly sees his father's ghost, making others think that he really went crazy. In the
beginning of the play, Ophelia's actions toward him have an effect on Hamlet. The person that he
loved just turned on him. Claudius had a lot of involvement in Hamlet's madness. Claudius killed his
father, took his spot on the throne and married his mother

Hamlet Madness In Hamlet
When reading Shakespeare's Hamlet as a class, the first thing that most teachers or professors point
out is the argument/idea of sanity, specifically Hamlet's sanity. I believe that Hamlet is, in fact,
feigning his madness. What I do not know is if I believe this because it is what I was taught or if I
came up with the idea myself based on my own interpretation. When I was taught Hamlet there was
no argument it was just fact that he was faking his madness. Because of my confusion, I came to find
that it may be interesting take out of the play any moment in which Hamlet makes the audience
aware that he is only pretending that to be mad. I want to take out any proof that his madness isn't
real. The argument for legitimate madness is always...show more content...
In choosing to believe the ghost, he decides that he must seek revenge on his father's murderer
and will allow nothing to get in his way. From this moment on, Hamlet heads in a downward
spiral and we can track him losing his mind if we just erase the lines that express his plan to act
like his is doing so. These cuts begin from the moment when Hamlet says that he is going "To put
an antic disposition on" (Act I Scene V). Taking out this one line could change the play entirely.
Most of the lines in which he speaks of this part of his revenge plot following his original
declaration of it are moments in which he is attempting to explain that he isn't actually insane. By
removing this one, small line we effectively make it easier to argue that his madness isn't a part of
his plot but it is an actual part of him. Without having concrete proof before the madness starts that
it is, in fact, planned how are we as an audience supposed to trust him? Removing this line makes
it so that the readers, and the other characters, are entirely unaware of this part of his plan. He acts
mad for a while before he mentions again that this is his plan. The next time Hamlet discloses the
part of his revenge plan is when he is speaking to Guildenstern in Act II Scene II, and tells him that
his "uncle–father and aunt–mother are deceived" and then clarifies

Madness In Hamlet Research Paper
Throughout the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet displays madness.
Hamet claims to be feigning madness throughout the play, but the question is, is he really faking it,
or has he really gone mad? It is really rather difficult to say whether in fact Hamlet has actually gone
mad or if he is just an excellent actor. But the fact of the matter is that Hamlet seems to be feigning
his madness in order to catch Claudius red handed for the murder of King Hamlet. The theme of
madness begins in Hamlet in Act one of the play, after Hamlet sees theghost of his father for the first
time and discovers that Claudius poisoned his father, Hamlet is talking to Horatio and Marcellus
when he says "Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, how strange or odd soe'er I bear myself––
as I perchance, hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on..."...show more content...
When he is talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He says, "I am but mad north–north–west;
when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (p 48 ll. 307–308). In this line he seems
to be telling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he may be mad, but he knows what they are up to.
He knows that they are spying on him. Slightly later on in that scene, Hamlet's act of madness
continues when he tells Polonius, "O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure hadst thou!" (pg49
11. 330–331). Here, Hamlet is comparing Polonius to Jephthah from the Bible, Jephthah, had to
sacrifice his daughter in the book of Judges. Here what Hamlet is saying may be considered mad,
but it could also be considered that what he is saying is just mean. That could also be said when
he calls Polonius a fishmonger in act one. In act three, Hamlet also admits to his mother that he is
not really mad. He says, ".. That I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft." (p 84 11.
188–189). Here Hamlet, again, is admitting that he is not actually crazy, but he is just putting on an

HamletвЂ™s Madness
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...show more content...
He still does not state why, but his friends agree that they will not discuss the ghost no matter how
Hamlet behaves. As they exit, Hamlet expresses grief over the fact that he has to "set it right".
His friends do not know what it is, but the readers do because of Hamlet's dialogue with the ghost.
The antic disposition scene is often used to argue that Hamlet was not mad. Researchers like
Rahman and Abbad study communication in literature. In their paper, the state that Hamlet was
flouting the maxim when he said that he was going to put on an antic disposition. They state that
Hamlet is basically saying that he is going to fake his madness though he is doing so indirectly
(Rahman & Abbas, 55). However, it may be possible that Hamlet was not mad in this scene or his
madness may not have been as intense. Tenney suggests that Hamlet's madness may not have been
as intense in the beginning of the play, but it intensified as the play progressed (Tenney, 632). It
becomes clearer that Hamlet is truly mad as the play progresses because his madness begins to
affect some of his most valuable relationships. One of the

Hamlet, Madness or Sanity Essay
Hamlet, Madness or Sanity
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is about a young prince who wants revenge when he learns about
the murder of his father. As the play begins, Hamlet's character appears to be a normal, sane person.
Moving through the acts Hamlet's personality changes from normal to depressed. There are hints of
insanity that try to convince people Hamlet is "mad". Others might say that Hamlet is faking
madness to pursue his goal of revenge. First, he sees a "ghost" that tells Hamlet who killed his
father and married his mother. Was this a dream or was this real? Second, Hamlet kills more than
one person to avenge his father's death. Where these accidents or intentional? "Insanity: a legal term
for mental illness of such degree...show more content...
"Mood disorder: although Hamlet worries a lot, he doesn't avoid situations that cause him to worry.
He confronts the ghost of his father as it appears before him. Also, he presents two symptoms
namely restlessness or feeling on the edge and irability." (Character Analysis of Hamlet,
Psychological Disorders, Sept. 22, 2012).
The next area that questions Hamlet's sanity is that of deaths though out the story. Polonius, who
is hiding in Queen Gertrude's room, is stabbed through the drapes by Hamlet because he thought
it was the King. This might have been an accident, but Hamlet's irrational behavior leads us to
believe he is becoming impulsive and unforgiving. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are executed in
England by Hamlet's clever idea to change the name on the death warrant. Here is where Hamlet
displays signs of rational thinking to save his own life. Hamlet stabs Claudius with a poisoned
sword and forces a poison drink down his throat (Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 5 Scene 2 page 1105),
his ultimate revenge. Then, with the same poisoned sword that was prepared to kill him, Hamlet
cuts Laertes and he dies. (Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 5 Scene 2 page 1105). Hamlet's total change in
personality makes him appear to be "mad" at this point. All forms of sanity are now gone and any
plot he had to avenge his father's death resulted on chaos and his own death.
The final area that leads people to believe Hamlet might

Hamlet's Madness Essay
Hamlet's Madness
Is Hamlet Mad? Not Likely. Madness is a condition of the mind which eliminates all rational thought
leaving an individual with no proper conception of what is happening around him/her. Madness
typically occurs in the minds of individuals that have experienced an event or series of events that
their mind simply cannot cope with and, thus, to avoid their harsh reality, they fall into a state of
madness. In William Shakespeare's masterpiece Hamlet, there is much debate around the protagonist,
Hamlet, and whether or not his madness in the play was real or feigned. It was a disastrous time in
the prince, Hamlet's life as his father had just passed away, his uncle then took the kingship and wed
Hamlet's mother, then the...show more content...
His feigned madness permitted Hamlet to express these emotions freely towards Ophelia: "...Get
thee to a nunnery, / farewell. Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a / fool; for wise men know well
enough what monsters / you make of them..." (3.1.138–41). It was also important for Hamlet to be
so vulgar towards Ophelia because it would not have been possible for him to continue being a
caring loving boyfriend while attempting to avenge his father's death. Lastly, by pretending to be
mentally disturbed, it provided Hamlet with an excuse for any sinful deeds he would commit on
his pursuit of revenge. Hamlet exemplifies this conception as he seeks for Laertes forgiveness for
murdering his father Polonius: "If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, / And when he's not himself
does wrong Laertes, / Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. / Who does it then? His madness..."
(5.2.230–33). Hamlet's pursuit of the truth and revenge was much better accompanied by madness
rather than sanity which gave Hamlet a clear motive to fabricate insanity in the play. In the midst of
Hamlet's supposed madness, the prince continues to speak rationally with certain individuals as well
as maintain sensible and logical thoughts. This idea is depicted through his conversations with his
good friend Horatio who is assisting Hamlet in his search for the truth behind Old Hamlet's death.
For example, before the

Madness And Madness In Hamlet
"Hamlet, a revenge tragedy, is about Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, trying to figure out the mist
behind his father's death. By talking to his father's ghost, Hamlet realizes that his father, King
Hamlet, was killed by his own uncle, Claudius" (Kara 2). Throughout the play, the theme of
madness often occurs from multiple characters. Madness can be defined as a mental disability or a
pathological condition of the mind eliminating all rational thoughts caused by an unthinkable injury.
These injuries could sometimes be hard to understand, but they can occur in a time of major stress
or despair. For example, "there is a psychological loss in Hamlet's mind in which he plans to bring
justice by taking his revenge" (Yucel 5).
He has been in a...show more content...
In other words, he is going to pretend that he is insane. Hamlet was not actually insane; it was just
a maneuver to seek revenge for his father's murder. He is aware of the things he says and the things
he does. He is just acting crazy to fool the people around him so that he can take his revenge murder
of his father. If Hamlet were actually crazy then he wouldn't have doubted what the ghost told him,
and he would not have waited to kill Claudius. Hamlet wanted to be sure of who killed his father
before he avenged. If Hamlet had acted immediately and killed Claudius, Claudius could have
ended up not being the real murderer and Hamlet would be in prison. Several times in the play,
Hamlet seems so mad it seems almost impossible that he could be acting. It is possible that Hamlet
could just be acting insane, but by definition, it is impossible to be insane and act sane. An insane
person lacks the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong. He chooses whether he is
insane or not. Hamlet has a purpose within his madness. Throughout the play, Hamlet controls what
to say and when and where he says them. Since Hamlet showed characteristics of being both sane
and insane throughout the play, it is only possible that he was sane. Hamlet used the ability to
question his mind many times. The first occurrence was in the beginning. Hamlet doubts about if the
ghost really being his father "The spirit that I have seen May be

Essay On Hamlet's Madness
Hamlet madness is shown throughout the play and it seems to be the central issue. Hamlet says
he's not crazy and it's just pretending to be,but he does it so much and so good that it's hard to really
know. Hamlet is a smart and sane man. He's only pretending to be so mad to further his revenge. No
person who is so "mad" can be as clever as Hamlet is. Hamlet may be a little crazy due to his father
dying and his mother marrying his uncle, but not to the extent people believe he was.
Hamlet sees a the ghost and claims to be his dad's spirits and he wants him to revenge his death,
as he has died from poison in the ear from Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. As soon as the ghost
disappears Horatio and Marcellus arrive, Hamlet refuses to tell them what happened,but He warns
Horatio that if he seems act crazy it's all just an act. "How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself (As I
perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on),That you, at such times seeing
me, never shall– With arms encumbered thus, or this headshake, Or by pronouncing of some
doubtful phrase, As "Well, well, we know," or "We could an if we would," Or "If we list to speak,"
or "There be an if they might," Or such ambiguous giving out–to note That you know aught of me.
This not...show more content...
Hamlet is shown during the play screaming at himself, random stuff after some time of his dad
dying. He screams out "This is the time of night when witches come out, when graveyards yawn
open and the stench of hell seeps out. I could drink hot blood and do such terrible deeds that people
would tremble even in the daylight. But I've got to go see my mother." (III.ii.380–399) Hamlet has
shown real signs of madness. Hamlet has been through alot in his last month with his dad dying and
his mother marrying his uncle who he find out who killed his dad. It wouldn't be odd for Hamlet to
go insane through the emotional circumstances he has had to endure the past

Hamlet Madness Essay
moment in their lives or something that constantly happens more than once a day. Madness occurs
very early on in the play, starting with Hamlet being visited by a ghost. This showing the reader
how it will be something important throughout the play. From this we can see how the plot of the
play will take and how many other characters in the play will react and or express how they take in
madness. In my overall opinion, Hamlets madness is something that Shakespeare intended for.
Because of Hamlets madness we can see what a mysterious character he has become. Because of his
madness throughout the play we see how his role develops his character in a rational manner. The
play shows us a great amount of twists and different turns. Hamlets madness

Throughout the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare applied a myriad of motifs to enhance the meaning and
complexity of his work. One of the numerous motifs utilized in the play is madness. The question of
Hamlet's actual madness is profusely raised among readers in the Elizabethan era and is still brought
up numerous times today. Some may assert that Hamlet was literally mad and others may argue that
Hamlet's madness was feigned. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet spotted his father's ghost and
discerned that his father's death was caused by his uncle, Claudius. This situation initiated a
whirlwind of events that took Hamlet on a downward spiral. These events are comprised of
Hamlet's actions to try to avenge his father's death. They support and convey the impression that
Hamlet's madness was real. Although, Hamlet specifically claimed that he was not mad in the
text. Hamlet's madness was feigned since he confessed his reasoning for his antic disposition in
order to avenge his father's death and get revenge for Claudius' actions. Hamlet's absurd actions
began when he got a visit from his father's ghost. As he was conversing matters with the ghost, he
acknowledged that he may need to disguise himself with strange behavior (antic disposition) in
order to not give himself away. He wanted to ensure that he wouldn't make it conspicuous that he
was planning to kill Claudius in order to achieve his own equanimity. Hamlet mentioned to Horatio,
Marcellus, and the Ghost, "How strange or odd some'er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter
shall think meet to put an antic disposition on)... " (Pg. Act I Scene V Lines 175–177). He needed to
surreptitiously act in a strange manner in order to convey the idea to the culpable King that he
didn't have a plan, although he did. Hamlet would not have given them the caveat that he would act
mad if he actually was crazy. One who is mad will most likely not admit it, but Hamlet certainly
admitted that he would be acting this way to communicate a certain impression. At the climax of the
play, the queen claimed that Hamlet was mad when he interacted with his father's ghost after he
murdered Polonius. She vehemently claimed, "Alas, he's mad" (Pg. 177 Act III Scene IV Line 109).
She declared

Hamlet – A Question of Madness
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.
Polonius decides to go to Hamlet's...show more content...
His motivation for this response is that he knows the King and Polonius are eavesdropping on his
conversation. Attempting and succeeding in embarrassing her, he questions Ophelia's virginity.
Later while attending a play with other royalty, Hamlet again questions Ophelia's chastity in another
attempt to humiliate her. This time his assault on her character is in front of a much larger audience.
In both of these instances, Ophelia tries to dismiss Hamlet's insinuations. These two instances also
serve to show Hamlet's irrational behavior, further justifying Polonius' belief that Hamlet's madness
is connected to sex.
Hamlet's madness is not in vain. As Polonius says in Act II, "Though this be madness, yet there is
method in't" (109). The reason Hamlet is pretending to be insane is to exact revenge against his
father's murderer, the King. He is aware that the King will be concerned about his behavior and he
is right. After the play all the characters attend, the King is very disturbed. His reason for being
disturbed is that he just witnessed a play which depicted the murder he committed against his own
brother, the former King of Denmark. The King knows Hamlet knows of the murder and is aware
that Hamlet may not be completely insane. Because he is afraid of losing his power and title of
King, the King decides that Hamlet should go to England.
His motives

Hamlet's Madness
The play Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. The play Hamlet follows a young prince
that goes through harrowing life situations that result in his madness. Hamlet's madness becomes
heightened throughout the play as he becomes more involved in exposing his uncle's crime, which
ultimately affects his mental health at the end. At first, Hamlet's madness is used as a disguise to
uncover truth of Claudius murdering King Hamlet, but later on, it seems apparent that his madness
evolves into something more than simply an act, as his madness unfolds with him as he lost power,
and was disgusted with the remarriage of his mother. Hamlet generates madness through his
mourning the death of his father, the loss of the crown to his uncle, and...show more content...
Good. "A beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer..." (155–156) Hamlet
states that a creature would have waited longer to remarry than his mother. Hamlet is disgusted with
his mother and Gertrude is guilty of incest, which means marrying your in–laws, as they don't have
to be blood related, and the marriage between Claudius and Gertrude was considered huge.
"soliloquy where he states "Married with my uncle, My father's brother – ...With such dexterity to
incestuous sheets!." (159–160) Hamlet implies marrying your deceased husband's brother will not
bring you pleasure into your life from this act. Hamlet feels she betrayed his father King Hamlet
and himself with this act of disloyalty. The marriage to Claudius clearly disturbed Hamlet, as he
was not shy of expressing his feelings towards his mother, as he said "Mother, you have my father
much offended" (A3S4) who he felt made a mistake, and rushed into something that was not needed
at this difficult time from losing his father, King Hamlet. Gertrude's marriage to Claudius was one

Madness And Madness In Hamlet
The time when Shakespeare's wrote the play "The Tragedy of Hamlet'", madness had already been
established as an element in several revenge tragedies. Hamlet's revenge tragedy is unique as it is
clear that he has a motive. Hamlet is a threat to Claudius' authority whether sane or insane and his
assumed madness gives justification for his actions. Helmet obviously has some planned tricks and
has thoroughly considered his feigned madness. Although Hamlet had gone through tragedies of his
father's death and the marriage between his uncle and mother, the play shows evidence that Hamlet
purposely feigned his madness to confuse the king and attendants.
Hamlet's declared intention to act "odd" and to put a "joke aura on" (I. v. 170, 172) is not the only
sign. The latter expression which is of farfetched interpretation, ought to be taken in its context and
in relation to other comments that bear a similar question. To his old companion, Guildenstern, he
suggests that "his uncle–father and aunt–mother are misled," and that he is just "mad
north–northwest." (II. ii. 360.) However, the suggestion appears to make no difference to the dull
ears of his former schoolmate. His only remark is given later when he exhorts that Hamlet's is "a
shrewd madness" (III. I. 8.)
While finishing with Horatio the plans for the play, and just before the entrance of the court party,
Hamlet says that he believes that he is idle." (III. ii. 85.) This clearly is a revelation of his aim to be
"silly," as

Hamlet Essays On Madness

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Hamlet Essays On Madness