The Controversy Of Freigned Insanity In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet, the protagonist, acts insane to a selected group of people, specifically nobles. Some of the nobles see through this act and have a hunch that he

Desiree Kelly Professor Rampello Final Paper December 15th, 2016 Does Hamlet Feign Insanity? Finding out if hamlet really went insane and lost his mind is one of those questions that people can always ask themselves but I feel like he actually did go insane, throughout the play of Hamlet written by William Shakespeare hamlet started to loose his mind, it all started when his mother married his uncle after his uncle killed his father while he was taking a nap while in the garden. In act one after his father 's ghosts came to visit hamlet makes Horatio and Marcellus swear that they will never tell anyone about the ghost or give any indication that they know anything about hamlet losing his mind. Throughout the rest of the play hamlet

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, many see Hamlet as mad, or even at times distraught. However, insanity is in the eye of the beholder and although those around him claim he’s insane, Hamlet is actually sane throughout the play. Over time, Hamlet crosses over between the realms of insanity and his true sanity. Although throughout the play the others are convinced Hamlet is mad, through brilliant planning and scheming, Hamlet proves his own sanity. Hamlet perfectly portrays the actions of a deranged young man, which he had to appear to be in order to get revenge on Claudius.

Imagine people trying to figure out if a person if indeed crazy or not crazy. How would that make the person in question feel? When they are looking for help out of their craziness, there could be people doubting they even need help. Though no one knows what is going on in Hamlet’s mind, this could be exactly what he is going through during Shakespeare ’s play Hamlet.

In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, seems to have gone insane to the people around him. This leads to the question of “Was Hamlet's madness feigned or genuine?” Hamlet’s

In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, many times the sanity of Hamlet, the protagonist, comes into question. This question has been debated by both lay-readers and scholars alike for hundreds of years. Although this topic could be strongly debated either way, the evidence leans more towards the idea that Hamlet was simply feigning insanity, and portrayed the role of a madman only in front of those whom he thought to be his enemies. This faking of craziness can be seen most in his conversations with friends, his conversations with those he distrusts, and through the stark difference of his craziness and the truly demented mind of Ophelia. From the beginning of the story, it can be seen that Hamlet is under a lot of stress.

Polonius explains Hamlet 's madness to Claudius and Gertrude, “Mad call I it, for, to define true madness. What it 't but to be nothing else but mad? But let that go (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 93-94). Polonius then goes on to describe his ides of the stages of Hamlet 's madness and his inability to sleep, “And he, repelled-a short tale to make- Fell into a sadness, then into a fast, Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness, Thence to a lightness, and by this declension Into the madness wherein now he raves, And all we mourn for” (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 146-151).

In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet assumes the disguise of a man that has lost his mind. Hamlet uses this madness to masquerade around in such a way as to not draw attention to his true plan, to avenge his murdered father. Many readers debate as to whether Hamlet is truly mad, or whether he is fully aware of his actions and what he is doing. However, both sides of the debate can agree that Hamlet’s apparent madness is a key element of the play, Hamlet. There are many reasons as to why readers debate Hamlet’s madness.

In Hamlet , some of the most significant events that happen focus on a character’s mental and psychological health. Hamlet as a character is very introspective, which allows the reader to have detailed insight of his thoughts, actions, and mental state. As the play progresses, we see Hamlet descend more and more into insanity, and sometimes, feigned insanity. Hamlet is clearly a very troubled mind, as shown by his dialogue, thoughts, actions, and soliloquies. Some other characters, such as Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and others, have struggles of their own, as shown by their various dialogue, soliloquies, thoughts, and actions.

When discussing the topic of madness, Hamlet is a profoundly controversial topic. Some may define madness as the state of being mentally ill, whereas others may define it as a generally foolish behavior. Hamlet has acted strangely toward multiple people throughout The Tragedy of Hamlet; moreover, there are many examples throughout the text that support the assumption that he may or may not be acting mad. Starting in Act 1, Scene 4, Horatio is untrustworthy of the ghost that appears. He believes it is a spirit who has taken the form of Hamlet’s father, whereas Hamlet believes it is the spirit of his father.

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the delusion of madness and irrational behavior contributes largely to the development of the character Hamlet. Following the death of his father, Hamlet decides to inspect how his father passed away. The clearest way to processed is to act helplessly insane. With numerous events of deranged encounters, Hamlet portrays this as a reasonable behavior. The first case of Hamlet’s impersonation as a madman begins when he races to see his previous girlfriend, Ophelia.

The major question that is still argued about to this day, regarding Hamlet, is “is hamlet insane?”. Throughout the entire play Hamlet himself puts on a sort of “charade” to hide his evil intentions and buy himself some time to commit his uncle for his crimes. He acts out so he won’t be seen as a threat and sent away before he can make his move. Although many people are aware of the deceiving plots that they are conceiving, Hamlet isn’t fully aware that he is deceiving himself. He doesn’t realize what he is doing wrong

An overwhelming amount of evidence shows that Hamlet faked his insanity to confuse the king and his accomplices. Often revered for their emotional complexities, William Shakespeare’s tragic characters display various signs of mental illness. Sylvia Morris notes “Hamlet contains Shakespeare’s most fully-developed study of mental illness, and has always intrigued commentators on the play.” (“Shakespeare’s Minds Diseased: Mental Illness and its Treatment”). When looking at the play, one can infer that Shakespeare makes the relationship between sanity and insanity undistinguishable from one another.

Throughout the course of this play, Hamlet’s poor mental health is addressed through his soliloquies, his quirky habits, and his inability to handle his issues. The issue of Hamlet’s “madness” brings itself to light most overtly through his “To Be or Not To Be” soliloquy. In this famous literary piece, Hamlet is

“Hamlet”: the development of insanity of the main character Hamlet is the protagonist of the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (or simply Hamlet) written by William Shakespeare. The man finds out his father was killed by own brother, who wanted to take the throne. Hamlet decided to take vengeance on for the former king. His actions led to the death of all main characters, including the prince himself. During the play readers can see changes in Hamlet’s behavior.