Preview

Hamlet: Is He Really Crazy?

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
517 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet: Is He Really Crazy?
The real question is: is Hamlet crazy or is he just acting? In my opinion there are many things throughout the play that make me tend to believe that he is crazy. When Hamlet enters Opheliu's room and she has the question if he is truly mad or if he is just acting. Hamlet is proven to be crazy in this play and statements and actions he days and does are the thing that prove this. <br><br>There are many things that make me tend to believe that Hamlet is crazy. There are also many things that he does that does not want to make you think that he is crazy but for others to think this of him it just make me want to believe even more that he is crazy. One of the things that shows that he is crazy is that he contemplates suicide or as Hamlet says "self slaughter", this is definitely a true act of pure craziness. Hamlet also wants to believe that he see's this ghost of his father that is odd because when he is in the room with his mother he starts to talk to the ghost and the mother does not see it. Also when he walked into Ophelius's room he just stood there staring at her for a long time and no normal person does this. This is just another example of one of the examples that proves that Hamlet is crazy. Hamlet also has a lot of evil in him like when he killed Polomius for no reason when he was behind the curtains in his moms room. Also when he see's his Uncle Claudius praying he is deciding whether or not it is a good idea to kill him. These are just other examples how I think that he is crazy. Another importnt thing to show that he is crazy is that he has no fear like when he started to follow his father apparation even when Horatio said don't go because it could be dangerous. He also does things that are very odd and random like when Ophelius and him were wathcing the play he just put his head in her lap and started mumbling about nothing. Hamlets image has also got very scrubby by the way he dresses and the way he looks. Ophelius said that when she saw him she was

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    He believes what the ghost tells him, and this makes us question can a man that sees his dead father really be sane? He contemplates killing Claudius, and starts to doubt what the ghost had told him. Hamlet then forms a plan to prove whether or not Claudius is guilty by having a play resembling the murder of his father done by his uncle and watching Claudius reaction. During the play, he acts most insane…

    • 75 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet is a very ironic play.You may start to question each characters thoughts at one point in the script. Especially the main character Hamlet, does he truly go insane or is it all a trick? For me in this play I never knew what was to be expected.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet’s behavior makes everyone worry about his insanity, but his sagacious thinking shows his actions are thought out, and his depressive state of mind. Hamlet does not appear to be suffering from insanity or from the disabling mental illness, schizophrenia. The National Institute of Mental Health describes the illness, “People with positive symptoms often ‘lose touch’ with reality” (“What is Schizophrenia” 2). With schizophrenia, just like with insanity, someone might lose their understanding of what’s right and what’s wrong. In the play, Hamlet states his plan, “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on” (I.v.172-173). Hamlet clearly confesses to Horatio he will have to act erratic behavior. Through this…

    • 147 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet is more likely insane because of the action he has done and what he is going to do. He killed Polonius and slipped some crazy words during the play, So I think that Hamlet is not crazy for acting it, But crazy for been insane.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Why Is Hamlet Crazy

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide”. Although this quote by John Dryden was not directed towards Hamlet, this quote relates well to the argument of whether or not Hamlet was insane. The character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is perhaps one of the most complex tragic heroes and possibly the most analyzed in all of English literature. Whether Hamlet was actually insane, or simply acting mad depends on the reader’s interpretation of the play. Hamlet is a complex character, he is the direct result of his psychological disorders. He is capable of quickly changing his emotions and state of mind from being happy, to being sorrowful, to being seemingly…

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There isn't any doubt on who really went mad in this book. Hamlet was mad, but wasn't the crazy kind of mad. He is angry at the fact that his father was murdered. Ophelia actually played the truly mad role of the this book. She let the emotions take over her state of mind. Ophelia's character was made more weak than men. She couldn't handle the pain and suffering. Ophelia and Hamlet both went through trials and troubles, but only Hamlet could handle it. This entire book deals with madness both fake and real. It shows just how it affects people and how differently people take…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Characters in Hamlet

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The play Hamlet is without a doubt an odd story to read based on what society today has become accustomed to. A brother killing another brother, and then marrying his wife. It is not a typical story in the modern world today. There is a vast variety of different themes that can be traced throughout the play, however the most popular is madness and sanity. Madness and sanity shape the play into what it is, without madness and sanity the play would have no life. Certain actions would not occur, certain events would not occur, and certain statements would not occur. Hamlet is a perfect example in the thought of is he acting insane or is he truly insane?…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since Shakespeare first wrote Hamlet there has been discussion about whether or not Hamlets madness is real. Some would say it is not madness that leads Hamlet, but the death of his father or his mother marrying his uncle. Throughout the story, Hamlets actions of thinking about suicide, getting rejected by Ophelia, and believing in the ghost can lead the audience to believe that Hamlet has been overtaken by madness.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We can definitely see his madness and the evidence that he really goes mad when he said he sees his father’s ghost in his mother’s chambers while his mother does not see the ghost. Hamlet intentions in acting insane in order to get to his goal: "I essentially am not in madness”, Hamlet tells his mother that he is not mad and that he is mad in craft. [Act III, scene IV, lines 188-199]. Hamlet believes he is sane all the times, and did not realize that his actions and his madness is overwhelming him. His attitude resulted to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. He is more desperate with the marriage of his mother to his uncle. We realize his violence and jealousy towards his mother. With these events, he builds frustration and anger and which turns him into an insane character. After Hamlet had killed Polonius, he had nothing to say and he even went on to call him a rat. This shows that he doesn’t care much about killing someone and moreover it does not affect him too much because he is so persistent in revenge. It seems as if he will go above and beyond his limits to get revenge. After the death of Polonius, Ophelia dies and this does not affect Hamlet as much as we believe in the consequences because he does state that, “[He] did love [Ophelia] once,”…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After talking with the Queen, Ophelia felt that she should try talking to Hamlet herself. Of course, Hamlet will think that she is crazy and she know it. Her strategy may have been decent but not good enough to change Hamlet. In Act: IV Scene: I the King states “His liberty is full of threats to all.” That moment is when the King and Queen wants an end to all of Hamlets madness. They both speak of the death of Polonius. They then realized he should be killed and orders that he be killed upon his arrival in England. Eventually it seems that everyone, in their own way wants to either help Hamlet or get rid of…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Early on in the play the reader is shown that Hamlet is going to act insane in order to figure out the murder of his father. Therefore, at random moments throughout the play, Hamlet will act insane in so that he can in turn retrieve more information about the death of his father. Although young and handsome Hamlet says he is feigning his madness many readers have called into question whether or not he is genuinely mad. The fact that he is indeed going mad at times is true. It is true for many reasons. Reasons such as questioning his existence, showing true evidence of insanity not achievable by a sane person and at times using consequentialism in his train of thought. There are many factors that play into…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet still doesn’t sound insane though, because coming back to deliver a message to Ophelia could mean something important just for her. He might want to to say what is going to happen and warn her without scaring or hurting her more than she already was. Hamlet is not insane. People are trying to manipulate him to become insane. However, he has a clear mind and is able to plot his revenge. Hamlet may have suffered and dealt with a lot, but that doesn’t mean he is crazy. Hamlet dealt with fake friends, love, and loss, which makes life more complicated. This does not mean Hamlet is going to give up though until he gets what he wants. Also, why Hamlet is not insane and is faking being insane to have the freedom to examine Claudius’s guilt, to find a way to do what the ghost; his father, asks him to do. Also, to make people think he was not a threat, to distract the attention from investigating into his father’s death while people got in his way and tried to ruin it. That is why I believe Hamlet is faking being insane because everyone around him tries to trick him and he doesn’t fall for their games, and he manages to give all he can and never gives up. He did accomplish on tricking everyone else and play mind games to think he is insane, but all in all he just wanted to get the truth about his father’s death and revenge and he wants it known he is not…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet's Insanity

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Hamlet, the main character, displays a very indecisive and uncertain demeanor throughout Hamlet. This recurrent behavior is displayed when: Hamlet first encounters the Ghost of his father, to learn that Hamlet's Uncle, the King, killed Hamlet's Father, also in Shakespeare's most prolific monologue of Hamlet and lastly when Hamlet stabs one of the King's confidants, Polonius. Hamlet's wavering decision making as well as his uncertainty in everything leads to Hamlet's apparent insanity; although he is not completely insane, just to a certain degree that allows him to be somewhat sane.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The only act in the play that might make Hamlet look crazy is when he is in the Queen’s chamber. Hamlet had just killed Polonius. The Queen says, “Alas he’s mad” (Act III scene 4). He was talking to something that wasn’t even there. However, Hamlet irrational acts by far outweigh actions that he has performed and things he had said that makes him look crazy.…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Sanity of Hamlet

    • 1066 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The task of avenging his father’s death profoundly affected Hamlet. Taking a life did not come easily for him, but he wished to respect his father’s will. In order to put his plan into action, Hamlet knew he would have to weave a web of deception. By building up the pretense of his insanity, he believed that nobody would be able to foresee the plot that he devised, for nobody ever suspects the fool. Hamlet was “essentially [not mad], but mad in craft,” (III. iv. 190-191). By putting this facade around himself, Hamlet was quite the opposite of insane. Like Odysseus, he built a Trojan horse around himself in order to sneak into the enemy base, a brilliant plan on both their parts.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics