Hamlet's Madness Analysis

The root of the madness of Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been debated by literary scholars for centuries. There have been scholars who believe Hamlet is an ignorant child who acts based on his emotions. Others say Hamlet was actually cunning by using his madness as a cover for his revenge, or Hamlet might not have been mad at all, but that some of his actions lead to the conclusion of him being mad. Before he met the Ghost, Hamlet already had complicated feelings about Gertrude’s remarriage, and the task the Ghost gave him increased his madness. Hamlet was angry at Gertrude for committing incest, but he did not understand why, which greatly influenced his madness. Throughout the play, Hamlet feigns madness, however, many of the actions he took might
Hamlet thought about Gertrude’s actions, his throne taken away, his father’s revenge, suicide, and then back to Gertrude. With the fact that he is insane before the appearance of his father’s ghost, his “feeling[s] which he cannot understand” about Gertrude and how this “remains to poison [his] life and obstruct action” (Claude 97) further increases his insanity. When Hamlet saw Claudius praying, he “shrinks [away] from carrying out the revenge” (Claude 97) and whether or not he used the church as an excuse is unclear. The audience would think that a person would take the first opportunity to take revenge for their precious fathers as Laertes had when he stated he would cut his enemy’s “throat i’ the church” (IV.VII.125). Besides plotting his revenge, he had to be careful of his actions in front of Horatio and Marcellus, and the others so that no one notices he is either pretending or is mad. Additionally, he planned the deaths of the messengers, while he escaped his trip to England. Furthermore, in his mind, he thought of “to be, or not to be” (III.I.56) and it was not until he found York’s skull in the cemetery that he indeed did not want to die. Thinking about suicide before his revenge is irrelevant, and with this the audience can conclude that he did not think much about the
What triggered the fact that he was insane was the feelings he felt about Gertrude. At first, he was confused and disoriented, he did not know what to do, until his father’s ghost gave him a task. Despite that, Hamlet did not take the opportunity to kill Claudius, he did not even think about it at the time, until Gertrude died. This was his realization that he indeed loved Gertrude. Furthermore, whether or not his madness was real, it was from overthinking his numerous difficult situations. The fact that Gertrude married Claudius caused Hamlet to think nonstop of that situation; the only action he took related to the revenge was the play. Seeing as how Hamlet sees Gertrude as the woman he wants, he treats Ophelia in a way similar to Gertrude. He was mean to her, but it was not mean just to be cruel or to pretend to be insane, it was something that was good for them. For example, he spoke harsh words to Gertrude in hopes that she will redeem herself, and he told Ophelia to become a nun in hopes that she will not be in the same situation as Gertrude. In the end, Hamlet killed Claudius because Gertrude died from the poison that was meant for him; his Oedipus complex had continued until the