How Does Shakespeare Present Madness In Hamlet

“Hamlet,” is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. During the Elizabethan era, Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) was in throne, the era in which Shakespeare flourished because England emerged as the leading naval and commercial power of the western world. The play is set in the Kingdom of Denmark, which recounts Prince Hamlet’s revenge toward his uncle Claudius for the murdering of the old King Hamlet, Claudius’s own brother. Claudius murdered old King Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear while he was snoozing in his garden. At night, Hamlet would see apparitions of his deceased father in the ramparts of Elsinore Castle. Therefore in the encounters, the ghost complains that he is unable to rest in
peace because he was murdered. Thus he orders Hamlet to avenge his death, but to spare Gertrude, and let heaven decide her fate. Gertrude is the queen, and quickly remarries to King Claudius, Old Hamlet’s brother. In account of all the conversations that Hamlet and Old Hamlet have, it clearly makes Hamlet into a state of apparent madness, which plays a vital role in the play. Hamlet’s apparent madness comes directly from his mental and emotional instability.
As early as in Act 1, Hamlet’s soliloquy is portraying his apparent madness towards the remarriage of her mother with Claudius “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt/ Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!/ Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd/ His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!” (Act1. Sc2 lines 132-136). In these lines, Hamlet expresses his suicidal thoughts because he is unable to stand the fact that her mother has fallen in love with the man who killed his father, Claudius. Hamlet expresses his melancholy when he desires for his “flesh” to “melt” and dissolve into “dew” and wishing that God did not make “self-slaughter” a sin. Readers can visualize the mental state that Hamlet is currently in, as Hamlet speaks of these inflicting words to himself. Hamlet’s madness is also aroused by the presence of the ghost, “The spirit that I have seen/ May be the devil: and the devil hath power/ To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps/ Out of my weakness and my melancholy,” (Act2. Sc2 lines 627-630). Hamlet is indecisive, he is concerned that the ghost may be “the devil” and is trying to tempt him to murder Claudius. He feels that his “weakness” and “melancholy” is making him hallucinate. The fact that he sees apparitions of his father is rather odd; Hamlet’s confusion on whether the ghost is truly giving reliable information is another thing. The inquiry of Marcellus about the
cause of the warlike activity and his remark about the rotten condition of Denmark is viable that the anticipation of ghosts give hint to what really is going on. The revelations that the ghost discloses are in fact the suspicions in the mind of Hamlet, which proves that whatever he is saying is true. Thus in this case, Hamlet finally agrees to avenge the death of his father. Since people around him think that he is in the state of melancholy (going crazy), people would not take him seriously. His madness appears to become a screen of him, in other words he uses his madness to gain information without raising suspicion. Hamlet’s apparent madness is also seen through his conversation with Polonius, the father of her love.
Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but soon he finds out that Polonius is using her as bait to spy on him as she has to obey her father’s rule. Unfortunately, Ophelia has no control over her body, her relationships, or her choices. Hamlet's madness is only apparent when he is in the presence of certain characters. For instance, Polonius believes that Hamlet has gone insane when he contemplates what Hamlet said to him, “He knew me not at first; he said I/ was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and/ truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for/ love; very near this” (Act2. Sc2 lines 205-208). Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is "far gone, far gone" in his love for Ophelia. Hamlet calls Polonius a "fishmonger," which seems clear that Hamlet is mocking Polonius and merely playing the part of an "antic" (clown figure). Polonius believes that Hamlet simply doesn't recognize him, but Hamlet is literally making a bawdy joke. A "fishmonger" is slang for "pimp," and Hamlet seems to be saying that because he knows Polonius is using his daughter (like a pimp would use a prostitute) to spy on Hamlet and curry favor with King Claudius. Hamlet’s apparent madness only comes from the fact that those who are by Claudius side, will fall into the trap into believing that he is really
insane. Another incident that appears to show Hamlet’s apparent madness is when Hamlet finds out that Claudius has brought Hamlet's school friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Denmark from Germany to spy on him, and now he instructs them to deliver Hamlet into the English king's hands for execution. Hamlet admits to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that even though he's acting like a raving lunatic, he definitely has his wits about him. In other words, he knows they've been sent by Claudius to spy on him, “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is/ southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (Act2. Sc2 lines 402-403). In this quote, what Hamlet definitely implies is that he wishes to point out that there is a method and cunning behind his "madness." The imagery involves bad weather and hunting birds. Beyond the chaos, Hamlet is saying that he knows a hunting hawk from a hunted "handsaw" or heron. Hamlet means that he is able to distinguish his enemies and friends. This pointed comment is meant for his friends including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet’s apparent madness saves him from being tortured in England as Claudius already affirmed his execution there. Throughout the play of “Hamlet,” Shakespeare repetitively uses Hamlet apparent madness to foil Claudius plans. Hamlet is a unique character in its own way. He knows that the ghost of his father will be on his side, and to help him avenge his death, he will definitely have to step ground and constantly use his apparent madness to drive those who are spying on him a less of a threat. In other words, Hamlet’s use of apparent madness is to only help him reach his goal and gain information without raising suspicion. Through his apparent madness, it is obvious that other characters in the play think of him as “insane,” to which they do not take him seriously. Therefore he uses apparent madness to his advantage to destroy those who obstruct him from moving ahead to helping his father live in peace.