Why Is Hamlet Crazy

After reading Hamlet, I had to decipher whether or not I believed that the madness that Hamlet showed was feigned or if he was actually crazy. I also had to figure out if Ophelia was just acting crazy to make a point and be dramatic or if she was crazy due to her love for Hamlet. I really do believe that there was a method to both Hamlet and Ophelia’s madness.

Once Hamlet’s father was killed, he was experiencing extreme depression and he mourned constantly. Hamlet never acted crazy until he was with Horatio and Marcellus and witness the ghost. The ghost finally spoke to hamlet and told him to follow it. Once the ghost explains that it was his father spirit and it came to tell Hamlet the truth about his fathers death. “I am thy father’s
At one point Hamlet is debating suicide but then Ophilia approaches him saying that she will return her love and Hamlet denies ever loving her, “My lord, I have remembrances of yours that I have longed long to redeliver. I pray you now receive them. No, not I, I never gave you aught” (129). Polonius emerges and tries to explain that his behavior isn't from Ophilia and that he needs to go to England to get away from all of his distress for a
Then Laertes shows up with a mob once he finds out that his father was killed. He was coming to kill Claudius, but Claudius explained that is was Hamlet that had killed Polonius. At this point, Laertes and the king decide to come up with a plan to kill Hamlet. They decided that there would be a sword fight between Laertes and Hamlet and that Laertes would use a sharper sword that was covered in poison instead of using the normal less sharp sword. The king also decided that if somehow Hamlet was to win he would give him poisoned wine to celebrate. This went bad quickly. Hamlet got a small slice but it was still deadly from the poison on it. After that, The switched swords and Laertes was stabbed. Hamlet then stabbed the