hamlet as a madman

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most analysed plays. The Danish prince is developed into a mysterious and fascinating man. A philosopher and a fencer, he is a man disgusted with the rottenness of life around him and is obligated to set things right. Under the guise of madness he attempts to achieve his ends; yet there is much to puzzle over. Was Hamlet really such a good actor that he could fool everyone into believing in his madness or was he truly mad? And, why did he wait so long to carry out his revenge? Hamlet thinks too much and this drove him to an insanity that was not feigned.

“… and the devil hath power/ To assume a pleasing shape…”

The ghost provides Hamlet with a dilemma. Supernatural forces are not always to be trusted. Hamlet does not know whether the ghost is telling the truth or not, which is why he has ‘The Mousetrap’ performed by the visiting players. If Hamlet had killed Claudius solely on the ghost’s advise, he would certainly have been put to death himself. There would probably have been a civil war to choose a new king. Being the humanitarian that he is, and taking account of his responsibilities as a prince and future king, Hamlet would most likely want to avoid a civil war.

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Hamlet’s two illusions of grandeur, I found, were best described by P. Many of the characters in the play can be categorized within minutes of their introduction. Hamlet realizes that Claudius brings order to Denmark and in killing him he will plunge his country into the darkness of chaos. Although not every one of them might have come to killing Claudius, Hamlet seems not to do anything. This does not hold true for some characters such as Laertes and Ophelia. But, cannot a proven lunatic also claim the same?

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. But Hamlet will not let the king go to God’s judgement. Hamlet resembles a real person more than any other character in the play, which might be another reason why he still remains a subject of discussion. A hallucination is when you see or hear something that is not really there. He needs to think in order to justify his actions, and his intellectual capacity is the major difference between Claudius and himself. Although he may have liked to think in the time preceding the play, when the time has come for him to take action, he cannot because of this pensive urge. Again, he thinks too much, but why?

Hamlet is self-conscious, while the majority of the characters that surround him are not. One example of this is when Ophelia is sent to talk to Hamlet while the king and Polonius listen in; Hamlet asks where her father is. He is being spied on and plotted against throughout most of the play.

Approximate Word count = 1387
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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