The topic of insanity commonly arises on many occasions, particularly in the law. The term “insanity” is defined as the “unsoundness of mind sufficient in the judgment of a civil court to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or to warrant commitment to a mental health facility” (Document A). In terms of the law, there exists an insanity defense, which is a plea that defendants are not guilty because they lack the mental capacity to realize that they committed a crime (Document C). This concept arises in several of Shakespeare's plays as well. In Hamlet, many readers claim that Prince Hamlet was actually mad, his actions guided by the grief he experienced when his father was murdered by his uncle King Claudius. …show more content…
Some may claim that he did feel “morally responsible for his actions” (D). Being morally responsible would be like not killing a brother because he is a family member. However, Hamlet did not feel upset at killing his father or his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, so he is not feeling morally responsible for his actions. Therefore, he must be insane. However, in the case of Hamlet, his uncle killed his own father, the one who raised him. Therefore, he felt obligated to kill his uncle in order to avenge his father’s death; he would not feel bad for killing his uncle in this case. Also, his friends were not truly his friends. He had no one. His friends knew that the King of England was going to kill Hamlet, but they did not warn him or anything, so they were not his true friends. We all know that he was suicidal and depressed, but that does not mean that he is mentally insane. He would not have killed Horatio, for example, because Horatio is his true friend and means everything to him. The other people, like Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, mean nothing to him, so it is understandable as to why he did not feel any remorse for killing Claudius, Rosencrantz, and