Dr. Chamberlain Insanity in Hamlet The mental stability of the main character, Hamlet, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been the topic of many literary debates over the years. Hamlet’s character proclaims that he will, “put on an antic disposition,” in other words, act insane, in order to investigate his father’s death without receiving any suspicion as to how he knows the truth of the murder. The dilemma that Hamlet faces is that he knows of his father’s murder because he spoke with his father’s ghost. However, he fears that the ghost may not be his father; that it is instead, a demon trying to get Hamlet to avenge his father under false pretenses. Deciding whether or not Hamlet is a man seeking proper vengeance, or a man with little mental stability, has been a great debate for quite some time. I believe Hamlet was depressed, angry, and delusional, which resulted in the degradation of his morals and, ultimately, led him to insanity. …show more content…
In fact, in the first act, Hamlet reveals that he is contemplating suicide, and briefly describes how he wishes his flesh would melt from his bones. Hamlet’s depression was brought on by an assortment of inconveniences that distorted his views on nearly all the people in his life. The respect that he had for his mother, Gertrude, was compromised when she remarried very soon after his father’s death. Hamlet could not understand how his mother could say she loved his father, and yet remarry so soon after his death that they used the same food from the funeral as they did at the marriage