Hamlet Faking His Madness Essay

In the play “Hamlet” the main character, Hamlet, is portrayed as a madman. However, in the play, Hamlet believes he is faking his madness. This prompts the question of whether or not he is faking his madness. This decision is left up to the reader to interpret. In the play Hamlet starts his downward spiral by pretending to be crazy, however pretending to be crazy eventually drove him to real madness as by the end of the play he had lost his mind. This can be proved by comparing Hamlet’s dialogue from Act 1 to Act 5, looking at his irrational actions, and his confusing relationship with Ophelia. In Act 1 Hamlet’s dialogue makes more sense than in the later acts. For example in Act 1, Scene 2, where Hamlet states, “But I have that within which passeth show.”(1.2.85) This statement was a response to his mother after she asked him why death is peculiar to him. His response to her shows how he would still be open about his feelings and let people understand him. In Act 1, Scene 5, we see the first hint of madness in Hamlet when Horatio says, “These are but wild and

Hamlet's main flaw was his inaction, which eventually led to his demise. In the very beginning of the play Hamlet learns about his fathers murder, so he carries this weight of vengeance the whole play. In Act 1, Scene 5, Hamlet states, “And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmixed with baser matter.”(1.5.102-104) This shows how Hamlet’s main goal is to get revenge for the Ghost and kill Claudius. However, in Act 3, Scene 3, when Hamlet says, “No. Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent.”(3.3.88-89) This shows how Hamlet’s inaction led to him not killing Claudius when he had a perfect time to do so. Hamlet was truly looking for any reason to not kill Claudius in this scene because his conscience wouldn't let him kill. His burning for revenge, but his inability to follow through drove him to