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Hamlet's Insanity

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In some literary works a character’s apparent madness is significant. Analyze the elements and causes of this delusional behavior, and discuss how this character’s condition contributes to the meaning of the work. One of the significant concerns of the play is Hamlet’s madness. Hamlet states that he is in fact not insane, however, his performance is so convincing that it is difficult to tell. Hamlet is asked to avenge his father's death, by the ghost of old King Hamlet. To accomplish this task in a less outward manner, Hamlet decides to put on an act to confuse everyone. Therefore, his behavior after is frequently baffling. The writer of the play, William Shakespeare, leaves the audience to decide whether Hamlet is truly mad or not. Throughout …show more content…

The ghost does not give him much time to think about how he feels, whether he is content, enraged, or somber. Hamlet is pushed into a state of action immediately with bottled up emotions. Hamlet is still unsure how to feel about the death of his father, his mother marrying Claudius and stealing the throne; this drives him over the edge and pushes him to insanity. However, this madness is what makes Hamlet so determined to acquire the truth about his father's death and kill …show more content…

As Hamlet guessed Ophelia told her father Polonius and he told the king, “Come, go with me. I will go seek the king.” Hamlet’s madness also causes the death of Ophelia, by killing her father and treating her like filth he pushes her into madness and ultimately her suicide. Ophelia's suicide directly stems from the murder of her father, Polonius. Ophelia comes in singing after her father's death and then states, "I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died.” This clearly proves that Ophelia's father was her world and without him everything that was beautiful to her is now gone. Hamlet was the one that killed her father and she still loved him, causing her to go insane. Hamlet pushed her to insanity and suicide with his madness, contributing to the meaning of the play. This is heavily shown with the murder of Polonius, Hamlet acts on suspicion alone that it sounds like Claudius and goes to kill him “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!” Hamlet acts rash and with suspicion alone that it may be Claudius. This murder by Hamlet leads to deaths of Ophelia and Laertes, Hamlet’s madness further contributes to the meaning of the

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