Insanity In Hamlet Research Paper

Madness can arise for a variety of reasons, many of which relate to severe psychological trauma, and in Hamlet’s case, the young Prince of Denmark suffers from the loss of his father. Not only does Hamlet suffer from sadness over his father’s death, he suffers from the blinding reality that his uncle, Claudius, both murdered his father and married his mother. Readers may believe the Hamlet’s insanity arises from these critical events in his life, but literary scholars pose the theory that Hamlet merely acts insane in order to enact revenge on Claudius. Literary critic Edward Foster claims, however, that due to Hamlet’s religious beliefs, “the thought of deliberate murder is revolting to him” (Foster 1), causing Hamlet to devise a plan in which

Hamlet’s physical appearance is that of a madman, in which Ophelia describes, “as if he had been loosèd out of hell to speak of horrors” (II.i.93-94). Not only does Hamlet appear disheveled, he acts strange to Ophelia, as well. As Ophelia describes to her father how Hamlet “took me by the wrist and held me hard… and thrice his head thus waving up and down, he raised a sigh so piteous and profound as it did seem to shatter all his bulk” (II.i.99-107), Polonius believes that this mad act is the result of Ophelia denying his love. Although Hamlet merely puts up the front that he is crazy, this insane act causes Polonius to believe that Hamlet is crazy with love, leading Polonius to spread this new to King

At the start of the story, when the death of Hamlet’s father is still a fresh wound, there are two moments in which Hamlet expresses his depression over his father’s loss. The first instance occurs when Claudius and Gertrude discuss Hamlet’s excessive sadness over his father’s death. When his mother questions Hamlet’s motive for grief, Hamlet states, “’Tis not alone my inky cloak, (good) mother, nor customary suits of solemn black… together will all forms, moods, (shapes) of grief, that can (denote) me truly” (I.ii.80-86). In this moment, Hamlet reveals his state of depression, leading some critics, including James Welsh and Jill Stapleton-Bergeron, to believe that Hamlet is “by nature melancholic, possessing a fatalistic disposition that borders on the suicidal” (Welsh and Stapleton-Bergeron 1). Hamlet expresses this desire for suicide in his following speech, in which he states, “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt… or that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst (self-slaughter!) O God, God” (I.ii.133-136). These two moments in which Hamlet expresses his true emotions look to contradict the belief that Hamlet merely pretends to be mad in order to reveal