Mental State In Hamlet

There are moments in this world where someone can be so depressed that they do not want to live any longer. Many teenagers experience the same stress as Hamlet did in the play from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The character Hamlet is under stressed due to the death of his father who he loved a lot, and the early remarriage of his mother with his uncle. In addition, Hamlet is even more stressed out when the ghost presented itself as Hamlet’s father and wanted Hamlet to revenge for his father’s death. Even though Hamlet is under stress he remained between the state of sane or temporarily insane throughout the play. When Hamlet killed Claudius in the end of the play his mental state is sane.

In the first soliloquy Hamlet appears to be sane. First

At the beginning of Act V Hamlet is sad and depressed when he found out that Ophelia is dead, and compared his love to her with everyone else. Hamlet expressed his love with Ophelia by telling Laertes that he would do anything for Ophelia even if it was to be buried with her, and if Laertes “prate of mountains” Hamlet would “let them throw millions of acres” on them (V.i.259-260). Readers know this to be true because in the earlier plays Hamlet even took the time to write Ophelia letters, and sent her gifts. Near the end of Act V Hamlet is sane when he “proclaim” the reason he fought Laertes was due to “madness”(V.ii.219). Even though Hamlet said it was his mental illness that caused the fight which makes Hamlet a sane person because only sane people can point out that sometimes their actions are wrong. An insane person would not be able to think about the consequences of their actions or do not even know that they are insane themselves. At the end of the play when Hamlet murdered Claudius it is justified as an action of a sane person. The first reason is when his own mother, Gertrude, pointed out that “the drink” is “poisoned” and Claudius was the only person that told her to not drink it, which shows that Claudius knew something about the drink. Another strong piece of evidence to justify Hamlet’s action to murder Claudius is when Laertes points out that Hamlet’s “mother’s poisoned” and that “the king’s to blame”(V.ii.315-316). At the end of the play Hamlet had every reasons to kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death because Hamlet found a letter by Claudius to the king of England to execute Hamlet when he steps in England, and the most crucial evidence is from Gertrude and Laertes