Prince Hamlet: Are People Born Insane?

Are people born insane or is that a result of their experiences in life? Experiences shape a person into their current self, whether that be good or bad. In the case of Prince Hamlet, I believe that is the cause of his doomed downfall. Hamlet was extremely well loved by the Danish court of which he served. To the court, he was an idol and a figure who could not be replaced. Hamlet, more than likely, was not crazy before the play began. Could his future experiences alter Hamlet and his mental state? I believe that to be true. Hamlet was not crazy at first, although he eventually turned crazy due to his circumstances. At the beginning of the play, readers can gather that Hamlet is going through a deep depression. Hamlet refers to “...self-slaughter”,

An example of this is seen whenever the Queen enters her chamber while Hamlet is trailing behind her. Hamlet tells his mother that he has no mercy for his uncle and is ashamed of his mother. In scene four of act three, Hamlet tells his mother “...what judgment would step from this to this?”, which would imply that he has no sense in deciphering why his mother chose his uncle over his own father. Polonius hears this as he is spying behind the curtain. Hamlet realizes someone is spying on them and could very well be his uncle, therefore he attacks the man behind the curtain not knowing that it was Polonius. That action shows that Hamlet no longer hesitates his actions and immediately slays Polonius. Hamlet regrets his actions as soon as he reveals who was behind the curtain. Him and his mother are utterly shocked by the actions that have taken place. Next, Hamlet actually shows some sort of emotion toward the situation. Hamlet says, “I will bestow him and will answer well the death I gave him.”, which is surprising considering he never thought about the consequences that could have been presented to him if he had murdered his uncle. Hamlet tries to keep Polonius’s death underwraps, but ultimately

When the King confronts Hamlet about it, Hamlet only leaves the King with riddles. The tactic here was to try and infiltrate the King’s own sanity by questioning everything, but eventually Hamlet surrenders. King Claudius tells Hamlet that he will be sending him to England immediately. Hamlet is not surprised by this news, so he begins to show the King disrespect. The line of disrespect is “Father and mother is man and wife, man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother- Come for England.”, which is extremely insulting to any male during this time period considering women were inferior to men. On Hamlet’s journey to England, he meets Fortinbras in the snowy mountain range. During this encounter, Hamlet is informed that the Norwegian army will invade the Danish