Hamlet by William Shakespeare Essay

Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one of the most famous plays of all time. Of the many themes and representation of the human condition in this play, one of the most debated questions among critics and lay readers alike is the issue of Hamlet’s sanity. While sanity and insanity can be defined in many different ways, many critics point to Hamlet’s keen observations and clever manipulations as not insanity but confused grief in an otherwise extremely intelligent, albeit sensitive, man. Hamlet tells his friends in Act I of his plan to feign madness. After the ghost’s revelation and call to Hamlet to get revenge, Hamlet decides to assume an air of insanity to allow him a wider range of words and actions around the King and Queen. He tells Horatio of his intention to â€Å"put an antic disposition on† (I,v, 177). Individuals who are insane rarely plan their insanity. In fact, Hamlet knows that people who are crazy are more apt to get away with odd words and activities. This proves true, for he is not punished for appearing half dressed in Ophelia’s chamber or for his taunting of Polonius with references to â€Å"fishmonger† and â€Å"Jepthah. †His plan appears to be working. The King and Queen set to finding out the cause of Hamlet’s lunacy which throws them off the path of his knowledge of the murder. â€Å"He acts the part of madness with unrivalled power, convincing the persons who are sent to examine into his supposed loss of reason merely by telling them unwelcome truths and rallying them with the most caustic wit† (Bates 22). His intelligence almost gets him in trouble. His admission to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that â€Å"I am but mad north-northwest. When the wind is southerly, I / know a hawk from a handsaw† (II,ii,384-385). While these two do not catch his meaning, the more clever Claudius does. He notes, â€Å"Nor what he spake, thout it lacked form a little, Was not like madness† (III,i,167-168) and â€Å"Madness in great ones must not unwatchedgo† (III,i,192). Of course Hamlet is consumed with grief. His choice of dark clothing and brooding countenance is apparent when the reader first meets him. This is understandable upon the death of a father and not something that Hamlet becomes clinically insane about. His depression cannot be compared to psychosis. â€Å"The mental disturbance which it causes becomes apparent while he thinks aloud, almost as soon as the ghost has disappeared; but he is not mad either in the popular or in the physiological sense; it is merely the mental derangement of a noble, but not an heroic, nature, sinking beneath a burden which it cannot bear and must cast away† (Bates 29). Hamlet is depressed, even distraught, after learning of the true fate of his father, but he is not insane. Later, after the play, Hamlet confirms his sanity to his mother in order to convince her of Claudius’ guilt and to implore her to stay away from him. Yes, his Oedipal obsession with his mother is odd for many readers, but coupled with his father’s death and the ghost’s appearance, his desire to save her is more in the realm of understandable. He tells her â€Å"It is not madness/That I have uttered. Bring me to the test,? And I the matter will reword, which madness / Would Gambol from† (III,iv, 146-150). He wants her to know that he is not crazy and to choose his side, which she does. This is one of Hamlet’s goals. Many critics focus on the To Be, or Not To Be soliloquy in which Hamlet considers suicide for the second time as being proof of his insanity. Again, a closer look at Hamlet’s words show this to be false. This soliloquy is an organized, parallel, and logical debate on the issue of suicide. A mad individual would not possess the logic to provide such a point-counterpoint style. He lists all of the vices of the world and sets them up against all the unknowns of the afterworld and concludes, logically, Thus conscious does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action. (III,i, 84-89). Hamlet carefully weighs the pros and cons of suicide, for him, and concludes that the fear of the unknown keeps him alive. This is not an insane man. In fact, Hamlet’s supposed insanity can be compared to Ophelia’s actual insanity. Ophelia, after the death of her father and Hamlet’s mean treatment of her, has truly gone insane. She is singing songs about her dead father and about losing her virginity in front of the entire court. She is handing out flowers to the King and Queen, and eventually she â€Å"drowns† in inches of water. One critic notes how Hamlet â€Å"differs surprisingly from the pathetic inanities of the gentle Ophelia† (Blackmore 59). This contrast further shows Hamlet’s sanity. â€Å"The mad role that Hamlet plays to perfection, is certainly a proof of Shakespeare’s genius, but by no means a surety of the insanity of the Prince† (Blackmore 57). Hamlet is shown to be sane in this play. That is not to say he is not grieving, angry and depressed at various moments, but textual and critical support show that he is not insane. Works Cited Bates, Alfred, ed. The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization. Vol. 14. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 20-34. Blackmore, Simon Augustine. â€Å"The Real or Assumed Madness of Hamlet. † The Riddles of Hamlet and The Newest Answers. Boston: Stratford Company, 1917 Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Evanston, IL: McDougal/Little, 2003.