Hamlet is not Insane in Shakespeares Halmet Essay

Alas hes mad (3:4:108) How far do you agree with the statement that Hamlet is mad? A great controversial talking point of the play Hamlet is whether he was mad or in fact making people think he was mad. I disagree with Gertrudes statement that Hamlet is mad. I ask you what the definition of madness, the relatively permanent disorder of the mind, a state of mind characterized by the inability to distinguish right from wrong. Indeed Hamlet only acts mad in front of certain people such as his mother, Polonius, Ophelia, Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who he knows are spying on him. I think Hamlet by using his mad faà §ade hides his real intentions and motivations from his enemies and people that will give away information,†¦show more content†¦(3: 176-180) Claudius says that Hamlets emotions are not from affection. What he does is not insane, it has a higher reason. Hamlet knows something is going on and that he is going to find it out although he does find this out in very unethical terms. Part of his way to hide his motives is by acting mad so he can set about his plan undeterred. With reference to ?There?s something in his soul.? In Hamlet people make many referenc es to his soul, ?Thy devil take thy soul!? maybe hinting that the problem with Hamlet is not insanity but his soul contains the problem. This could possibly fit into the description of the black bile that the Elizabethans believed needed to be bled out in order to make the person saner. The Elizabethans believed that some mentally disabled people were possessed and that madness has a close relationship with god reflecting in the use of Hamlets soul. If Hamlet were truly mad then he would not delay so much throughout the play for a mad man is unable to distinguish right from wrong. Does a mad man have a conscience? When Hamlet is stood after the play waiting to kill Claudius, even though full of rage and hatred he sees Claudius praying and that delays him killing him. This shows Hamlet having a conscience if his mind was unstable surely his actions would have reflected differently. ?They are not near my conscience.? At the beginning of the play a group of people see the ghost but when the ghost