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27th, April, 2015
Hamlet was not insane
Shakespeare is definitely one of the greatest writers of all times. He is well known for his
tragedy play called Hamlet. Hamlet (1603) is a play describing Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark’s
tragedy. Hamlet is summoned from school only to realize his father the King of Denmark is
dead. To add insult to injury, Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother is hurriedly married to the
murderer of his father King Claudius, the current king. In this essay, I critically explore the fact
that Hamlet was not insane. I have worked in close collaboration with Linclne’s work, Hamlet
was not insane (2009). Linclne believes that Hamlet feigned madness in order to successfully
carry out his revenge mission on King Claudius for killing his father and marrying his widow as
directed by his late father’s ghost. I agree with most of Linclne’s views.
In the play, we encounter a series of events happening in hamlet’s life including the death
of his father, immediate remarriage of his mother to the murderer and lose of his birthright to
inherit the throne to his uncle, Claudius. This would undoubtedly sent anybody of sound mind
crazy if not insane, something that does not happen to Hamlet. Hamlet takes advantage of this
situation to confuse the king. There is lots of evidence in this play in support of this. Shakespeare
explains Hamlet’s decision to act “strange” by abnormally showing no interest in her mother and
Claudius decision to betray him (Shakespeare 170-172). Hamlet tells his friend Guildenstem that
"his uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived," and that he is only "mad north-north-west"
(Shakespeare 360). The fact that hamlet has knowledge that he is only acting abnormal for a
given reason proves that he is not insane (Linclne 25-215).
Although Linclne is right in his thoughts, he has not outlined how Hamlet told his friend
Horatio that he must be idle when the play the mousetrap the one he had changed from The
Murder of Gonzago in order to ascertain the spirits’ information that Claudius had killed his
father is in session (Shakespeare 85). This clearly shows how hamlet was planning to appear as if
he is foolish and therefore insane before the King and his allies. Closely related to this, Hamlet
assures his mother that he is not mad when they were having their discussion. Shakespeare
explains to the reader Hamlet’s decision to act “mad”, "I essentially am not in madness, but mad
in craft." This was to clear the air about people believing that he is mad due to his behavior at the
courts. At the same instance, Polonius who has been eaves dropping Hamlet and her mother’s
conversation is instantly killed by Hamlet. Hamlet believes that it is the king spying on him. He
attacks him by his spear. Only a sober minded man could understand that Polonius was spying
on him and therefore an enemy that deserved to be killed. These are strong points that further
prove that Hamlet was not insane.
In addition, Linclne goes on to rightt, Hamlet keeps insisting to her “lover” (he did not
love her, he only pretended to be in love with her as part of the plan of acting insane) Ophelia,
“...get thee to a nunnery...” (Shakespeare 136-142). He understands that Claudius was equally
listening to him. This is to make the king believe that he is mad since only an insane person
could say such words to the lady he loved. The king believes Hamlet loves Ophelia. This shows
that hamlet was only feigning madness. This point is further stressed by the fact that Hamlet
behaves in a wired manner only before his target persons. Things are different when he holds
private conversations with his trusted friends like Horatio. This is because Horatio knows the
reason behind Hamlet’s actions and does nothing (Linclne 221-232)
In addition to Linclne’s works, there are still more evidence to show that hamlet was not
insane. Hamlet succeeds in making his target persons believe he is mad. Guildenstem is the first
man to fall in this trap. He is heard commenting that Hamlet has "a crafty madness"
(Shakespeare 8). Polonius is the second. He declares that Hamlet is mad (Shakespeare 92) as he
gives evidence for this (Shakespeare 145-150). Shakespeare brings out Polonius’s thoughts on
Hamlet’s current behavior. "Your noble son is mad". He feels the love failure between Hamlet
and Ophelia is the cause for this. Little did he know that this was part of Hamlet’s plan to make
him and the king believe so. This is key to Hamlet’s mission. His goal is achieved when he later
succeeds in killing King Claudius thanks to his ability to feign madness although this costs him
his own life alongside other five people in the play.
In conclusion, although someone could say Hamlet was insane after being visited by his
father’s ghost, this is not true since the two other men, the watchmen, who were also visited by
the same spirit, did not fall mad. This further supports the fact that Hamlet was truly not insane.
In conclusion, Hamlet was not insane. The final achievement made by Hamlet when he kills
Claudius could not have been done by a mad person. The view of hamlet as an insane could not
make any meaning to a sane person other than teach them to avoid insanity something that could
not require such a play. Through his works, Hamlet (1603), Shakespeare addresses the issue of
how people have been oppressed in our society. He shows that revenge is not the best option in
doing this since all the royal family including the king, his wife, Hamlet and other people finally
die as the play comes to an end.
Works cited
Linclne Peterson, Hamlet was not Insane, 2009, Oxford university press.
Shakespeare William, Hamlet, 1603, First Folio printers.