Insanity In Hamlet Research Paper

459 Words2 Pages
Many criminal suspects today divert guilt from themselves by crediting their actions to some kind of insanity. Prince Hamlet, of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, puts on a similar fake insanity that eventually takes over Hamlet and leads to his downfall. Hamlet fakes madness in order to uncover the truth about his father’s death. His plan goes well until his sanity is at risk and he begins to go insane. What began as an act of insanity becomes part of Hamlet’s reality. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet returns home to Denmark. While still mourning his father’s death, Hamlet meets his father’s ghost and speaks with it. He learns that his father was brutally murdered by Claudius, in his attempt to become King of Denmark. When Hamlet receives this news, he puts on an “antic disposition” to respond to the confusion, anger and sadness that he was feeling. As part of his plan, Hamlet pretends to be insane. By pretending to be insane, Hamlet can gain details about his father's death and not be held accountable for his actions.…show more content…
He begins to behave in a careless manner and treats those who are significant to him as if they mean nothing. When Hamlet meets with Ophelia, he bashes her and says he has no feelings for her: “…give his plague for dowry: be as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, shalt not escape calumny…” (Act 3. Scene 1. lines 146-148). Hamlet uses harsh language, which makes it seem like Hamlet doesn’t love Ophelia. Later Hamlet says, “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum…” when he argues with Ophelia’s brother about who has the greater love for her (Act 5. Scene 1. lines 285-287). If Hamlet’s madness was fake, he would show some respect to those he cares about and

More about Insanity In Hamlet Research Paper

Open Document