Use of Insanity and Madness in Hamlet Essays -- Literary Analysis, Sha

It is or is it not true that Hamlet was faking his insanity? I’m not saying Hamlet was faking the whole thing. The meaning for insanity on Dictionary.com is â€Å"a permanent disorder of the mind.† I don't think Hamlet had a permanent disorder of the mind he knew what he was doing and even planned the majority of the events that happened. Most of the time anyway. Having your father die is bad enough, but to have your mother marry your uncle, within a few weeks of your father’s death? Then to see the ghost of your dead father. That would drive anyone a little insane, but maybe not to the extent that everyone thought Hamlet was acting. Hamlet is torn between acting sane and letting everyone else see him as insane. Hamlet is so grieved by his father's death that he begins to think of suicide. â€Å"O,tht this too too soid flesh would melt thaw and resolve itelf into a dew!† (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 129-130). Hamlet's next thought to be mad when he begins to follow the ghost. Horatio attempts to tell Hamlet not to follow the ghost, Horatio questions him to about what might happen if the ghost â€Å"assume some other horrible form Which might deprive your sovereignth of reason. And draw you into madness†(Act 1, Scene 4, Lines 72-74)? Throughout the play Hamlet seems to act insane then sane again. His comment to his friends best describes his madness when he says, â€Å"I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from handsaw† (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 378-379). Hamlet is insane only when he thinks it is best for him to be insane. He uses his insanity as a way to vent his feelings toward others in the play. Hamlet’s display of insanity allows him to prove that Claudius did in face murder his father. After seein... ...s 319-326). Hamlet leaves his final words to Horatio. He tells him that he leaves behind a story unknown, and that he would like him to give up his happiness until the pain is gone and the story is told. In summary, I do not think that hamlet was insane. I think he had every right to be mad and upset at everyone who done him wrong. He should not have held all of his feelings inside. If I had been Hamlet, I had been mad and wanted to avenge my father's death also. If he had been insane he would not have done all the things that he'd managed to do. It was a pretty smart plan that Hamlet had created, and it almost work, if everyone didn't die at the end. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. â€Å"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark† Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print