Why Is Hamlet Insane

Superior Essays
While reading the play Hamlet, one may think Hamlet is insane. In the beginning we are told how Hamlet’s father has been killed and how he is now trying to get revenge. To ascertain this information he must feign his insanity to go unnoticed by his close family. The real question though is if the whole situation got to him and drove him truly insane. But the Author makes it seem like Hamlet never truly falls into complete insanity. Hamlet uses his acting skills to fool everyone into believing he is insane while it’s all just a part of his plan.

In the beginning Hamlet plans to act crazy to distract Claudius and the Queen from his intentions of exposing his father’s killer. Hamlet tells his best friend Horatio that his father’s ghost came
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No offense i’th’world(3.2.168-169) .In this response Hamlet is hinting at the fact that he knows about Claudius poisoning his father. When someone is insane they aren’t going to be able to hint at things during a conversation and make it seem normal. Near the end of the play it is extremely clear to see that he never truly went insane. In the scene when Hamlet meets Fortinbras Jr. we can see how embarrassed he is of himself for not taking direct revenge of his father 's death like fortinbras does even though he has proof of who his father’s murderer is. When the King sends him to England to get rid of him for killing Polonius, the ship Hamlet had been on engages in a grapple with another crew so he switches ships and returns to Denmark without anyone knowing. If someone was actually insane, how would they have the mindset to switch ships and return unknowingly to where he is unwanted by the royal family. When he returns and finds out Ophelia has killed herself he is saddened and angered by the news. He then states how he loved her even more than her brother Laertes who was immensely angered that Hamlet has killed his father and drove his sister to kill herself. Hamlet states his love for Ophelia at her …show more content…
What wilt thou do for her?(5.1.276-277) This is followed by a fight which is stopped and a fencing duel is planned for them. Hamlet was prepared for this because he has been practicing his fencing for a while now. Again, if Hamlet was truly insane, how would he know to practice his fencing? Hamlet fights and is beating Laertes at the beginning of the duel which again proves he knows what he is doing and can’t be insane. In the end Hamlet’s plan of insanity works when he forces Claudius to drink the poison that his mother already drank on accident after getting this far with his acting.

Throughout the play Hamlet faked his insanity to fulfill his plan of revenge. Hamlet continuously feigned insanity during the play without ever going fully insane. This was all part of his plan to do what he needed to reveal his father 's murderer to the kingdom. Before they all die at the end, Hamlet makes sure Horatio lives to tell the story to everyone so they know what actually happened. This goes to prove that Hamlet knew what had been going on the whole time and his insanity was truly just one big

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