Was Hamlet Really Crazy Analysis

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare leaves many open ended thoughts and unanswered questions. One of the major wavering controversies is whether Hamlet, the heir to the throne, is in fact crazy or as he claims, putting “an antic disposition on” (Ham. 1.5.190-191). Even though many state he is truly mad, there are multiple evidential facts proving Hamlet’s honesty. Informational pieces to explain his true sanity include, why Hamlet would feign madness, admitting his sanity, and only acting insane around certain characters. Before explaining why Hamlet would purposefully act crazy during the play, one should understand his reasoning behind it. Even though the ghost claims to be King Hamlet who was killed by Claudius, Hamlet must still investigate to determine whether the ghost is truthful or not. Throughout the play, Hamlet proves to be very clever in examining his father 's murder by feigning madness. This allows access to the king and his people without drawing any suspicion. For example, in Act II, Scene ii after Polonius strikes a conversation with Hamlet in the lobby, he asks “Do you know me my lord?” (Ham. 2.2.189). Hamlet responds “Excellent well. You are a fishmonger” (Ham. 2.2.190), acting as if he is mistaking Polonius for someone who sells fish. He does this for two reasons, one to portray his weird sense of humor by calling Polonius an unimportant, smelly man who many people …show more content…
However, given the evidence, one can conclude that Hamlet is in fact faking insanity for the reason of cleverly investigating his father 's murder. The facts supporting this argument include, why Hamlet would feign madness, admitting to other people of his sanity, and only acting insane around certain characters. Without the act, much of his investigation would have drawn unwanted attention, ridding him of several opportunities to gather