Fortinbras's Madness In Hamlet

Hamlet’s presentation of madness is a way to take suspicion from himself to investigate Claudius. Hamlet’s madness is performed for the sake of the other characters. His “madness” is not necessarily a psychological problem. It is more indicative of the social attitudes of the play. Fortinbras seeks to avenge the death of his father, as does Hamlet. Hamlet and Fortinbras, and later Laertes, are in the same situation. Fortinbras must reclaim the lands his father lost to Old Hamlet. He does so for the sake of his father, as Hamlet is pretending to be mad to spy on Claudius; a plan he devises to expose Claudius as his father’s murder. Hamlet must live up to his father’s reputation. How would Old Hamlet handle a situation? With Fortinbras, he openly declared combat. Hamlet, however, strategizes and delays the revenge he feels he needs to take on Claudius.
Hamlet’s madness seems genuine to the other characters. Whatever hypothesis scholars have devised regarding Hamlet’s sanity, it is assumed that he is feigning madness throughout the play as part of his plan. His performance of madness is the most logical, as he only behaves this way in front of the other characters. It’s all an act to keep suspicion off himself so he can go …show more content…
He ultimately describes his crime as an “honor killing;” he killed his wife to save his own reputation. The other characters’ attitudes toward Desdemona and Othello also play a hand in the tragedy of the play. As strong-willed as Othello tries to present himself, the remarks about his relationship obviously affect how he sees himself and how he sees Desdemona. He starts to believe and therefore, he becomes more prone to accept Iago’s suggestions about Cassio and Desdemona to be true. The eloquence and self-assurance he displayed when he was defending himself against Brabanzio ultimately fades away as Iago continues to convince him of Desdemona’s