Is Hamlet Truly Insane

Is Hamlet truly insane? There is much evidence in the play that Hamlet deliberately put on fake fits of madness in order to confuse and bewilder the king and his attendants. However, it is important to point out that the reason why Hamlet acted this way is because of the tragic incident of his father's death. This becomes evident right away when Hamlet contemplates suicide in the first soliloquy of the play. Hamlet gets the idea of faking insanity from Horatio's warning when he meets his father's spirit. His declared intention to act strange and odd and to put on such a disposition is not the only indication. When completing with Horatio the arrangements for the play, Hamlet says "I must be idle". This obviously is a declaration of his intention to be foolish. Then later he says to his mother, "I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft." He assures his mother that …show more content…
Only a sane man could contrive such a thought-out rational plan. Hamlet's madness allows him to express his feelings, develop new plans, and to gain information, all while keeping people from taking his actions too seriously, in order to eventually kill Claudius. Hamlet's act of masquerading madness allows him to speak his mind behind the disguise of insanity, so that no one would become suspicious of him. Hamlet uses his madness as an excuse and a part of his apology, towards Laertes for murdering Polonius. A mad man would not be able to fabricate such thoughts.

On the other hand, Hamlet acts perfectly sane when acting insane is unnecessary. Hamlet had no reason to act insane with Horatio because he was his close friend, who was clever enough to differentiate between false and true madness. It is more convincing that a sane man could play an insane one, than an insane man could play a sane man, and so reason would deem Hamlet