The Unhinged Mind In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Have you ever made an excuse to get out of something that makes you feel anxious? In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet, a naive adolescent boy, looks for reasons to prevent him from executing vile tasks. Although Hamlet tries his best to avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius who murdered his father; however, Hamlet’s subconscious prevents him from fulfilling this filial duty since he is weak at taking actions. Thus, Hamlet shows that the only way out of his predicament is to find reasons that justifies the wrongdoing of killing another man, which finally causes Hamlet to go insane. Sigmund Freud believes that–in a healthy person–”the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation” (Heffner). Hamlet’s unhinged mind fails to keep his personality in balance, which prevents him from being able to act on his own, suggesting that harmony is the key that allows people to act …show more content…
The ghost tells Hamlet that the murderer is Claudius and requests Hamlet to “Revenge his foul soul and most unnatural murder” (1.5 25). Knowing this information, Hamlet is eager to avenge his father’s death: “Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift/ As meditation or the thoughts of love/ May sweep to my revenge” (1.5 29-31). Hamlet compares himself to an angel and tells the ghost that he will fulfil his request as fast as possible. Since Hamlet feels bitter about Claudius ruling his kingdom and marrying his mother, he should easily execute his revenge without any interference. In fact, Hamlet feels that “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite/ That I ever was born to set it right“ (1.5 196-197), which conveys he is the chosen one “to set it right” of avenging his