Was Hamlet Really Mad Analysis

In Shakespeare's Play Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s actions and manner throughout the play are called ‘mad’ by the other characters in the play. However, Hamlet is not truly mad. Hamlet is depressed after his father’s death and his mother’s betrayal. However, once he overcomes his personal conflicts, Hamlet uses his ‘madness’ as an act to distract and disguise his true motive for revenge.

After Hamlet has discovered the truth about his father from the Ghost, he goes through a very traumatic period, which is interpreted as madness by the other characters. With the death of his father and the hasty, incestuous remarriage of his mother to his uncle, Hamlet is thrown into a state in which "the uses of this world" seem to him "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable." This state is merely depression, not true madness. Based on the recent events in Hamlet’s life this depression is understandable and even natural. …show more content…
From that perspective, madness seemed to be the perfect way to manipulate the people around him. The feigned madness allowed Hamlet to confuse Polonius into believing that Ophelia was the root of his madness. In turn, this led Polonius to go to the king and queen who also seem inclined to believe that Ophelia could in fact be the cause of Hamlet's madness. The interception of the love letters from Hamlet to Ophelia was also in favor for Hamlet’s portrayal of "madness". For Hamlet to carry this on effectively, he would have had to retain some sort of connection to reality in order to manipulate those that would otherwise doubt whether or not he actually knew what he was talking