Hamlet Group

Question:

nayems
nayems
Teacher
High School - 11th Grade

Is Hamlet mad or sane?

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Posted by nayems on Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 5:40 AM and tagged with hamlet, madnes, sanity, william shakespeare.

Answers:

  1. parkerlee
    parkerlee Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    Best answer as selected by question asker.

    Here, you will have to give in your own personal imput as this question can be argued and defended either way. Consider the following aspects, then formulate your opinon accordingly.

    Yes, he is mad:

    He broods or ruminates without coming to any constructive decision.

    He behaves irrationally, acts impulsively, and has mood swings - all symptoms of a bipolar personality disorder.

    He is also neurotic, dealing with unresolved guilt not only for himself but for his family members as well, expecially his mother. He displays an almost Oedipal rage upon Claudius' substitution in the role of his father (especially as the sexual companion of Gertrude.

    He wonders if he is not a bit schizophrenic and cannot rely on his senses to be "telling" him the truth. Is he hallucinating or is his deceased father really appearing to him to get a message across?

    No, he is rather quite sane:

    He has a sense of fairness and justice: He does not want to avenge his father's death until his has absolute proof that Claudius really did kill him. He would show clemence to his mother, overcome in her weakness.

    He distrusts his own subjectivity and seeks other reference points other than his own thoughts and feelings (related to the above).

    He is methodical in procedure and if he does not act, at least he stays focused on his goal.

    His visions of his father's ghost are shown to NOT be simple hallucinations but indeed is his spirit in unrest. (Supernatural elements and not his own imagination).

    So, is Hamlet mad or not? Take your position and look for other supporting evidence to back up your statement. Better yet, divide your class into two groups and have your students engage in a lively debate.

     

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/ghost-he-really-hamlets-father
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/hamlet-sane
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/nature-hamlets-character

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    Posted by parkerlee on Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 6:15 AM


  2. jagtig

    It's real. Polonius instructs Ophelia to rebuff Hamlet after Laertes tenders similar cautions.

    http://www.tailsntales.com/eng/sha/ham/tex/sel_2.html#anchor226228

    http://www.tailsntales.com/eng/sha/ham/tex/sel_3.html#anchor257232

    It could also have been the appearance of his father's ghost that caused his bizarre appearance.

    In this selection Claudius and Polonius conspire to trap or find out what is troubling Hamlet.

    http://www.tailsntales.com/eng/sha/ham/tex/sel_5.html#anchor221232

    and here it is shown that she has been instructed to return his love letters.

    http://www.tailsntales.com/eng/sha/ham/tex/sel_5.html#anchor255733.

    Hamlet professes true love for her in love letters. See

    http://www.tailsntales.com/eng/sha/ham/tex/sel_4.html#anchor186276

    Hamlet goes off the deep end scolding her severely. http://www.tailsntales.com/eng/sha/ham/tex/sel_5.html#anchor262713

    After soliciting Ophelia's favors http://www.tailsntales.com/eng/sha/ham/tex/sel_6.html#anchor195342He murders Polonius, who was hiding in his mother's room when she met with him to discover why he was acting so erratically as per the plotting of Claudius and Polonius.

    Another contributing factor is his father's murder, coupled with the fact that his uncle, the self-professed murderer, then married his mother. This brother-wife relationship was considered incest.

    Hamlet lost respect for his mother, then saved face by scolding Ophelia. Then, it appears he advanced on Ophelia in a way that was not in good faith during the play, and this along with the murder of her father drove her mad and then to suicide. He professed love for her after that, but Laertes had sworn revenge, and Claudius was in league with him.

    Of course their revenge went awry, and all the major characters perished.

    It is my opinion that he doesn't feign madness and here are a number of quotes that support that viewpoint. http://shakespeare.wikia.com/wiki/The_Tragedy_of_Hamlet%2C_Prince_of_Denmark_You_Decide_Page#Mental_Illness_in_Hamlet:_Is_Hamlet_Truly_Insane.3F

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    Posted by jagtig on Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 10:47 AM