The Question Of Madness In Shakespeare'S Hamlet

In Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet", one of the main themes is the internal struggle of the title character. In fact, his state of mind has been the subject of many articles, books and essays. They all ponder the question, is Hamlet truly mad or is he playing a part to unveil a horrific truth within his own family? The young prince's situation is complicated. Is it "unseemly", as Claudius and Gertrude suggest, for Hamlet to continue to grieve for his father's unexpected demise? Is it crazy for a son to be angry at the upheaval of his family and overwhelmed by the stress this unique experience has caused? Hamlet is not mad but sunk into a deep depression after losing his father.

Hamlet's depression is conveyed in the earliest scenes of the play. When Hamlet is first addressed by his Mother and Uncle he expresses contempt for the King when he mutters under his breath, "A little more than kin and less than kind." (A1, S2, L67). He is very depressed that his father is dead and his family is pretending not to care. They don't even acknowledge that Hamlet might feel uncomfortable with their union. The King asks him, "How is it that the clouds still hang on you?"(A1, S2, L68), and the Queen reasons to Hamlet, "thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die." (A1, S2, L4). Hamlet's mother and "Uncle Father" insist that he stop mourning his father and get on with his life. They imply that he is acting immaturely and not like a man. The Queen and King do not understand that Hamlet is very deeply affected by the recent events in his life and feels betrayed, not only because of his fathers' untimely death, but because his mother got remarried after only two months to his own father's brother. Hamlet feels alone in his sorrow, "trapped in his suits of woe" (A1, S2, L89).

Hamlet's friends, Horatio and Marcellus, come to him after seeing the ghost of King Hamlet. Hamlet is desperately seeking closure for the loss of his father and anxiously demands that Horatio and Marcellus reveal to him what they have seen. They take Hamlet to the site where his fathers' ghost appears. The ghost will not speak to Hamlet in front of his friends, so he signals for Hamlet to follow him. Horatio and Marcellus hold him back and tell him not to go. They feared that the ghost may have malicious motives and may kill him or lead him off a cliff. Hamlet replies:

"Why what should be the fear?

I do not set my life at a pin's fee.

And for my soul, what can I do to that,

Being a thing immortal as itself?" (A1, S4, L72-76)

Hamlet does not value his life at this point and has given up. His depression has taken over and, "He has become a tormented soul struggling to survive in a world that has lost its meaning for him, and he scarcely cares if he survives or not" (Lidz, Page 64)

Hamlet orders Horatio and Marcellus to let him go, "Hold off your hands" (A1, S5, L89) He then follows the ghost. The ghost of King Hamlet reveals a horrible reality to his son. He tells him that his own brother, Claudius, had poisoned him. This knowledge only increases Hamlet's depression and feelings of betrayal. He is searching for a way to make things right after his encounter with the ghost. "Hamlet accepts the "duty" of revenge at a moment when, Harrowed by depression, he is laboring under profound moral shock." (King, 110)

This sequence of events is crucial in arguing the question of madness in Hamlet. This is the first concrete sign that he is not mad. If Shakespeare's goal was to make Hamlet appear mad then he would have written/directed this play so that the ghost would only be seen in the presence of Hamlet. As it is, the ghost was seen first by some minor characters. These men are more trustworthy because they don't have the ulterior political motives that the main characters have. If Hamlet were really crazy, a great way for Shakespeare to show it would be to have the ghost appear only to him. It would make much more sense as a hallucination of an addled mind then something more sinister. Shortly after Hamlet's encounter with his father's ghost he speaks a soliloquy, dumbfounded by all he's heard. He has taken on the ghost's charge to revenge his father's murder and must now come up with a way to go through with it. It is in this part of the play that Hamlet let's his friends (and thus, the audience) know that he will be acting strangely. He tells them to ignore his antics and seems to have everything under control. He explains to his friends that he will only be acting mad and if they see him behaving crazy that they should ignore him and remember that they know him better than to think that he is really mad.

When in the presence of the King and Queen, Hamlet makes a point of avoiding conflict by acting cooperatively and covering up his feelings of depression and melancholy. When in the presence of Ophelia he is very serious and gives her small pieces of information about his worries without really telling her what's going on. This causes confusion in Ophelia who cannot tell what's wrong. To Ophelia's father, Polonius, Hamlet acts as if he is mad and plays with words to try and confuse Polonius. Throughout Hamlet's antics he always manages to sneak in little smart comments and insults when talking to his enemies. To his soon-to-be traitorous college chums, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he gives clues to his true state of mind wrapped in riddles, reminding them, "I am but mad north- north- west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw." (A2, S2, L402-403) This gives more evidence of Hamlet's sanity. His quick wit shines through even at his most "mad" moments.

Hamlet knows that he must take revenge for his fathers' death and betrayal but is unsure of how to go about it. His behavior is best described by Coddon, "That Shakespeare problematizes Hamlet's "antic disposition" at every turn is significant; the fact that Hamlet's madness cannot be pinned down, clarified or debunked allows its consistent perception as a conduct of 'strange desygns' and a threat to the sovereign." (Coddon, 391) The audience/readers as well as the other characters in the play are meant to always wonder whether Hamlet is truly mad. This is why Claudius does all he can to figure out what Hamlet is up to. The king teams up with Polonius to spy on him, and he invites Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out Hamlet's true feelings. When he is sure that Hamlet is a true threat,