Hamlet uses his madness as a way to protect himself and to hide he knows the truth about his father's murder.
Although Hamlet has encountered many stressful events, he has not gone mad. It is merely him faking insanity. There are many examples in the play that display he is faking the apparent decline in his mental health which will be stated below.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, readers question whether Hamlet’s madness is real or if it is just an act. Although there is evidence supporting the fact that Hamlet could very well be mad, there is also an indication that he may be feigning his madness. One may argue that Hamlet feigns his madness at the start of the play, but then fulfills the prophecy he has created. Hamlet uses his madness as a tactic to manipulate other characters in the play and to avoid being held accountable for his actions.
When we are first introduced to Hamlet in Act 1, he seems to be a sane character with lucid thoughts, even though his father has just died. Readers assume he is a smart and knowledgeable character because he attends university. When Horatio and Marcellus come to Hamlet to report they have seen his father’s ghost, that is when Hamlet tells them he is going to fake his madness, but that it is only an act he is playing. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet appears sane. Marcellus and Horatio are the only characters he doesn’t manipulate into believing he’s mad and using them to his own advantage.
Hamlet puts on an antic disposition to protect himself from others and to hide the fact that he knows the truth about how his father was killed. He believes that if he appears mad, people will not hold him accountable for his actions and therefore won’t harm or kill him for the actions he committed. He goes along with the statements both Claudius and Gertrude made because he knows Claudius will take further action if he is aware Hamlet knows about the deed he committed. Hamlet drops subtle hints that imply he knows something about his father’s murder, such as when he creates a reenactment of his father’s murder, but never voices this to Claudius. Hamlet uses his madness to his own advantage. When he kills Polonius, he blames the deed on his madness, when he is attempting to explain the situation to a distraught Laertes, who has recently lost both his sister and his father. When he does something he knows people will not approve of, he pretends to be mad so he won’t suffer any consequences. Hamlet manipulates many characters to make them vulnerable and to use them to his advantage.
When we are first introduced to Hamlet in Act 1, he seems to be a sane character with lucid thoughts, even though his father has just died. Readers assume he is a smart and knowledgeable character because he attends university. When Horatio and Marcellus come to Hamlet to report they have seen his father’s ghost, that is when Hamlet tells them he is going to fake his madness, but that it is only an act he is playing. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet appears sane. Marcellus and Horatio are the only characters he doesn’t manipulate into believing he’s mad and using them to his own advantage.
Hamlet puts on an antic disposition to protect himself from others and to hide the fact that he knows the truth about how his father was killed. He believes that if he appears mad, people will not hold him accountable for his actions and therefore won’t harm or kill him for the actions he committed. He goes along with the statements both Claudius and Gertrude made because he knows Claudius will take further action if he is aware Hamlet knows about the deed he committed. Hamlet drops subtle hints that imply he knows something about his father’s murder, such as when he creates a reenactment of his father’s murder, but never voices this to Claudius. Hamlet uses his madness to his own advantage. When he kills Polonius, he blames the deed on his madness, when he is attempting to explain the situation to a distraught Laertes, who has recently lost both his sister and his father. When he does something he knows people will not approve of, he pretends to be mad so he won’t suffer any consequences. Hamlet manipulates many characters to make them vulnerable and to use them to his advantage.