In faking his madness, Hamlet becomes the role he is playing, he turns mad. Any sign of sanity has been diminished. Hamlet was perceived in the beginning of the play as a very intelligent and knowledgeable young man, but his mental health declined with his feigning of madness and he soon became a character of madness. One starts to question if he was ever truly faking his madness or if his mental health severely declined as the play progressed? He uses his mental health to justify his actions and readers begin to ponder Hamlet’s sanity. Hamlet begins to have violent outbursts of which Gertrude, Polonius and Ophelia are victims of, he appears to be “all over the place”, and he appears to be insane.
I believe if there was a possibility someone killed themselves because of your careless actions towards them, it would be enough to drive you insane. Not only is Hamlet one of the last characters to find out about Ophelia’s death, but his madness drives him to jump into her gravesite where she was buried. As the play progresses, Hamlet’s thoughts become harder to follow and his ideas become jumbled. Also where one might question Hamlet’s sanity is when only he can see the reappearance of his father’s ghost. Is this a sign of the decline of his mental health?
Many characters such as Gertrude, Polonius and Ophelia believe Hamlet has gone mad. Polonius describes Hamlet’s madness in Act 2 when he says: “He knew me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love; very near this” (2.2.8). Another main character, Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother finally comes to the realization that Hamlet has in fact gone mad when she says: “Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend Which is the mightier: in his lawless fit, Behind the arras hearing something stir, Whips out his rapier, cries, 'A rat, a rat!' And, in this brainish apprehension, kills The unseen good old man” (4.1.2). Near the end of the play, Hamlet is no longer pretending to be mad, he truly has gone insane. Many stressful situations in the play such as Ophelia’s death, his father, King Hamlet’s death and the remarriage of Gertrude and Claudius is what caused the decline in his mental health. Unfortunately, Hamlet’s insane act consumed him and he soon became the act or character he was portraying. In an attempt to manipulate and trick others, he is eventually held accountable for his actions by losing his mind. Despite his efforts to avoid death, he still ends up dying at the end of the play and his madness has overtaken him. Until the end of the play, Hamlet uses his “madness” to manipulate other characters in the play, in turn making him not accountable for his actions.
I believe if there was a possibility someone killed themselves because of your careless actions towards them, it would be enough to drive you insane. Not only is Hamlet one of the last characters to find out about Ophelia’s death, but his madness drives him to jump into her gravesite where she was buried. As the play progresses, Hamlet’s thoughts become harder to follow and his ideas become jumbled. Also where one might question Hamlet’s sanity is when only he can see the reappearance of his father’s ghost. Is this a sign of the decline of his mental health?
Many characters such as Gertrude, Polonius and Ophelia believe Hamlet has gone mad. Polonius describes Hamlet’s madness in Act 2 when he says: “He knew me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love; very near this” (2.2.8). Another main character, Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother finally comes to the realization that Hamlet has in fact gone mad when she says: “Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend Which is the mightier: in his lawless fit, Behind the arras hearing something stir, Whips out his rapier, cries, 'A rat, a rat!' And, in this brainish apprehension, kills The unseen good old man” (4.1.2). Near the end of the play, Hamlet is no longer pretending to be mad, he truly has gone insane. Many stressful situations in the play such as Ophelia’s death, his father, King Hamlet’s death and the remarriage of Gertrude and Claudius is what caused the decline in his mental health. Unfortunately, Hamlet’s insane act consumed him and he soon became the act or character he was portraying. In an attempt to manipulate and trick others, he is eventually held accountable for his actions by losing his mind. Despite his efforts to avoid death, he still ends up dying at the end of the play and his madness has overtaken him. Until the end of the play, Hamlet uses his “madness” to manipulate other characters in the play, in turn making him not accountable for his actions.