Analysis on hamlets madness
Analysis on hamlets madnessAn Analysis of Hamlet’s “antic disposition”
Is Hamlet mad? A close analysis of the play reveals that Hamlet is straightforward and sane. His actions and thoughts are a logical response to the situation in which he finds himself. However, he assumes antic-disposition to undercover the truth of his father’s death.
In the first act, Hamlet appears to be very straightforward in his actions and thoughts. When questioned by Gertrude about his melancholy appearance Hamlet says, “Seems, madam? Nay it is know not seems” (I, ii, 76). This is to say, “I am what I appear to be.” Later he makes a clear statement about his thoughts of mind when he commits himself to revenge. Hamlet says, “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain” (I, iv, 99-103). With this statement, the play makes a transition. Hamlet gives up the role of a student and mourning son, and commits himself to nothing else but the revenge of his father’s death. There is no confusion and certainly no sign of madness in Hamlet’s character. In Chapel Scene, when Claudius is praying alone for his guilt, Hamlet accidentally sees him. He realizes that this is the perfect opportunity to perform the revenge. Seeing the opportunity, Hamlet says, “Now might I do it pat, now a’ is a-praying; And now I’ll do it, and so he goes to heaven, And so am I reveng’d. That would be scann’d; A villain kills my father, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven. O, this is hire and salary, not revenge.” (III, iii, 73-79). This shows, Hamlet has a sound mind and is not mad. He knew that if he killed Claudius, he would go to heaven upon death whereas his father’s soul was unprepared for death and so went to purgatory. He has said earlier that he is what he appears to be, and there is no reason to doubt it.
When Hamlet appears again in Act Two, it seems that he has lost the conviction and shows a puzzling duplicitous nature. He has yet to take up the part assigned to him by the ghost. He spends the act walking around, reading, talking with Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the players. It is not until the very end of the act that he even mentions vengeance. If he had any of the conviction shown earlier, he would be presently working on his vengeance. So instead of playing the part of vengeful son, or dropping the issue entirely, he hangs out in the middle, pretending to be mad. This is shown when he says to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, “I know not lost all...
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