Hamlet 8
Hamlet 8Is Hamlet Mad?
Is Hamlet mad or sane, and if he is mad, was Polonius accurate in saying that there was a “method to his madness”
In Hamlet, there is two characters who fit a mad description, one truly mad, and one only acting mad to serve a plot. Ophelia and Hamlet, with argument to the other’s madness or sanity, Hamlet’s character offers more evidence, while Operlia’s breakdown is quick, but more precise in its madness.
If Hamlet were to see his father’s ghost in private, the argument for his madness would greatly improve. The fact that three men together, witness the ghost before even thinking of notifying Hamlet. Which makes the claim about Hamlet being mad, seem weak. However Horatio pleads a warning to Hamlet, saying “What if it tempts you toward the flood, my lord, or to the dreadful summit of the cliff that beetles o’er his base into the sea, and there assume some other horrible form which might deprive your sovereignty of reason, and draw you into madness? Think of it.
Horatio’s comment may be where Hamlet gets the idea to use a plea of insanity to work out his plan. Later, when Hamlet tells his mother that he saw the ghost in his mothers room, her amazement at his madness is quite convincing.
Another instance of Hamlet’s behavior, manipulation in his meeting with Ophelia, where his uncle and Polonius are hiding behind a curtain.(Earlier in the play it is made quite clear, Hamlets feeling towards Ophelia.) When his complete rejection of her was clearly a hoax.
Hamlet’s actions in the play after meeting the ghost lead everyone except Horatio to believe...
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