Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is a well-known historical play by Shakespeare that leaves open questions to the audience to mediate and argue over. Over time, this play has been analyzed many times. In the play, it is made obvious that the main character Hamlet is mentally unstable. Is easy to see that the main character is struggling with a mental disorder that perhaps was brought upon him from learning that his uncle murdered his father to take over the throne and marry his mother, Gertrude.
His fathers ghost appears to the guards Marcellus, Bernardo, and Horatio, Hamlet’s friend, who then proceed to let Hamlet know about the strange appearance. After the ghost tells him that a snake did not bite him, but poisoned by his brother Claudius. To discover the truth Hamlet plans to put on a madness act to plan the best time to avenge his fathers murder. Throughout the play it is easy to infer that hamlet is not insane but rather putting on an act as he tells his friend Horatio. ‘But come, Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter ,shall think meet To put an antic disposition on)” (Shakespeare 1.5.170). He is stating that for him to succeed in his plan of murdering his uncle when Horatio sees him acting insane, he must not question the authenticity of his actions. Although he fakes his madness, it is easy to convince the ones he’s trying to fool by displaying distinct signs of psychosis as the play progresses. His only goal, to obtain extra time to find out the truth about his father. By acting mad he knows that all the attention will be focused on other things and not him. In the meantime he focuses on his main plan, the killing of Claudius. He is focused on obtaining justice and is willing to destroy anything that gets in his way. His feelings of becoming his fathers hero, gets the best of his sanity and has no remorse for anything he has done.
There is much evidence in the play that Hamlet deliberately feigned fits of madness to confuse and disconcert the king and his attendants (Crawford 2009). Hamlet is not the only one to see the king’s ghost. Since three other people saw the ghost of the king in act 1, scene 1, we can conclude that hamlet is rather intelligent, selfish, and self-absorbed. He often plays mind games and offends his girlfriend, Ophelia. He is not concerned with her feelings. While he is devastated and mourning the death of his father, his madness goes beyond ordinary. Gertrude tells Hamlet, ‘ Thou know’st ‘tis common. All that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity’ (1.2.70). Gertrude asks Hamlet why he seems to be so upset about the passing of his father. Hamlet responds:
Seems,” madam? Nay, it is. “Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected ‘havior of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me tru (1.2.75-85)
Undoubtedly, his statement shows evidence that he was suffering from something deeper within him and not just melancholy from his father’s death. He was clearly showing signs of being Manic Depressive or even Bipolar as he had confusion, suicidal thoughts, and setting goals that he couldn’t bring himself to do. He was not crazy; he had a mental disability that in his era was not recognized as a mental problem but rather as someone crazy. His rapid cycles of mixed episodes of short and sudden mania and depression are prevalent with Bipolar disorder, during a true manic episode, a person may lose touch with reality and have a psychotic breakdown, have hallucinations. For example, in act 3, scene 4, line 125, the ghost appears to Hamlet again his mother’s presence. However, she cannot see the spirit, Which makes her question Hamlet’s sanity. But, the ghost is seen by the audience; clearly, it is not his imagination. Hamlet also had an opportunity to kill Claudius but couldn’t bring himself to do it as he thought that if he killed him while praying, his soul would go to heaven. Throughout the play, he was capable of making rational decisions, which points out that his insanity was feigned. When it was brought out that Hamlet killed Polonius, he wanted to blame his actions on his insanity. He only acts insane when he knows it will benefit him. Someone that is genuinely insane does not see the difference between right and wrong. He is well aware of his malicious actions. For example, He attempts to apologize to Laertes for murdering his father.
Perhaps if someone would have given the immature and young hamlet the attention he was desperately seeking, the outcome would not have been as tragic. Hamlet felt confused, betrayed, and jealous that his mother was spending most of her time with her new husband. Hamlet states, ‘To be, or not to be’ (3.1.60). He contemplates the idea of committing suicide but doesn’t do it because he is afraid to end up in hell. If the help he needed psychologically was offered, a lot of death would have been avoided. In his act, he is letting the audience know about the deep demons he carries in him. Although he wants to see the actions of his uncle and mother, he was also getting expressing his sorrow. “By speaking his thoughts in soliloquy, by reflecting on his own penchant for thought, by giving others cause to worry about what he is thinking, Hamlet draws attention to what is putatively going on inside him” (Grazia 2001).
Hamlet is a revenge tragedy. He got too involved in getting revenge, that he caused his mental breakdown. At one point, he was not sure if he was acting or being himself. With his anxiety increasing, he seems to be losing touch with reality. This play shows a point that revenge, greed, and vanity always leads to downfall by taking over a person’s mind. By him trying to take justice into his own hands, nine people died, including him. His friend, Horatio, is the only one left alive. At a great cost, his procrastination, lack of empathy, and impulsiveness led to a deadly ending. He thought that everything revolved around him and always putting his needs before others.
Shakespeare is astounding for leaving open questions for the audience to mediate and argue about. Theories after theories are formed about the main character, and that’s the magic of Hamlet. We can say that the play is merely about revenge. But not everyone sees it the same way. Each individual may think of the play uniquely as it means different things to different people. Although the central theme in this play is loyalty, revenge, and death, Hamlet inspires the audience to wonder what they would do if faced with betrayal, challenges, and mental instability.
Nevertheless, as a result of his bad choices. The minute he decides to get revenge and feigned madness was the moment he loses his true self and leads to self-destruction. The unexpected tragedies in his current life and him not being treated for his mental illness may have triggered his severe behavioral and emotional problems. It made it even harder to go about his daily life. It is crucial to keep in mind that in the medieval and Renaissance time, an identity was one of the essential aspects to maintain.
In today’s modern society, it is easy to become selfish. Some situations that occurred in the play, such as Claudius obtaining wealth and power by deceiving others, is something that’s faced daily among people. Just like in Hamlet, in today’s families, we see unsteady relationships that are based merely on money and what may be gained out of each situation. The main idea that can be gathered from the play is that Hamlet is doesn’t think of anyone else but himself, his obsession with finding out the truth ends up killing every main character in the play, except for Horatio, who is to tell the truth behind the tragic events that took place. Even upon his death he has no sympathy for the harm his actions have caused, as he is more worried of dying as a hero by obtaining the main goal in the play, revenge over his father’s murder.
