Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay

Hamlet - A Question of Madness Hamlets public persona is a facade he has created to carry out his ulterior motives. The outside worlds perception of him as being mad is of his own design. Hamlet is deciding what he wants others to think about him. Polonius, a close confidant of the King, is the leading person responsible for the publics knowledge of Hamlets madness. The idea that Hamlet is mad centers around the fact that he talks to the ghost of his dead father. He communicates with his dead fathers ghost twice, in the presence of his friends and again in the presence of his mother. By being in public when talking to the ghost, the rumor of his madness is given substance. Polonius decides to go to Hamlets†¦show more content†¦His motivation for this response is that he knows the King and Polonius are eavesdropping on his conversation. Attempting and succeeding in embarrassing her, he questions Ophelias virginity. Later while attending a play with other royalty, Hamlet again questions Ophelias chastity in another attempt to humiliate her. This time his assault on her character is in front of a much larger audience. In both of these instances, Ophelia tries to dismiss Hamlets insinuations. These two instances also serve to show Hamlets irrational behavior, further justifying Polonius belief that Hamlets madness is connected to sex. Hamlets madness is not in vain. As Polonius says in Act II, Though this be madness, yet there is method int (109). The reason Hamlet is pretending to be insane is to exact revenge against his fathers murderer, the King. He is aware that the King will be concerned about his behavior and he is right. After the play all the characters attend, the King is very disturbed. His reason for being disturbed is that he just witnessed a play which depicted the murder he committed against his own brother, the former King of Denmark. The King knows Hamlet knows of the murder and is aware that Hamlet may not be completely insane. Because he is afraid of losing his power and title of King, the King decides that Hamlet should go to England. His motivesShow MoreRelated Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - Hamlet and Insanity1908 Words   |  8 PagesHamlet and Insanity  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare’s supreme tragic drama Hamlet does not answer fully for many in the audience the pivotal question concerning the sanity of Hamlet – whether it is totally feigned or not. 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