Hamlet And His Maddness Essay Research Paper

Hamlet and his Madness

Since the play Hamlet was first written and performed, critics have analyzed the question “Was Hamlet really mad?” I personally do not believe that he was, but all of the characters in this play have a different opinion.

Each character in this play has a different opinion on why they think that Hamlet is mad. Polonius thinks that Hamlet is mad because of him. He believes that since he told his daughter Ophelia never to see Hamlet again, he has gone mad because of disappointed love for Ophelia. Ophelia on the other hand thinks that Hamlet is just plain crazy, though she herself is also accused of being mad in this play because of her immaturity of not being able to deal with her own problems which eventually leads to her suicide. Even Hamlets own mother thinks that he has gone mad. She has the best view of why he is acting the way he is. She believes that it is because he is confused and upset about his father’s death and her own sudden remarriage. A large majority of readers side with her view of Hamlet. None of the characters are ever able to say for sure if Hamlet has gone mad or if he is just acting as if he wore. Each character seems to center their thoughts on Hamlet, and each one of them has a seemingly logical explanation of why they believe Hamlet has gone mad.

Everyone that reads this play will have his or her own view of Hamlet, if he is really mad and if so why he is. I personally do not believe that he is mad. I think that he was just acting that way to manipulate others. It saves himself in a way and he likes to see how others react to him. His plan worked.