"Shakespeare meant . . . to represent the effects of great action laid upon a soul unfit for the performance of it. . . . A lovely, pure, noble and most moral nature, without the strength of nerve which forms a hero, sinks beneath a burden which it cannot bear and must not cast away. All duties are too holy for him; the present is too hard. Impossibilities have been required of him; not in themselves impossibilities, but such for him. He winds and turns, and torments himself; he advances and recoils; is ever put in mind, ever puts himself in mind; at last does all but lose his purpose from his thoughts; yet still without recovering his peace of mind."
(Johnston, Ian. “English 366: Studies in Shakespeare.” Introduction Lecture on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 2001. Malaspina-University. February 27, 2001
<http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/eng366/lectures/hamlet.htm>.)
Throughout reading the play Hamlet, Shakespeare has the reader question their thoughts about Hamlet and his mental sanity. Do you believe Hamlet was ever at any point of the play actually insane, or was he just putting on an antic disposition?
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Throughout the play Hamlet the audience is called to question Hamlet's sanity. Throughout the play Hamlet retains his antic disposition, and is never truly insane. Hamlet's act of antic disposition is proven through his rational strategy, killing Polonius, and warning Ophelia.
Hamlet's antic disposition can be confirmed through his rational strategy. The Ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius killed King Hamlet. Hamlet could seek revenge instantly, however, he instead decides to confirm the Ghost's claim. Hamlet recognizes that the Ghost “May be a devil, and the devil.../ Abuses me to damn me.” (2.2.595-9). This refers to an evil spirit forcing Hamlet to commit treason, having him killed. Instead, Hamlet has the players “play something like the murder of my father / Before mine uncle. I'll observe his looks; / ...If'a do blench, I know my course.” (2.2.591-4). This strategy exemplifies Hamlet's rationality because he knows that he cannot trust the Ghost, he must first confirm that Claudius killed King Hamlet.
Polonius' murder also confirms Hamlet's act of antic disposition. It may appear that Hamlet attacked Polonius irrationally, but the fact is the opposite. The murder of Polonius is a rational strategy that Hamlet follows through. Hamlet knows that people have been spying on him, people like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. After being summoned to the Queen's chambers by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of the spies, it is logical to assume that someone will spy on Hamlet. It is logical because, since two spies working for Claudius, Claudius orchestrated the summoning. Thus, there must also be a spy waiting for Hamlet in the room. Thus, Hamlet proves the presence of a spy through his act of antic disposition, scaring the Queen. When Gertrude cries “Help, ho!” (3.4.21), Polonius, the spy, also cries out with his startled expression “What ho! Help” (3.4.21). To Hamlet, this reveals the presence of “A rat!” (3.4.22) hiding behind the arras. Hamlet and Gertrude are part of the royal family. If someone spies on one of them, never mind both, it is considered treason. The punishment for treason is death. Thus, if Hamlet kills any spy who is in the process of committing treason, his action will be justified by law. This allows Hamlet to get rid of one of his enemies without the fear of death for himself. Also, there is also the chance that the spy was Claudius. If Claudius were the spy, Hamlet would accomplish his obligation to avenge his father without committing treason. Finally, Hamlet appears to be unaffected by this murder. This exemplifies Hamlet's knowledge that an event such as this would occur. After killing Polonius, Hamlet declares “A bloody deed. Almost as bad, good mother, / As kill a king and marry with his brother.” (3.4.28-9). With Hamlet's twist of the conversation, Hamlet's shock of the murder is shown as non-existent. Therefore, because of Hamlet's knowledge of a spy's presence, the ability to kill an enemy with low consequence, and Hamlet's lack of concern for the murder, Hamlet's sanity through rational thought can be confirmed.
Hamlet's mental sanity can be proven through his conversation with Ophelia. In this conversation Hamlet tells Ophelia to “get thee to a nunnery.” (3.1.121). This line refers to Hamlet wanting to keep Ophelia safe. The nunnery is a place where nuns look after abandoned infants. If Ophelia were to go to one, she would also be looked after. This would keep her safe, which portrays Hamlet's concern for Ophelia, thus his sanity. Also, Hamlet must use a phrase with multiple meanings to prove his sanity through antic disposition. Hamlet asks Ophelia “Where's your / father?” (3.1.130-1) because he knows that Polonius could be spying on them. Thus, Hamlet cannot tell Ophelia to seek shelter in a nunnery. Instead he must word it so that it appears as though he is crazy. Hamlet proves his sanity through his concern for Ophelia, and his knowledge of a spy's presence.
Hamlet never turns towards actual insanity throughout the play; it is all just an act in his antic disposition. This is confirmed through his rational strategy, the murder of Polonius, and Hamlet's conversation with Ophelia.
In Hamlet the play many people have contemplated whether or not Hamlet actually goes insane during his antic disposition. When observing certain actions throughout the play such as Hamlet’s discussion with his mother, and Polonius being slain by the sword of Hamlet , it is discovered that Hamlet is not insane but at times loses his normal, rational mindset that he displays during the majority of the play.
When examining the conversation between Hamlet and his mother the fact that Hamlet is not insane but when he steps out of his natural demeanor it is apparent. When Hamlet is speaking to his mother he must step outside of his normal personality in order to drive his point across and he does this by being very harsh with his mother to force her to listen, “Come, come, and sit you down, you shall not budge.” (3.4.17). By forcing his mother to sit down he is making her listen to the truth he is no longer giving Gertrude her own choice to finally see what is going on. By forcing her to listen to him Hamlet is able to inform Gertrude of what exactly Claudius stands for and finally gains his mother’s loyalty for the first time in the play.
In the scene in which Hamlet is speaking to his mother in her room a very significant actions occurs very early on in the scene. When Hamlet forces his mother to sit she believes that Hamlet is going to harm her so she calls for help, “What wilt thou do? Thou wilt murder me? Help, ho!” (3.4.20-21). Once the queen calls for help Polonius gives away his hiding spot behind the arras and is slain by Hamlet. This action by Hamlet is one of the only times during the play when Hamlet does not fully think an action through before acting as even Gertrude realizes this “O what a rash and bloody deed this is!” (3.4 27). This is a symbol of how Hamlet is growing as a character and is growing less and less hesitant to act as the play progresses, but nonetheless Hamlet yet again steps out his normal personality and makes the reader yet again question his sanity.
In conclusion, there are many instances in which Hamlet steps out of his normal disposition and this is shown through his discussion with his mother and the murder of Polonius. Furthermore both of these instances just describe how Hamlet steps out of his normal disposition a couple times during the course of the play but this must have a permanent affect on Hamlet in which he completely loses control in order for Hamlet to actually be insane.
The sanity of Hamlet has been called to question on several occasions throughout the play. Yet truly the genius of Hamlet should not be questioned for his actions are merely his acting upon his antic disposition. Hamlet’s sanity is proven within his warning to Ophelia and his use of rational wit.
During the third act of the play Hamlet has an encounter with Ophelia while under his antic disposition. Since he cannot reveal himself to her he must continue with his act and destroys her completely. But within his brutal verbal assault on the fair Ophelia he leaves hints for her, which only a sane and rational person could think of. One specific thing he brings up over and over again when talking to her is for her to “get thee to a nunnery” (3.1. 138). By this he means for her to escape Denmark and go to a nunnery where it would be safe for her and she would receive protection. This proves not only his love for her but how he is very sane. He also shows how aware he is of his surroundings and what is happening in Denmark when he asks Ophelia “Where’s you father?” because he seems to know that Claudius has sent people to spy on him and Hamlet suspects something is going on. He also refer to locking him up as to keep him away from others. Hamlet does all of this while remaining in an antic disposition to fool everyone into thinking he is insane.
Hamlet has had several battles of wit during the course of his antic disposition and has won during all of them with his shear brilliance. Hamlet tends to twist the meaning of words and give things double meaning which confuses those who talk to him but are quite ingenious when looked at closely; such things could not come from an insane man. During his battle of wits against Polonius is where his genius is most prominent. His first jab at Polonius is to twist his words of what Hamlet was reading by saying “between who?”(2.2.194) changing the meaning to be a problem between two people. Hamlet makes Polonius look foolish and yet Polonius does not seem to realize it completely because he thinks Hamlet is insane. On another occasion Hamlet calls Polonius, “Jephthah, judge of Israel” (2.2.309) which has a double meaning. On one hand he could be called Polonius a wise man but on another he could be calling him an old shriveled up man.
In conclusion it is obvious that Hamlet is not insane but only putting on an antic disposition to fool everyone. This is established within his warning to Ophelia and his rational wit.
Shakespeare leaves the reader with many questions about Hamlet’s sanity. At no time in the play hamlet was insane, he is in complete control of the situation. His act of antic disposition was played so well that it is hard to distinguish whether Hamlet is sane or not. Hamlet gives specific clues throughout the play that show he is sane.
Hamlet reveals his plan of antic disposition to Horatio and when ever Hamlet talks to Horatio he shows he is not insane. The type of language Hamlet uses towards Horatio shows that he is sane. Hamlet shows high level of thought when talking with Horatio. “Hamlet: Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers—if / the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me--with two / Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a / fellowship in a cry of players, sir?/Horatio: Half a share.”(3.2.269-273) Hamlet discusses with Horatio how the play captured the conscience of the king and how his plan is a success.
Through soliloquy Hamlet shows he is sane. Hamlet shows complete composure through his soliloquies by evaluating himself and setting forth a plan of action. Hamlet evaluates his situation in this quote “To be, or not to be: that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles”(3.1.56-59) Hamlet sets out his plan of action to use the play to catch the conscience of the king. “the play 's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.”(2.2.600-601) Hamlet’s soliloquies show that he is completely sane throughout the play.
Hamlet shows he is completely sane through the play by his better judgment and high level of intelligence. An insane character would not portray these types of characteristics and do not analyze the situation properly or sometimes not at all.
Hamlet believes that by performing an antic disposition he will be able to go under the radar and no one will really pay as much attention as they normally would. “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on / That you, at such time seeing me, never shall,” (1.5.179-181) Hamlet can now say and do anything he wants to test anyone he chooses and it will just be seen as Hamlet losing his mind.
When Hamlet meets with Ophelia for the first time after he decides on his antic disposition he shows up tattered with his pants around his ankles and his skirt unbuttoned with his knees knocking together. “Ungarter’d and down-gyved to his andkle, / Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other.” (1.5.80-81) This act that Hamlet performs shows that he is believable when he acts insane. This is important because Hamlet now knows that he can put his plan to act insane into action to find the truth of what happened to his father. Also, by acting this way towards Ophelia, his antic disposition is passed on by word of mouth to Polonius and then eventually to Claudius and soon everyone will know of Hamlet and his insanity; and Hamlet can do as he pleases.
Hamlet states, “Be all my sins remember’d.” (3.1.90) because he knows what he is doing and how his actions affect everyone, however, he must continue to act this way because he must figure out what he must do to fulfill his obligation.
Hamlet says that, “He that hath kill’d my king and whor’d my mother, / Popp’d in between th’election and my hopes” (5.2.64-65) This statement from Hamlet proves to all that Hamlet was never insane; rather he was just buying time and waiting for everything to fall into place. This way he could be sure of what really happened and everything would be righted again. Hamlet performing his antic disposition could go anywhere and say anything and find the facts through skillfully asking questions and confusing the characters.
In Hamlet, the protagonist, Prince Hamlet has the burden in avenging his father’s murderous death. To find clues, Hamlet decides to put on an act of antic disposition. During the 2 or so months of Hamlet gathering clues, it slowly starts falling into a habit which Hamlet must fight. It can be found that Hamlet is not crazy, just someone who just walks the line in a daze. The first example of Hamlet keeping his sanity in check is in his ability to rationalize. An example of this is in the way he rationalizes the fact that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spying on him. “Were you not sent for? Is it your / own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come, come, / deal justly with me: come, come; nay, speak.” (2.2. 274-276), here we have Hamlet finally pushing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern after showing them his “insanity”. Another example of Hamlet keeping tabs on his sanity is when he talks with his mother. In this scene, a trap is set to find the cause of Hamlet’s insanity by Polonius. The climax of this scene is when Hamlet stabs into a wall hanging and kills Polonius, in thinking it was Claudius, “A bloody deed! almost as bad, good mother, / As kill a king, and marry with his brother.” (3.4.28-29). Here we have merciless Hamlet, with having just killed the Prime Minister of the country. The main thing here is not a moment in which Hamlet loses focus, but a moment in which he acts with clarity. The goal of his antic deposition is to find enough evidence against Claudius so that he can convince himself that he [Claudius] is guilty. The act of Polonius’ death is Hamlet finally taking action, revenge against his father. This is just on the first stepping stones in the road to killing Claudius. In Hamlet, the line of sanity is crudely drawn, living it up to the audience to discover for themselves if Hamlet is truly acting with a stable mind. With the two examples of Hamlet’s lashing out at Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the murder of Polonius, it can be seen that Hamlet is indeed acting out with a stable mind throughout the play.
In the play Hamlet William Shakespeare gets his transcendent character to put on an antic disposition in order to fool the other character in the play into thinking that he’s insane. Despite the audience knowing about Hamlet’s guise, his actions have sometimes had the audience wondering whether or not he is truly insane. However he has also time and time again proven to the audience that he is perfectly same by displaying his rationality, his wit and his cunning under pressure.
In Act 3, After Claudius publicly omitted his guilt in front of the castle and storms out, Hamlet then comes face to face with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, his worried old friends sent by Claudius to spy on him. They both try to toy with his feelings by telling Hamlet “you once did love me” (III. ii. 326) and question his motives by asking “what is the Cause of your distemper?”(III. ii. 328). Hamlet, responds by asking Guildenstern “Will you play on this pipe?”(III. ii. 341-342). Guildenstern confused tells his old friend that he is unable to play the pipe. Hamlet then responds by saying that “It is as Easy as Lying…look at you these are the stops” (III. ii. 348-351). Here the audience realizes that Hamlet knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been spying on him the whole time and by telling them that playing a pipe is just as easy as lying, he has indicated how they have both tried to play him like an instrument. This display has not only demonstrated his cunning but his total and complete sanity. Despite his unpredictable behavior, Hamlet is still witty and still able to think rationally under harsh circum stances.
Throughout the play, Hamlet uses his Antic disposition to fool others and to also help them. An example of this is when he tells Ophelia to “get thee to a nunnery” (II. ii.138). Here, Hamlet is yelling at Ophelia to go to a nunnery which is a sanctuary for nuns. This is also used as a slang term for a brothel, thus indicating Ophelia being a whore. Hamlet’s actions toward Ophelia are one of the reasons why the audience questions Hamlet’s sanity and leave questions unanswered. It may seem as if Hamlet is trying to drive Ophelia away when he is in love with her. However, Hamlet told Ophelia to go to a nunnery because it is a place where she can be protected from the dangers that are to come later on in the play.
Where Hamlet’s antic disposition has the audience wondering about his sanity, it also outlines both Shakespeare and Hamlet’s genius into not only fooling the characters but the audience into thinking that he is insane. Hamlet’s “insanity” is him putting on an antic disposition and was a part of his plan to take revenge against Claudius.
Hamlet, Sane or Insane?
Throughout the play of Hamlet, Shakespeare has the readers and audience questioning Hamlets insanity. Hamlet tells the audience and his friends that he is acting and that his actions are merely a form of antic disposition. However throughout Hamlets actions towards his mother, and towards Ophelia it becomes evident that Hamlet is walking on a very thin line. Hamlet however does fall and during points of the play he actually becomes insane and is no longer in an antic disposition.
Through out much of the play Hamlet does have control over his sanity. However there are certain parts where he crosses the line and is no longer acting. With in the first act of the play. Fortune throws many problems and issues towards Hamlet. He is faced with the death of his father, his lost position as King, his uncle marrying his mother, his girlfriend being ordered to no longer interact with him and he must deal with the idea that he must avenge his father’s death by killing his uncle. “ That he should weep for her? What would he do / Had he the motive and the cue for passion /That I have? He would drown the stage with tears…” (2, 2, 554-556) It is very difficult for someone to endure all of this without his or her sanity being affected in any way. Hamlet tells his friends Horatio and Marcellus that he is only acting “How strange or odd some’er I bear myself - /As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on-” (1, 5, 179-181) so that the Hamlet could have an excuse for actually going insane and dealing with these problems with out looking as if he has actually lost control in front of his friends.
However Hamlet is able to keep his sanity under control through out the play until the end when he is reveled with the truth as to what has happened to Ophelia. There is one point where Hamlet losess control of his sanity and become insane. The finial issue that pushed Hamlet of the edge was the death of Ophelia. When Hamlet realizes that the grave is for Ophelia he jumps into his girlfriends grave and wrestles with her brother. [Grappling with him] … Thou pray’st not well. / I prithee take thy fingers from my throat.” (5, 1, 252-252). According to the oxford dictionary, insanity is “mentally deranged”. In order for Hamlet to act this way and for him to fight his girlfriend’s brother in her grave, he must be mentally deranged. Hamlet also admits that he had gone mad during this time “ Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness” (5, 2, 2228-229). Hamlet does admits his actions were mad and that it was not him who had committed these actions it was in fact his insanity.
In conclusion, through the play the character Hamlet does loses control over his sanity, and no longer is acting in an antic disposition. Hamlet is able to maintain his sanity through out the play until he is faced with the death of his only true love Ophelia. This causes him to lose it against Laertes. Hamlet uses the excuses of acting insane as a way out, for him to express his true emotions against Claudius and that he is able to deal with the problems he is faced with out destroying his image in front of his friends.
Throughout Hamlet the play, Shakespeare has the reader/audience questioning whether or not Hamlet is truly insane or if it’s just a staged antic disposition. I believe that Hamlet is not insane and in fact I think this antic disposition he staged, shows how much of a genius Hamlet really is. Proof of Hamlet being sane and using this antic disposition is in his ability to strategize in many different situations and his ability to warn Ophelia.
Throughout the play, Hamlet in fact acts insane, also known as staging an antic disposition. Hamlet is not really insane it is all just apart of his ability to strategize. There are many occasions in the play when Hamlet is seen as insane to the other characters and too many of the readers/ audience but if you really understand Hamlet, you understand he is a strategic genius and all of this is a plan to eventually get close enough to murder Claudius and avenge his father. In Scene two of Act two Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent by Claudius to talk to Hamlet and try to get information out of him, seeing if this is just an act or not. But Hamlet the genius he is, sees through Claudius’s little plan, and continues his antic disposition. “No such matter. I will not sort you with the rest of my servants; for, to speak to you like an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended. But in the beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinore? To visit you, my lord, no other occasion.” (2.2 267-271)
Another example of Hamlet being the strategic genius that he is, would be when the play happens. The play is about the new king killing the old one just like what Claudius did to King Hamlet. “What do you call the play? The Mousetrap…”(3.2 231-232) Claudius starts to get freaked out. He goes to his room and this leads to him starting to ponder praying. Hamlet uses this play to make Claudius scared, he is a genius!
The Final example is what Hamlet says to Ophelia. Hamlet is not insane but clearly sane and when he says “Get thee to a nunnery”(3.1-121) to Ophelia he is talking about getting herself some help, not a whore house as some may think but an actually nunnery so she can be helped because she is in no shape to be out on her own. This shows that Hamlet really is Sane, he cares for her so much that he tells her where to go.
In conclusion Hamlet is sane and just using an antic disposition theme. He is a strategic genius and cares very much for Ophelia, so much so that he tells her where to go to be safe and taken care of…more than her brother Laretes did. Therefore after the seeing Hamlet lie to his friends, use the play as bate and give advice to Ophelia we see that Hamlet is in fact just using an antic disposition.
In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, he is deemed to be insane by his peers, the King, his girlfriend and his own mother. Not only are the characters in the play convinced of his insanity, Hamlet’s “madness” transcends the page when the audience begins to question his state of mind. Hamlet, however, believes in his sanity without ceasing. He does not doubt the control he has over his self.
When Hamlet’s “madness” is compared to that of Ophelia’s in the play, we can see his actions do not reflect hers in any way. Her madness is genuine and deteriorating her mental well being; yet, Hamlet’s actions contrast hers. We see Hamlet declare his sanity to his mother: “That I essentially am not in madness, / but mad in craft, “ (3. 4. 176-177), proving that although he may appear insane, his sanity is a secret but nevertheless, still in tact. Hamlet’s proves his own sanity in conversation again earlier in the play while speaking to his lifelong friend, Horatio. He explains to Horatio in Act 1 that he has a plan to put on an act and to not grow suspicious of Hamlet’s strange behaviour. Hamlet’s sanity is most clear to us in his soliloquies, where he thinks rationally, calmly and logically about his actions and his hesitation. It is only in the presence of specific characters that his madness manifests itself- each for a different reason. Though for Ophelia, Hamlet may be protecting her with his madness, it is seen mostly around characters hostile to him, or those he cannot trust, such as Claudius, Polonius, etc. When Hamlet is around Horatio, for example, he acts sane and behaves as he usually would.
Not only Hamlet is aware of his sanity, as many other characters in the play notice certain tendencies of his “madness” that seem unrealistic or suspicious. Claudius, who is in an unending struggle with Hamlet to be one step ahead of the other, refuses to believe his madness is as simple as a broken heart because Ophelia will not speak with him. Claudius is consistent in spying on Hamlet, as he cannot crush his suspicions that there is something more to his behaviour. Claudius admits that he thinks Hamlet has a secret agenda: “Love? His affections do not that way tend; / Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul / O’er which his melancholy sits on brood…” (3. 1. 163-166). Polonius, in an aside, also admits that he sees thought put into Hamlet’s madness: “Though this be madness, yet there is / method in’t,” (2. 2. 204-205). Polonius can also see the reason behind his insanity- the logical nature of his illogical behaviour.
The notion that Hamlet loses his sanity and returns to it at some point in the play goes hand in hand with the Elizabethan belief that if you pretend to be something for a long enough time, you will eventually become it. Although Hamlet blames his “madness” for killing Polonius: “What I have done / …I here proclaim was madness,” (5. 2. 176-178), he retains control and his sanity throughout the entire play. You could say Hamlet’s trickery got the best of him, but Hamlet’s trickery getting the best of him was only a part of the trickery itself.
In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare gets the character Hamlet to initiate an antic disposition to fool other characters in the play that he is insane. The thought of Hamlet actually being insane does run through the audience's mind after witnessing the foolish acts presented to them.
It begins with Hamlet's encounter with the ghost that apparently is the ghost of his father, the slain King of Denmark. On a desperate journey to avenge his father's death, he is told by the ghost that his uncle was responsible. When Hamlet finishes his conversation with the ghost, he is manipulated into thinking that he must commit treason to serve justice for his father's death. “May be a devil, and the devil.../ Abuses me to damn me.” (2.2.595-599)
Hamlet's plan overcomes him a few times especially having to realize that his father had been murdered, his uncle took over the position as King of Denmark, and position of being his mother's husband. This situation tends to play tricks with one's mind especially when all happens within a matter of months. This may be one of the many reasons why Hamlet's sanity comes into question.
When Hamlet murders Polonius, the audience expects it because Hamlet had previously foreshadowed his death. When Hamlet has an outburst of anger with his mother Gertrude she sees another side of Hamlet she's never seen before. Polonius happens to be spying on Hamlet at this point of the play which is actually considered treason. The penalty of committing treason would result in the death of that person. If the connection can be made, killing Polonius would not put Hamlet in any kind of danger because he would have reason to have killed him. When Gertrude cries “Help, ho!” (3.4.21), Polonius responds with “What ho! Help” (3.4.21). Hamlet has an instant reaction to kill Polonius.
The audience could simply make the connection that Hamlet was not insane in the end, and just acting out an antic disposition. The strategy that Hamlet takes allows the audience to see this. It resulted in the death of Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Claudius, Gertrude, and himself.
Hamlet’s main strategy is to put on an antic-disposition, which will liberate his anti-social expressions and thoughts, and convince everyone of his blamelessness. As he puts this plan to work, we find him stepping into insanity, gradually crossing the borders of reason and becoming a representation of madness in the play through his words and actions, and the observation of other characters in the play.
Throughout the first four acts, Hamlet never doubts his sanity and continues to rely on his plan of acting mad, until he realizes that his act has escaped his own plan, abruptly becoming real and having a life of its own. “But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes I forgot myself;” (5.2.75-76). Hamlet discovers that he has completely gotten out of control, and that his unconstrained actions prove his insanity. In addition, after being faced to a state that would ensure his failure and death, Hamlet begins to convince himself and Horatio that he still stands a chance in defeating Laertes and Claudius. ‘Since he went to France, I have been in continual practice” (5.2.206-207). Hamlet starts to make up lies that only he would believe, thus making his friend Horatio anxious aout his situation and uncertain about his sanity. “If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither and say you are not fit.” After seeing Hamlet’s situation, as he induce himself with absurdity, Horatio attempts to distract Hamlet from his irrational plan. Still Hamlet denies his state, finding every feasible way to execute his plan.
Hamlet’s act of antic disposition is so vivid to him that, he unconsciously loses his state of mind, transforming himself to be entirely irrational, through his acts and deeds. He continues to go against everyone, for his obsession of vengeance has completely made him illogical.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet the line between sanity and insanity seems to blur for the main character, Hamlet but he proves through his actions and words that he is completely sane throughout the play.
The first textual proof that we can find that proves Hamlet’s antic disposition is a fraud is found in Claudius’ dialogue. Claudius sees right through Hamlet’s act which leads him to suspect there is something else behind his so called madness. “Love? His affections do not that way tend… / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul / O’er which his melancholy sits on brood…” (3. 1. 163-166) this proves Hamlet’s sanity because Claudius is able to recognize Hamlet’s sanity through this act. Claudius would greatly benefit if Hamlet actually did go insane so he would more likely be subconsciously searching for negative qualities in Hamlet rather than questioning them, which is another piece of evidence that proves Hamlet’s sanity.
Proof that Hamlet’s Antic Disposition is only a show is his own confession to his mother. During an argument with his mother Hamlet tries to tell the Queen that he is sane and that he has only been acting insane to execute his plans. “That I essentially am not in madness, / but mad in craft,” (3. 4. 176-177) not only do Hamlet’s own words prove his sanity but his attempt to make the Queen privy to his plans to benefit him show that he is constantly thinking his plans through. Hamlet has a clear goal throughout the entirety of the play and is always thinking of ways to achieve his it.
The best evidence of Hamlet’s true state is found in his soliloquies since they are his accurate thoughts and emotions, which cannot be questioned by the audience since deception is not necessary. In his “to be or not to be” soliloquy Hamlet logically thinks out every pro and con of every action he could possibly take, “To be, or not to be: that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles” (3.1.56-59). The rational thinking that Hamlet displays proves that he is sane while putting on an antic disposition.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet Hamlet remains sane throughout the play even though it seems that his act becomes reality. The proof lies in other character’s dialogue, the dialogue between him and another and his own true thoughts, that he is truly sane.
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