In Shakespeare's Hamlet, madness, along with revenge, is a central theme. Hamlet is driven to destroy his uncle in order to exact vengeance for the murder of his father. However, there is ample evidence that the murder may have never happened, and Hamlet's sole evidence, the conversation with the ghost, may have been created from one of two sources. Either Hamlet was truly mad, even at the onset of the play, and used his own subconscious as a guide to create a dialogue with the ghost, or the ghost was in fact a demon who used Hamlet's subconscious buttons to force him to destroy the kingdom. There is ample textual evidence to suggest that Hamlet never spoke to the ghost of his father but instead some type of manifestation from his subconscious.

The first evidence pointing toward Hamlet creating the words of the ghost comes during their first meeting. The behavior exhibited by the ghost is odd. Normally three people are needed to confirm the truth in Elizabethan England, yet the ghost leads Hamlet away from his two friends. That action leaves only Hamlet to hear what the ghost says. When consi

hear voices ...sometimes the person may recognize

It is possible to attribute Hamlet's dialogue with the ghost to auditory hallucinations. Having already established his melancholic disposition this scenario is not unlikely. According to researcher P. Slade,

Whether the apparition's voice is a demon spawned or a figment of Hamlet's imagination the ghost's word choice and style of speech are too close to Hamlet's to ignore. When the evidence is reviewed, it becomes a very real possibility that the ghost's words are stolen from the depths of Hamlet's own soul. When comparing the words, of the ghost to Hamlet's own words one sees many similarities. For instance, in Hamlet's first soliloquy, he mentions that life is an unweeded garden, "'tis an unweeded garden/ that grows to seed, things rank and gross in nature/ possess it merely" (1.2.135-37). The next person to make reference to weeds is the ghost, "I find the apt,/ And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed/ that roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,/ wouldst thou not stir in this" (1.5.33-5). This seems like a simple word that any character could use, yet it is not until 3.4 when it is used again by Hamlet "And do not spread the compost on the weeds/ to make them ranker" (151-2). Another word shared by the ghost and Hamlet is "adieu;" the ghost says it to Hamlet, Hamlet repeats it shortly after to himself, he uses it in a letter to Ophelia and finally says it to his mother as she dies. It is obviously a simple word that any character could use, but when only the ghost and Hamlet use it exclusively it adds to the pile of evidence.

Another element within the scene where the ghost first appears to Hamlet is that very desperation just spoken of. Hamlet is a melancholy man as evidenced by his behavior when he first took the stage. He was saddened by his father's death, and angry at his mother and uncle for carrying on what he considers to be an incestual relationship. Upon hearing news of the ghost, and then seeing the ghost Hamlet is excited, afraid and desperate to regain contact with his lost father. According to Lewes Lavater,

The text of Hamlet is often confusing and filled with twists. It would be very easy to read through it, or watch a version of the play and say the surface plot that is shown is what is true. In other words, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father who tells of a murder that Hamlet must avenge. Other possibilities not only exist but also are strongly supported by the text of the play, in this case, the possibility that Hamlet did not in fact speak to the ghost of his father but spoke to himself either through his own imagination or the projection of his own thoughts through the mouth of a demon. Hamlet thus convinced himself of his uncle's guilt and gave himself reason to kill his uncle. There was ample motivation for his hatred of his uncle well before the ghost made an appearance as established in his first speech with his uncle and his first soliloquy. Whether or not Hamlet is completely nuts cannot be ascertained by the little information Shakespeare provides us. What is known is that Shakespeare was known to be mourning a drowned son as well as his own father just prior to writing this play. It is quite possible his own depression surfaced in the character of Hamlet. This would make a lot of sense out of some of the more confusing aspects of the play. Hamlet, whether mad or not, is definitely under extreme emotional and psychological stress and is therefore a candidate for auditory hallucinations as well as temporary psychosis, which might cause him to obsess about killing Claudius.

Neither do any of the men save Hamlet seem affected in any way by the ghost. Hamlet, following the first "swear," says, "come on, you hear this fellow in the cellarage,/ Consent to swear" (1.5.150). Horatio does not respond with any common sense line such as "oh my God a voice just sounded from the depths of Hell itself." Horatio d

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