Hamlet: The Sane Master Schemer
The most controversial question arising out of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, is whether or not Prince Hamlet is sane or not. On the surface, which the characters in the play see, Hamlet, very obviously, is acting like an insane person. It's only on a deeper level, that we, as an audience, are able to understand his actions and perceive them to be sane acts all part of a like plan. An abundance of evidence exists to support this perception. Even at times when Hamlet's actions are so hysterical and morally wrong, there are always good reasons. For a prince who has suffered through his father's murder, along with his mother's quick marriage to his uncle, Hamlet never once displays any acts that are not sane. After learning of his father's unnatural death in the first act, Hamlet's plan is born. He tells Horatio he will put on an "antic disposition" and feign madness. Hamlet also tells Horatio not to worry, and to ignore the strange things he will do and say because it's all part of the plan. Hamlet must kill Claudius to avenge his father. The reason for the "antic disposition," going along with the plan, is to draw away suspicion from himself and not get punished when he does kill the King. It's true that people are hurt
Hamlet does go pretty hysterical a few times throughout the play, but he's just following the roadmap of his plan. He has one thing on his mind, that being killing Claudius and gaining his revenge. He also knows he will have to do and say some outrageous things to people he truly loves in order for his goal to be achieved. An example of such comes from act 3, scene 1, when Hamlet verbally abuses Ophelia. Hamlet seems driven by some crazy and hateful spirit to abuse Ophelia the way he did. This is the woman he is supposed to be in love with, and the rest of Ellsinore knows this too. It's on the surface that Hamlet's "madness" is seen, but a closer look reveals it's exactly what his plan calls for. Hamlet says, "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? (III;I;131-132). By nunnery, he means to say whorehouse and in full he means to say go to a whorehouse where you belong. In reality, saying something like that to people who know you love them can easily make them believe that something is horribly wrong within yourself. That idea was exactly what Hamlet was going for because he needed to distance himself from Ophelia for a couple of reasons. First, he needed to fool her for the same reason he needed to fool everyone else; to keep the suspicion level of him on low. Ophelia may have told Polonius if she suspected Hamlet of something evil and thus, the King would have been informed. The other reason Hamlet had to fool Ophelia was it was a way to put their relationship on hold until he killed the King, got his revenge, escaped punishment, and returned to his noble self. This backfired horribly on Hamlet, as he made Ophelia mad enough to drown herself. We see Hamlet's true love for Ophelia at her funeral when he compares the love he had for her compared to the love a brother, such as Laertes, could have. "I loved Ophelia, forty-thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum" (V;I;262-264). The other instance of Hamlet going hysterical to follow his plan occurs in act 5, scene 4, when Hamle
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1392
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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