HAMLET (THE MADMAN?)

Young Hamlet is often seen as a madman in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. On the surface, the prince seems like a madman due to his behavior towards his enemies. However, Hamlet is not really nuts, or even a sociopath. He acts like a crazy teenager towards his enemies like King Claudius and Lord Polonius to avenge his father’s murder. His behavior towards Queen Gertrude and other characters is just a natural response that is common for people to have. The actions and thoughts that Hamlet has expressed throughout the play suggests that he is not a madman, but a real human being who is just trying to care for his father’s murder.

Hamlet acts severely rude or even crazy to certain characters in the play. For example, after Hamlet met the king’s ghost, the prince resolved to punish his enemies. He said “you are a fishmonger” towards Lord Polonius to make him think that Hamlet is acting like a madman. He decided to act crazy and rude-like to give his enemies the impression that his father’s death is just making him weird. Hamlet succeeds in doing this, and led to King Claudius eye on Hamlet through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He also acts very rude towards Ophelia and give hers the wrong impression on purpose. Hamlet acted out this way to ensure his plan would succeed, so Hamlet knew consciously that he was not a madman.

Although the prince has faked his madness, Hamlet’s responses to various situations are natural as a person. He had a suspicion of the King’s ghost being a devil and confirmed himself that the ghost was actually the former king. If a normal person saw a ghost of his father soon after he was murdered, that person would most likely believe he is dreaming of it or his mind is playing tricks on him or her. That is exactly what Hamlet thought. When someone’s close relative or friend is viciously murdered, it is natural for that person to feel a bit “crazy” and hurt. Hamlet did have this quality, just as a real person would. When he faced King Claudius after knowing he was the culprit, Hamlet acted like he was disgusted towards him. It can be reasonably inferred through this reaction that seeming like a madman was perfectly normal in Hamlet’s case. Hamlet may have been slight "mad", but it was temporary.

In Hamlet, the main character is not a psychotic, sociopath who went crazy after his respected father’s death. He may look like a madman from various perspectives of the characters in the play, but Hamlet acts this way on purpose to carry out his mission. He acted in his crazy, brain damaged teenager character to fool King Claudius. Despite, this set up, Hamlet still did have a slight sign of true madness, but it is completely natural for him to have this. Hamlet acts like a real human being who reacted to the serious situation. It is almost strange to see a character like this react differently, because a real person in Hamlet’s shoes would have a myriad of influences that would make the real person act like Hamlet. Hamlet is respectful son who is trying to avenge his father, both internally and externally within his conscience.