Hamlet

Hamlet’s State of Mind. Is Hamlet Mad or Not?

Hamlet’s state of mind swings between rational thought, mania, depression and total instability. His long soliloquies reflect his soul searching, confusion, intense grief and depression. Hamlet’s use of language is often quite obscure. However, behind the bizarre words, Hamlet often demonstrates that he is of sound mind as he strategically plans revenge and contrives of plots against his enemies. He is clever and witty. This essay considers Hamlets state of mind throughout the play and specifically looks at whether Hamlet can be considered to be mad or not.

Hamlet is often pensive and speaks his thoughts in long rambling speeches reflecting his state of confusion. In the first soliloquy in Act 1, Hamlet is so troubled that he has suicidal thoughts wishing he could melt away. In a painful plea to the heavens, he reflects upon how useless the world feels to him. “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, or that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst (self slaughter!) O God, God how weary, stale, flat, unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world! (Act 1, ii 133-38). In the third soliloquy in Act III, Hamlet once again considers suicide as an option as he ponders “to be or not 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 seas of troubles.” (Act III, I 58 -61) Hamlet’s considers sleeping to end the heartache. It is apparent from the ramblings in these soliloquies that Hamlet’s state of mind is directly linked to his troubled thoughts related to his situation. He feels betrayed by his mother, hopeless, full of hate and can no longer believe in love or trust anything or anyone. (Spark Notes, 37).

Hamlet’s sanity is further questioned when he claims to see the ghost of his Father. He is troubled by this. Whether the ghost is real or not is disputable. It...