Hamlet Essay -- essays research papers

Is Hamlet Mad? "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (II.ii.369-370). This is a classic example of the "wild and whirling words" (I.v.134) with which Hamlet hopes will persuade people to believe that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his "antic disposition," (I.V.172). Hamlet is sane. Under his strange choice of imagery involving points of the compass, the weather, and hunting birds, he is announcing that he is calculatedly choosing the times when to appear mad. Hamlet is saying that he knows a hunting hawk from a hunted "handsaw" or heron, in other words, that, very far form being mad, he is perfectly capable of recognizing his enemies. Hamlet's madness was faked for a purpose. He warned his friends he intended to fake madness, but Gertrude as well as Claudius saw through it, and even the slightly dull-witted Polonius was suspicious. His public face is one of insanity but, in his private moments of soliloquy, through his confidences to Horatio, and in his careful plans of action, we see that his madness is assumed. After the Ghost's first appearance to Hamlet, Hamlet decides that when he finds it suitable or to his advantage, he will put on a mask of madness so to speak. He confides to Horatio that when he finds the occasion appropriate, he will "put an antic disposition on" (I.v.172). This strategy gives Hamlet a chance to find proof of Claudius's guilt and to contemplate his revenge tactic. Although he has sworn to avenge his father's murder, he is not sure of the Ghost's origins: "The spirit that I have seen / May be the devil" (II.ii.584-585). He uses his apparent madness as a delaying tactic to buy time in which to discover whether the Ghost's tale of murder is true and to decide how to handle the situation. At the same time, he wants to appear unthreatening and harmless so that people will divulge information to him, much in the same way that an adult will talk about an important secret in the presence of a young child. To convince everyone of his madness, Hamlet spends many hours walking back and forth alone in the lobby, speaking those "wild and whirling words" (I.V. 134) which make little sense on the surface but in fact carry a meaningful subtext. &... ...n addition, the letter Horatio from him through the ambassador bound for England is clear and precise and shows no signs of a confused mind. Finally, I am convinced of Hamlet's sanity by his very normal reactions to the people around him. He is perfectly sane, friendly and courteous with the players, giving them good acting tips which they appreciate and respect. When Polonius and Claudius test the theory of rejected love by "loosing" Ophelia to him, Hamlet acts completely rationally. He greets Ophelia sweetly, gets a little cold when he remembers that he has not seen her "for this many a day," is very hurt when she returns his remembrances, and becomes completely furious, insulting womankind in general, when she lies to him about her father's whereabouts and he realizes he is being spied on. He reacts the way any hurt young rejected lover would. In the end, it is surprising that he is able to keep up the charade of faking madness for so long, and part of his tragedy is that it doesn't help him anyway; in the end, he avenges his father by killing Claudius not through an act of madness, but as a result of Claudius's own treachery.