FREE ESSAY ON HAMLET

HAMLET

HAMLETS MADNESS: Hamlet is mad, feigns madness or his pretense turns into real madness.
Outline arguments for all three and discuss.
1.Hamlet begins with guards whose main importance in the play is to give credibility to
the ghost. If Hamlet were to see his father's ghost in private, the argument for his
madness would greatly improve. Yet, not one, but three men together witness the ghost
before even thinking to notify Hamlet. As Horatio says, being the only of the guards to
play a significant role in the rest of the play, Before my God, I might not this believe
/ Without the sensible and true avouch / Of mine own eyes. (I.i.56-8) Horatio, who
appears frequently throughout the play, acts as an unquestionably sane alibi to Hamlet
again when framing the King with his reaction to the play. That Hamlet speaks to the
ghost alone detracts somewhat from its credibility, but all the men are witness to the
ghost demanding they speak alone. 
Horatio offers an insightful warning: 
What if it tempts you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er his base into the sea, And there assume some other horrible form Which
might deprive your sovereignty of reason, And draw you into madness? Think of it.
(I.iv.69-74) 
Horatio's comment may be where Hamlet gets the idea to use a plea of insanity to work out
his plan. The important fact is that the ghost does not change form, but rather remains
as the King and speaks to Hamlet rationally. There is also good reason for the ghost not
to want the guards to know what he tells Hamlet, as the play could not proceed as it does
if the guards were to hear what Hamlet did. It is the ghost of Hamlet's father who tells
him, but howsomever thou pursues this act, / Taint not thy mind. (I.v.84-5) Later, when
Hamlet sees the ghost again in his mothers room, her amazement at his madness is quite
convincing. Yet one must take into consideration the careful planning of the ghost's
credibility earlier in the play. 
After his first meeting with the ghost, Hamlet greets his friends cheerfully and acts as
if the news is good rather than the devastation it really is. 
Horatio: What news, my lord? 
Hamlet: O, wonderful! 
Horatio: Good my lord, tell it. 
Hamlet: No, you will reveal it. (I.v.118-21) 
This is the first glimpse of Hamlet's ability and inclination to manipulate his behavior
to achieve effect. Clearly Hamlet is not feeling cheerful at this moment, but if he lets
the guards know the severity of the news, they might suspect its nature. Another instance
of Hamlet's behavior manipulation is his meeting with Ophelia while his uncle and
Polonius are hiding behind a curtain. Hamlet's affection for Ophelia has already been
established in I.iii., and his complete rejection of her and what has transpired between
them is clearly a hoax. Hamlet somehow suspects the eavesdroppers, just as he guesses
that Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are sent by the King and Queen to question him and
investigate the cause of his supposed madness in II.ii. 
Hamlet's actions in the play after meeting the ghost lead everyone except Horatio to
believe he is crazy, yet that madness is continuously checked by an ever-present
consciousness of action which never lets him lose control. For example, Hamlet questions
his conduct in his soliloquy at the end of II.ii, but after careful consideration decides
to go with his instinct and prove to himself without a doubt the King's guilt before
proceeding rashly. Even after the King's guilt is proven with Horatio as witness, Hamlet
again reflects and uses his better judgement in the soliloquy at the end of III.ii.
before seeing his mother. He recognizes his passionate feelings, but tells himself to
speak daggers to her, but use none, as his father's ghost instructed. Again, when in the
King's chamber, Hamlet could perform the murder, but decides not to in his better
judgement to ensure that he doesn't go to heaven by dying while praying. As Hamlet tells
Guildenstern in II.ii., I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know
a hawk from a handsaw. This statement reveals out-right Hamlet's intent to fool people
with his odd behavior. This is after Polonius' enlightened comment earlier in the same
scene, though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
Bibliography
The book of hamlet