William Shakespeare s Hamlet - Sanity Vs. Insanity

Wesley Ray Elliott December 7th, 2015 Honors English IV Mrs. Joyner Sanity VS. Insanity â€Å"Hamlet represents the mid period of the growth of Shakespeare s genius, when comedy and history ceased to be adequate for the expression of his deeper thoughts and sadder feelings about life, and when he was entering upon his great series of tragic writings† (The World s Best Essays from the Earliest Period to the Present Time). Hamlet’s actions are entirely too extreme for him to be faking his insanity. Hamlet is constantly on the brink of insanity, or so it seems like. All this stress is put upon Hamlet and it’s difficult to tell if he’s faking his insanity or not due to multiple portions of the play. He lost control of his actions, which led to many other issues to arise in the play, and others uphold his ability of dramatic art. Hamlet’s behavior, especially toward Ophelia is inconsistent. Throughout the story, Hamlet’s sanity slowly deteriorates. Then again, Hamlet is a story of vengeance and lust, with a mix of insanity. In Hamlet, Hamlet portrays himself as the victim. Even when Hamlet heard the news of his father’s death he acted mad by blaming who he could and jumping to conclusions. When his father is killed, Hamlet’s insanity starts to shine through, bit by bit (When his mother and the king question Hamlet on his grief for his father, This is where he shows he is unstable). Hamlet is screaming at his mother telling her how his actions are honest and he is not pretendingShow MoreRelatedThe Sanity Of William Shakespeare s Hamlet1938 Words   |  8 Pagesantagonist as mentally ill brings depth to the character’s essence. Many acclaimed critics question the sanity of the protagonist in one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Hamlet. The question of Prince Hamlet’s sanity divides readers into two different opinions: one defending his plan of fake insanity and the other confirming his insanity. In his plan to avenge his father’s death, H amlet disguises himself as mad. Unfortunately, Hamlet’s intricate plan backfires as his mental illnesses become