The Perfectly Portrayed Madness of Hamlet

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Being left with almost no one to trust we see Hamlet interacting in his portrayed madness. Clear thoughts are shared with Hamlets best friend Horatio, during these thoughts glimpse of the normal hamlet before the reappearance of his father were seen. Having a normal sense of self is not the only indicator of Hamlets sanity yet again we see him displaying normal emotions associated with the five stages of grief, “To be or not to be that is the question, whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer”(3.1.55-58). While this dramatic outburst may seem irrational and crazy it is a very normal aspect of the grieving process. “The death of your loved one might inspire you to evaluate your own feelings of mortality.”(Axelrod), hamlets “obsession” with death is just another part of coming to terms with his father’s death not entirely about ending his own life. This question of life or death is more of an inquiry of life on the other side.

While Hamlets portrayed madness has obvious purpose to it is very hard to find such calculated and cunning dialogue, “Unlike Hamlet, they (Ophelia and King Lear) disclose no purpose nor design in their madness, nor seek to conceal the cause of their distress.” (Blackmore). Within the play we see the truly insane Ophelia speaking in no sense riddles almost aimlessly lost in her own mind while she still physically exists in the tangible world. Comparing madness in other Shakespeare plays we see the same kind of mad ramblings from a fool in King Lear. Also in King Lear the madness comes with a lesson the madness doesn’t consume the play rather it leads to a greater theme. Until the very end Hamlet was sharp witted and completely aware of what was happening to him, he stuck to his plan of revenge until it was achieved. If Hamlets madness was true it might have been portrayed a little more dramatically and with less purpose.

Hamlet wanted to avenge his father’s death, he came up with a plan to portray madness until he was able to confidently seek revenge and that is exactly what Hamlet accomplished. Every character in the play was played by Hamlet in the way he needed them to be so saying Hamlet is a mad man with Bipolar disorder or PTSD would be difficult considering his success. Hamlets emotions which lead him to his dramatic and sometimes irrational actions can all easily be matched up with the 5 stages of grief a rational explanation for young man who just lost his father.