Madness in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Updated: Aug 29, 2018

Written by Olivia M Ojeda, August 2018

Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet. Branagh delivers one of the best "to be, or not to be" speeches of our time.

Madness is the main theme of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. "A master craftsman, Shakespeare uses madness as a tool not only to delineate realistic or life-like characters but also to underscore the intricacies of human life and the intriguing working of human mind. Only an exquisite artist of his caliber could have gauged the depths of human conscience to explore the various motives behind insanity and its manifestation in life. Besides, the effect is heightened by the fact that timeless, universal issues such as filial ingratitude, reckless ambition, guilt, deception, exploitation and desertion emerge as the primary causes of lunacy in Shakespearean plays. With a master stroke, he is able to investigate and illustrate insanity in its myriad forms.” (Bali, Shweta) Throughout the play we see madness, or insanity, in multiple characters including the protagonist of the play, Prince Hamlet.

While it isn’t clear if Hamlet is truly mad or if he is just acting, it is still the main disposition of the young, angry, heartbroken prince. Soon after Hamlet’s Father dies his mother remarries to his uncle and successor of the throne Claudius. At the same time young Hamlet is processing these two blows, the ghost of his Father appears multiple times to tell Hamlet about the revenge he wishes the prince to take. The ghost of King Hamlet tells his son that his brother Claudius has killed him and the prince must “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (Act I, Scene V, Hamlet) The ghost of King Hamlet also says to the prince “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts-O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power so to seduce!-won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. O Hamlet, what a falling off was there!” (Act I, Scene V, Hamlet) This gives the young prince an even heavier burden than just his father’s death. Now he has been given a reason to avenge the death of his father, resentment for his mother marrying his uncle; the man that allegedly killed his father and has taken his crown. These could all be origins of the madness that Hamlet shows throughout the rest of the play.

Through his famous soliloquy’s Hamlet’s madness shows itself most. His famous “To be, or not to be” speech is an argument he has with himself over the notion of suicide.

Hamlet shows his true heartache, what bothers him, and deliberations he has with himself. He asks himself if it is nobler to put up with the negative things in life and carry those burdens, or to put all the troubles he has to an end. The prince wonders if when we die if we sleep and dream, and what kind of dreams might come: simple dreams, or terrifying dreams that we must put up with for the whole of eternity.

“To be, or not to 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 sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep-no more-and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to-’tis a consummation devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance, to dream-ay, there’s the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause. There’s the respect that makes calamity of so long life.” (Act III, Scene I, Hamlet)

The repercussions of his madness are immense. While Hamlet only had a target for his madness that sat with his uncle Claudius and his Mother Queen Gertrude, it expanded further than he could have ever predicted. The madness he had his Mother and Uncle believe in was also perceived by Ophelia, her father Polonius, and her brother Laertes. The madness became bigger than Hamlet and blanketed the entirety of the two families, which in turn, motivated the deaths of Polonius, Ophelia, Queen Gertrude, Claudius, and Prince Hamlet himself. These deaths expand to reach the kingdom of Denmark as the successor to the throne is the Prince of Norway, and previous enemy to Denmark.

Shakespeare provides us with another take on madness with his character Ophelia. This madness seems to be different and the audience perceives it as a sweet, innocent madness. For Ophelia goes mad out of heartache for her fathers death, and the treatment that Hamlet imposes on her. While Hamlet has second thoughts of suicide, Ophelia, seemingly so distraught, is driven to it and succeeds. “Meanwhile, though Hamlet’s madness may be real or feigned, Ophelia undoubtedly loses her mind and is driven to commit suicide primarily by the overbearing attitude of the men in her life-her father Polonius, her brother Laertes, and her lover Hamlet. Not trusting Hamlet’s intentions with her daughter, Polonius restricts her from meeting him, yet he is not averse to the idea of using his daughter as an animal whom he can “loose” (2.2.162) to catch Hamlet’s motive.” (Bali, Shweta) In Act IV, Scene V, Ophelia shows her madness by singing in riddles and lyrics that don’t seem to make sense. However, she is able to provide Claudius with a reason she has gone mad:

“I hope all will be well. We must be patient; but I cannot choose but weep to think they would lay him i’ th’ cold ground. My brother shall know of it; and so I thank you for your good counsel. Come, my coach! Good night, ladies. Good night, sweet ladies. Good night, good night. Exit. (Act IV, Scene V, Hamlet)

The reason for her madness seems to be mostly due to her father’s death. The repercussions to her madness leads to her death by suicide and the mourning that follows. Prince Hamlet dies by the blade of Laertes after a fight at Ophelia’s funeral. Had there not been madness, the play of Hamlet would cease to exist. It is because of this madness that these grand repercussions ensue, and lead to the death of an entire royal family.