Niklas Baldis

Ms. Skirtich
21 November 2016
English 10: World Literature

The Insanity of Revenge

The story of Hamlet is one of revenge, incest, and death, all of which were common

themes in the 14th and 15th centuries. The frequency of death in the Middle Ages did not deter

from the fact that life is sacred and families were affected by incest and death. In Hamlet the

reader can experience the aftermath of a planned murder and the effects that it has on the friends

and family of King Hamlet. Hamlets mental instability is driven by the death of his father, the

incest that results from King Hamlets death, and the reaction to Ophelias death.

The biggest driving force of Hamlets mental instability is King Hamlets death. When

Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father he tells his friends that he will pretend to be insane for

the reactions and attention that he will receive. Hamlet says, How strange or odd some'er I bear

myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on) (I.v.190-192.)

Hamlet believes that if word gets out that his fathers ghost appeared to him and suddenly he is

insane, people will begin to talk about him and he will receive more attention. Even though it

seems as if Hamlet is gloating at the fact that his deceased father appeared to him to avenge his

death, Hamlet must be trying to hide the fact that he is truly disturbed and frightened by a ghost

baiting him into murder. Hamlet is also the only person that can both see and talk to the ghost.

The castle guards and Horatio could see the ghost but could not converse with it. Hamlet says,

How is it with you, lady? Queen Gertrude responds, Alas, how is't with you, / That you do

bend your eye on vacancy/ And with the incorporal air do hold discourse? / Forth at your eyes

your spirits wildly peep, / And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, / Your bedded hair, like life

in excrements, / Starts up, and stands on end. O gentle son, / Upon the heat and flame of thy
distemper/ Sprinkle cool patience! Whereon do you look? (III.iv.132-141.) Gertrude is scared

for Hamlet asking him why he is looking at absolutely nothing. The most probable explanation

for why only Horatio and the guards can see the ghost is that they actually were imagining things

or playing along with Hamlet to show respect towards a royal family member. Hamlet is

obviously shaken up by his fathers death but the encouragement by his friends can be making

his situation worse.

A second driving force to Hamlets insanity is the incest that Gertrude commits in the

wake of King Hamlets death. The confusion and anger are compounding in Hamlets mind and

he wants revenge to clear his thoughts and move forward. Hamlet says, The spirit that I have

seen/ May be the devil, and the devil hath power/ T' assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps, /

Out of my weakness and my melancholy, / As he is very potent with such spirits, / Abuses me to

damn me (II.ii.627-632.) In this self-reflective statement, Hamlet wonders if he is being

tempted by the devil himself. Hamlet blames his temptation on his sadness for his fathers death.

Almost like the angel and devil on someones shoulders, the ghost is a figment of Hamlets

imagination and a way to justify his mental instability. Hamlet could also be using his insanity

to get closer to Claudius for his revenge. Claudius asks, What, Gertrude? / How does Hamlet?

(IV.i.6.) Gertrude responds, Mad as the sea and wind when both contend/ Which is the

mightier. In his lawless fit, / Behind the arras hearing something stir, / Whips out his rapier, cries

'A rat, a rat,'/ And in this brainish apprehension, kills/ The unseen good old man (IV.i.7 -12.)

Hamlet told Gertrude that he is not crazy but he wants her to act as if he is mad, most likely to

have Claudius be oblivious to him so that Hamlet can get his revenge without paranoia from

Claudius. This quote also shows Gertrudes desire to please everybody to remain in power. One

day Gertrude will be on Hamlets side and then the next she will be on Claudiuss, whatever side
will please the most people. The madness that Hamlet is claiming he does not have could also be

infusing itself into his daily function so that he will not be able to switch back so-to-say.

The final nail in the coffin to confirm Hamlets insanity is the way that he treated

Ophelia as well as his reaction to her death. Hamlet comes to Ophelia as if he is sleepwalking

and acting very peculiar. Ophelia explains, As if he had been loosd out of hell/ To speak of

horrorshe comes before me (II.i.93-94.) Hamlet seems to be in a sleepwalking state,

barging into Ophelias room and doing random things like holding Ophelia by her arm and

letting out a huge sigh. Hamlet truly loved Ophelia, throughout her abuses he loved her but

never fully showed how much he appreciated her. When Hamlet accidentally witnessed

Ophelias burial and saw Laertess dramatic statements and leap into her grave, he jumped out of

the bushes. Hamlet exclaims, What is he whose grief/ Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of

sorrow/ Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand/ Like wonder-wounded hearers?

This is I, / Hamlet the Dane (leaps into the grave) (V.i.231-234.) Hamlet decides to one-up

Laertes by exclaiming that his grief is much greater than Laertess. Hamlet is so far gone,

mentally, that he feels like he needs to one-up a mourning brother by jumping into the same

grave that Laertes is standing in. Laertes and Hamlet are both a little crazy to be jumping in

graves and hugging the deceased but to be so inconsiderate in one-upping someone at a funeral is

crossing the line.

Three reasons that Hamlet is truly mentally unstable are the death of his father, the incest that

results from King Hamlets death, and the reaction to Ophelias death. Although Hamlet acts as

if he is pretending to be insane for the reactions of the people around him, the sudden appearance

of King Hamlets ghost must have been off-putting to Hamlet. The sudden marriage of Claudius

and Gertrude after his fathers death put more stress on Hamlet to try to comprehend that his
uncle is now his father. Although Hamlet mistreated Ophelia along with many others, he still

greatly loved her but could never show the affection in a way that Ophelia could see, this caused

her to feel unwanted and eventually kill herself. Throughout the play Hamlet has hit one mental

hurdle after another and the constant death and corruption have obviously affected his mentality.