Duality of Insanity

The Shakespearean play, Hamlet is a fascinating examination of insanity and the human mind. Shakespeare approaches the concept of insanity in his two principal characters: Hamlet and Ophelia. However, there are stark differences in their situations. Hamlet’s insanity is for the most part feigned, although one can argue that he slips into true insanity at various points during the play. In contrast, Ophelia’s insanity is real. Ophelia loses her mind after Hamlet scorns her love and kills her father by accident. The way Shakespeare portrays the feigned insanity of Hamlet and the real insanity of Ophelia is perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of this play.

There is no doubt from the beginning of the play that Hamlet is feigning his madness. In Act I after the ghost of his father comes to him to inform him that he was murdered by his brother it is clear that Hamlet is already planning his next move. When Horatio and the guards ask him what the ghost revealed to him, he tells them “there’s never a villain dwelling in all Denmark / But he’s an errant knave.” This strange response is not the first sign of Hamlets madness but rather a calculated ploy to keep the king’s murder from the guards. Indeed, Hamlet sanity is apparent when he makes the three men promise not to talk about the ghost regardless of how strange he might behave. Hamlet’s pretend madness continues in the same pattern of this strange response to the three men. He speaks in riddles and veiled language and rarely responds coherently to questions. In addition Hamlet reinforces the notion of his madness when he runs into Ophelia’s room half undressed. It is clear through most of the play however that Hamlet is in total control of his mental facilities. He cleverly plots the murder of his uncle with insanity as a shield to remove any suspicion or attention to himself.

In contrast to Hamlet, it is quite clear that Ophelia truly has lost her mind. She tells everyone that she can hear her father talking, she makes strange sounds, she beats at her breast, and she speaks incoherently. Unlike Hamlet, the audience does not hear or see her father’s ghost, which reaffirms the nature of her true insanity. In addition after Ophelia goes insane her conversations for the most part are conducted in song. Unlike Hamlet’s strange responses these songs have no meaning or relevance to the situation whatsoever and they highlight Ophelia’s insanity. The final way Shakespeare demonstrates Ophelia’s mental instability is in her suicide. Hamlet contemplates suicide in many of his soliloquies but is never close to acting on his thoughts. In contrast, Ophelia takes her life over her inconsolable grief at the death of her father by Hamlet’s hand. With Ophelia there is no rational contemplation of her situation, just an irrational response.

One of the most compelling aspects of the play Hamlet is how Shakespeare exploits insanity. Ophelia is a victim whose insanity is the result of the tragedies that befall her. Conversely Hamlet uses insanity to cover his clever and calculating mind to further his agenda. Shakespeare’s genius as a playwright is evident when he brings this duality of insanity to life in his play. (541)