Logan GaertnerMrs. AmonEnglish IVMarch 1, 2014Is Hamlet's madness real?Is Hamlet really crazy? Although the play is not extremely clear on the subject and often contradicts itself, many of Hamlet's wild ramblings and nonsensical utterances do not seem to be the true words of a madman. Hamlet himself says that he “simply assumes an ancient disposition” (Act 1, scene 5, line 181). He admits very early in the play that his madness will only be a ruse to deceive those around him. This is further proven by the fact that when he is with Horatio, he shows no signs of mental illness. He speaks calmly and everything he says makes sense. He also admits to his mother after killing Polonius his lack of true madness. Talking to his mother, he says, “I am essentially not mad, but mad about crafts” (Act 3, scene 4, lines 194-5). Others realize that his madness may not be true and that even if it is, he still has some sanity. Even Polonius understands his act and mentions: “Even though this is madness, yet there is a method to it. » (Act 2, scene 2, lines 205-6) Polonius feels that Hamlet's madness is nothing more than rudeness and sarcasm, instead of a true loss of mind. Maybe Hamlet really is sane and has little fits of hysteria like the world seems to believe. stand against him. His anger and feelings of betrayal turn into explosive outbursts that can be interpreted as outright madness. Upon learning that Ophelia has allied herself with Polonius and Claudius, he loses his mind and experiences an incredibly dramatic episode. He is initially honest and open with Ophélie, but his mood quickly changes when he learns that they are being spied on. He questions Ophelia's motives by asking her if she is honest and fair. He... middle of paper... never really knew if it was an act or not, information can be inferred given that Hamlet never really went mad and he remained intelligent throughout the story. Only certain people told him one side of madness, and those who witnessed it were his enemies. Whether this was to scare them, make them believe his actions were not his own, hide his true intentions and plans, or something else, is never revealed, but it can be assumed that he was sane while time. His false insanity leads not only to his own death and that of his enemies, but also to the deaths of the few remaining people he truly loves and cares about. Horatio is the only survivor and Hamlet tells him to continue living so that Horatio can tell the true story of what happened without thinking that Hamlet's actions were nothing more than the senseless acts of a mad..