Essay Database

Hamlet appears to be insane to me in the play. There are many indications that persuade me to think so. Certainly, Hamlet has plenty of reasons to be insane at this point. His day has been hectic-he finally determined Claudius had killed his father, the chance to kill Claudius confronted him, and he comes very close to convincing Gertrude that Claudius killed his father, he accidentally kills Polonius, and finally the ghost of his father …

…and random up until the time of (and after) the duel. Hamlet, though, was not-he even reasoned what death for him was, finishing his question of whether life was worth living for. Hamlet can truly be seen to be sane, and not. The facts that Hamlet was smart and swift thinking, and in such a reversal of emotions (from after Polonius died) in the end, leads strongly to the opinion that Hamlet was not insane.