WHAT IS INSANITY?
Insanity now doesn't quite match or mean what it once did, especially when Shakespeare was writing Hamlet. Once upon a time, people believed that anyone that thought different or even acted different was insane. Since Hamlet was of royal blood, he was not allowed to feel sad or mad, because that would lead people to believe that he was indeed insane. So, when he reacts to his father's death that is seen as act of madness.
Nowadays, someone that is insane actually is said to have a mental disease. In Psychology Today, Dr. Ryan Howes explains what exactly being insane means. He starts off by saying that the following saying is not true, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." He then explains that it's a legal term for, "a defendant's ability to determine right from wrong when a crime is committed." This makes sense. Insanity is used very loosely and not seriously enough. Dr. Howes then provides us with law.com's definition of insanity which basically says that insanity is a person that can't distinguish reality from fantasy, can't conduct affairs, and that has uncontrollable impulsive behavior (Howes, Ryan).
Is Ophelia Insane?
Ophelia on the other hand seemed like a completely normal person until grief came into her life when her father died. The fact that the man she loves kills her own father and she somehow can still care for him drives her mad. Another factor that I feel messed with Ophelia was Hamlet's was of showing love to her. It's not clear if Hamlet ever loves Ophelia because he is so wishy washy. One moment he shows signs of love, and then moments where he tells her to go to a nunnery. I believe that he was really young at the time and only had anything to do with Ophelia because she was the only woman that he could marry and reproduce with. There weren't any other women mentioned in the play.
She couldn't possibly handle these feelings and didn't want to, so she committed suicide and drowned herself. They say that grief isn't really insanity, but I still believe that she went insane from all the different feelings she was having at once. Ophelia was the true innocent in this play, and it's sad that she died in such a way. I believe that Ophelia and Hamlet's characters were opposites. I would say that Shakespeare purposely gave Ophelia this awful ending to show what true madness looks like, and this proving that Hamlet wasn't insane.
Is Hamlet Insane?
Hamlet's sanity is constantly being questioned. Is he actually insane because he see's his fathers ghost, acts confused at times, and even acts a bit crazy for most of the play? Or could it just be that he's simply "acting?" I found that he was not truly insane, but actually putting on an act to seem that way so the characters would misjudge him purposely. This way, the characters wouldn't suspect him of anything because they thought he was mad. At one point in the beginning of the play, Hamlet mentions, "How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself/(As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/To put an antic disposition on)..." An article by enotes explaining what antic disposition means says that antic means mad or bizarre; therefore, he was going to put on a mad disposition. (enotes) It was an incredibly smart way of throwing everyone off. I actually thought that Hamlet is intelligent. He comes up with this plan to act all crazy so that nobody would suspect him as he planned to kill his uncle Claudius.
