WAS HAMLET BELIEF HIMSELF CRAZY?

            Was Hamlet belief himself crazy? No, he was not. There are some indication can be used to say whether someone is crazy or not. Firstly, someone should have mental instability and abnormal behavior. Secondly, someone who is crazy has a condition that driving to operate outside of societal norms (www.wisegeek.com). As far as I know from the play, Hamlet still uses his mind to think what he does. Hamlet did not show the indicator of insanity that I stated above. I will not say that Hamlet is totally not crazy in this play. After the death of Hamlet’s father, there are many occurrences that shaking Hamlet’s mentality.

            In the play, Hamlet is pretending to be crazy because he want to revenge his uncle, King Claudius. To show that my answer to this question is right, I will explain my reasons why I am really sure that Hamlet is not crazy and I will give the evidences to support my arguments. The first, someone will be called as crazy man if he has mental instability. It does not happen to Hamlet. In Act 1 Scene 1, Hamlet says “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt. Thaw and resolved itself into a dew! or that the everlasting had not fixed. His canon ‘gaist self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and profitable. Seem to me all the uses of this world!”. 

In Hamlet’s soliloquy above, Hamlet is not a person with mental instability although he just feels the deep condolence of his father’s death. He only suppressed because he thinks that the God made as if the suicidal is legal to him and it is accepted by the God. By the condition that Hamlet has at that time, Hamlet thinks that leaving the world is better to him. To my opinion, it is a common feeling if someone suffers from a lose one that he loves then he feels depression. Moreover, the king Hamlet is a great figure to Hamlet because Hamlet is closer to his father than to his mother. It can be seen from Hamlet’s answer when Horatio comes to him to see his father’s funeral but then, Hamlet says “I think it was to see my mother’s wedding”. Hamlet says like that because he very disappointed with his mother decision to marry his uncle soon after his father’s death.

            Hamlet does not have mental instability because he only thinks about suicide. It means that Hamlet is still able to control himself and thinks normally like other people. The man with the mental instability will not think about suicide but he will do suicidal action. If Hamlet is a mental instability person certainly he will do suicide but he did not. So, Hamlet is not a crazy person because he does not qualify for the first requisite.

            The second reason for person which is crazy is abnormal behaviors. After Hamlet meets his father’s spirit that asks him to do avenge to King Claudius, Hamlet starts pretending to be a crazy man. In Act 2 Scene 2, there is a conversation between Lord Polonius and Hamlet. Hamlet speaks as if he does not know who Lord Polonius is. For example in the conversation

Lord Polonius: How does my good Lord Hamlet?

Hamlet: Well, God-a-mercy.

Lord Polonius: Do you know me, my lord?

Hamlet: Excellent well; you are a fishmonger.

Lord Polonius: Not I, my lord.

Hamlet: Then I would you were so honest a man.

According to the madness theory above Hamlet is a crazy man. The conversation above shows that Hamlet has abnormal behavior because he cannot remember who Lord Polonius is. Whereas Hamlet knows that Lord Polonius is chief minister to king Hamlet. When Lord Polonius questions Hamlet, Hamlet replays with strange answers. However, this is only Hamlet’s trick to success his revenge against his uncle. He pretends to be crazy in order to deceive people in the castle except Horatio. Horatio knows that Hamlet is not crazy and he must keep the secret. Besides Hamlet’s pretending to become a crazy man, there is something that interesting to me. It is Hamlet’s answer when Polonius asks about Hamlet’s condition. Hamlet answered “Well, God-a-mercy” just like normal people. Actually, if Lord Polonius gives attention to this answer, he will know that Hamlet is pretending to be crazy.

In Act 3 Scene 1, when Ophelia and Hamlet have a conversation. Ophelia says “O heavenly powers, restore him!”. Then Hamlet says “I have heard of your paintings too, well enough;”. Ophelia’s statement indicates that Hamlet is seriously a crazy man because of Hamlet’s abnormal talking to Ophelia. When Hamlet talks to Ophelia, he speaks so coarsely so Ophelia thinks that Hamlet really becomes a crazy man. Nevertheless, Hamlet loves Ophelia very much, he just does not want that Ophelia knows his revenge plan. To deceive Ophelia, Hamlet speaks as if he cannot control his mind. Hamlet’s love to Ophelia can be known from Hamlet’s statement in Act 5 scene 1. Hamlet says “I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum”.

The third, someone will be considered as a crazy or mad person if someone has a condition that driving him/her to operate outside of societal norms. People life is surrounded by societal norms. In this play, After Hamlet hears the true story of his father’s death from the ghost. Hamlet intends to do revenge and wants to kill his uncles, Claudius.

Based on the theory above a killer is a crazy person because it can break societal norms. The problem is, did Hamlet kill Claudius based on his revenge plan?. In the beginning of Hamlet’s revenge plan, it is true that Hamlet has strong intention to kill Claudius. But, When Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius, he tows it. Hamlet tows for killing Claudius because Hamlet thinks that it will be useless to kill a man after his forswearing. To my opinion, Hamlet will kill Claudius if Hamlet is a crazy man without thinking of King Claudius’s forswearing. But He still consider in murdering King Claudius. This is another evidence to prove that Hamlet is not crazy because he can control his mind.

There is also a tragic killing when Hamlet was speaking in Queen Gertrude’s bed room. Hamlet killed Lord Polonius accidentally. In Act 3 scene 4, Hamlet says “Nay, I know not: Is it the king?. It is the evidence that Hamlet does not really want to kill Lord Polonius. He thinks that Polonius is King Claudius because Lord Polonius enters his mother bed room. This killing happens as the result of Hamlet’s strong willing to kill King Claudius.

In Act 5 Scene 2, King Claudius wants to kill Hamlet by giving poisoned drink to Hamlet. Unfortunately, Queen Gertrude drunk it and she died. When the queen is dying, she said ”No, no the drink, the drink,--O my dear Hamlet,-- The drink, the drink! I am poison’d”. After hearing his mother Hamlet gets very angry and kills King Claudius. So, it can be conclude that Hamlet does not kill King Claudius based on revenge but based on his mother death.

Finally, talking about Hamlet’s madness, sometime it is confusing. At the first time Hamlet just pretends to be crazy but in Act 3 Scene 2 Hamlet says “My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites”. In this case, Hamlet confuses himself whether he is a crazy or not because what he does and what he says are different. However, to my opinion, Hamlet is not belief himself crazy. What I say is based on my explanations and also the evidences. Although, Hamlet did the violence but he did not intend to do that. Hamlet only wants to revenge the murder of his father.