Arguing for the case of Hamlet's sanity in the famous Shakespearean play. In addition, it also deals with the prospect of uncertainty exemplified by the most famous monologue within English literature.
“To be or not to be; that is the question”. One would be hard pressed to find a better quote within English literature that exemplifies the difficulty of knowing the truth in the face of two or more equally credible choices. Considering this, how appropriate is it that the most well-known Shakespearean soliloquy is perfectly representative of the most hotly debated topic within the same play; the topic of Hamlet's sanity. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, many are forced to assume that the protagonist has indeed gone insane due to his incredibly convincing portrayal of a mad man at various points during the play. However, the manner in which Hamlet deals with one tragedy after another, the way he shows rationality and level headiness even in the face of immense ordeal and the fashion in which he legitimately feigns madness in order to be certain of his doubts suggest otherwise. If that was not enough, Shakespeare, through the use of character foils, attests to the sanity of arguably the most complex character he has ever written.
In order to truly analyze Hamlet's sanity, it is essential to define “insane” properly. One must realize that in everyday situations, the term “insane” is used quite loosely, thus it has become extremely subjective in nature. Much like a person who is slightly different than the rest is not necessarily “abnormal”, a person who does not conform to society's definition of sanity is not “insane”. The fact of the matter is that Hamlet is extremely traumatized throughout the play. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one may be able to relate with the difficulty of dealing with all the circumstances that accompany such a tragic event. This becomes evident right away when Hamlet reflects upon the prospect of suicide in the first soliloquy of the play. “O that this too too solid flesh would melt,Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew”(Act I, Scene II, 129-130). This shows the mental state that he is right from the beginning of the play. The fact that the death of his father was the first tragic event he had to deal with and the fact that he thought very highly of him (“So excellent a king…”Act I, Scene II, 139) makes it obvious that he had been greatly impacted by this event of extremely significant magnitude. After all, there are not many events in a person's life that can cause one to consider suicide as even a remotely reasonable course of action.
In addition, there is another factor that is mentioned within the same soliloquy, and at various points afterwards, which is causing Hamlet even more despair. Not only is he extremely bothered by the sudden demise of his beloved father, the manner in which his mother, Gertrude, has dealt with this event has caused even more disturbance in his psyche. “Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears, had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married:- O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (Act I, Scene II, 154-157). “Mother, you have my father much offended” (Act III, Scene IV, 11). This demonstrates that Hamlet was extremely upset by his mother's complete lack of sensitivity towards the death of his father. The fact that she married Claudius with the death of Hamlet Sr. still fresh in everyone's minds contrasts greatly with the sombre manner in which Hamlet is mourning this great loss.
As if this was not enough, Hamlet has to endure more tragedies later on in the play. Arguably the most significant of those losses is the death of Ophelia. Her demise towards the end causes him more despair than he was letting on earlier in the play. This becomes all too evident at Ophelia's funeral. When Hamlet finds out that the funeral is of none other than his object of great affection, he is unable to hide his true emotions towards her. “I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum…” (Act V, Scene I, 263-265). The fact that Hamlet could never trust Ophelia throughout the play due to his suspicion that she might hold allegiance with the murderer of his father makes it all that much harder for him to truly express his emotions for her. Because of this, he is forced to shun Ophelia against all his love. However, at the funeral, he had no need to carry on his antic disposition, thus the reason why he is finally able to show his true affection for Ophelia without any regard of what anyone else might say.
