sanity,or insanity?
Throughout the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one of the large controversies present throughout the play is the question of Hamlet's sanity, whether he is in reality sane or insane. One theory that is present is that Hamlet got too in character and had difficulty pulling himself out of the mindset of psychotic behavior. In society there are several celebrities, movie stars, singers, and comedians that all go through this. As they have been “in character” for months they suddenly believe that they actually are that person, these actors and actresses are better known as “method actors.” They are very similar to Hamlet, as he could not escape the character he was playing.This is the stance that I would take on the subject. At first Hamlet was perfectly sane and rational. I believe that the death of Polonius was his turning point. However, I think he pulled out of it slightly at the end as he was dying of poison. I think he realized that he had gone too deep and should have taken care of his uncle sooner, rather than later. Several others believe that during his “psychotic breakdown,” that he sparingly went crazy. There is evidence seen throughout the play of this as he kills Polonius without considering the act at all. He seems to irrationally act, though throughout the previous parts of the play, he was known to act rationally. Many would say this is the perfect example to prove true insanity in Hamlet. Others though, argue that hamlet never really was crazy. They reason that he felt the need to kill Polonius in order to completely sell his insanity.
