Hamlet Substance Vs. Accident Essay, Research Paper
Insanity is an ever growing black hole which envelopes the pitiful mind of the its victim. The mental condition of Hamlet is an example of substance vs. accident. The substance is he is not insane and accident is that he is acting to be insane to trick everyone in the castle to believe he is insane. The mental condition of Hamlet has been well debated throughout the years even though in Shakespeare s tragedy Hamlet does admit that his madness is an elaborate scheme.
Through his actions and emotions are prevalent through the play,
Hamlet does indeed prove his insanity despite his denial of it. Another
fact to strengthen the idea of his insanity is his treatment of his beloved
girlfriend, Ophelia and his loving mother, Gertrude. One might find it
difficult to ponder the thought of any sane person denouncing their love
for their lover without showing the slightest hint of sadness. Another
piece of evidence that is quite convincing that he could truly be insane is
that he murdered three people in cold blood and did not feel the slightest
remorse for doing so. The lack of guilt should be proof enough that his
mind was not all there.
On the other hand he seemed to be fairly sane. Hamlet was very
intelligent to even think to be insane. Hamlet puts on an antic disposition
which gives him power over everyone else. He says to himself what he is
doing: I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put on an antic
disposition.. . He believed if he acted insane before he killed Claudius
people would not be so harsh on him or until he told them the truth about
how Claudius killed his father so he could become king.
There is a lot of substance vs. accident in this play but Hamlets
sanity is a major part in this play. The faking of insanity or being insane
made the play interesting. Whether he was or he wasn t will always be a
debate for many years to come.