Why Does Hamlet Act Crazy?

Why Does Hamlet Act Crazy?

Answer

Two characters in the novel Hamlet depicted signs related to insanity like Ophelia and Claudius. Hamlet had faked the madness levels at start of this play for getting vengeance for his father. However, his behavior depicted the qualities of mad men. Along with revenge, madness is considered to be another important aspect of Hamlet. The readers have questioned the sanity levels of Claudius who had killed his brother with the aim of seizing his power on Denmark although it does not properly depict his madness levels. Claudius also depicted guilt in the scene where he was praying. Claudius was hugely worried about various consequences that are related to the impact that the actions have on the soul (IvyPanda 2022). The insanity of Claudius was not properly depicted in this scene that was a part of the novel. Ophelia is another character within Hamlet who depicted the qualities related to insanity although Shakespeare has provided little information related to her character. Ophelia can seem insane in the first glance although she seemed hugely insane about the death of her father. The major reason behind her increased insanity was based on the society in which she is living. Madness is related to the ability of Ophelia based on expressing the emotions which she aimed at hiding and she also considered death to be an important action. The insane nature is based on the inability that is depicted by Ophelia in dealing properly with the situation. In a different scene Hamlet had pretended to become a mad person while he is speaking with Ophelia within her room (IvyPanda 2022). Hamlet also gained a major advantage based on the implementation of his trick related to madness based on the invitation of the troupe of the actors who had a major role in the murder of his father. The misogynistic attitude depicted by Hamlet towards the Gertrude and Ophelia are considered to be major factors that show his madness.