To What Extent is There Method to Hamlet’s Madness? Consider the Methods used by Shakespeare to Represent Hamlet.

A lot of the time being mad is seen as something wrong entirely, however sometimes, it can be justified. Which is what Hamlet is seen to believe during the play and what made the audience believe. In Act Three Scene Four, Hamlet is seen to be talking to himself to his mother. Within Act two Scene Two, Polonius is seen trying to convince himself with Hamlet as well that Hamlet is not insane. Additionally, Hamlet is seen to come to the realization of his madness with Act Five Scene Two.

In Act three, Hamlet saw the ghost the second time and Gretrude had not. Gertrude was left believing that Hamlet is seeing things with her saying: “To whom do you speak this?” (3, 4, 133). Before the first time Hamlet had an interaction with the Ghost, the Ghost had already appeared to the guards and to Horatio. Later, the Ghost revealed himself to Hamlet and identified himself as the spirit of Hamlet’s dead father, telling him who murdered him by pouring poison into his ear as he slept. The Ghost demanded that Hamlet - being his son- should avenge his death and murder Claudius. This first interaction confirmed Hamlet’s suspicion of his father’s death being unnatural. The second time the interaction happened, it was with the presence of Gertrude. However, this time was different with Gertrude not being able to see the Ghost and Hamlet having a full conversation with it. The word “whom” indicates how there is nobody else that could be in the room besides herself and Hamlet. Gertrude is shown as being clearly confused about the situation and not knowing what to do since to her, Hamlet is talking to himself like he has gone mad. While Hamlet was with the Ghost and Gerturde, he repeatedly continued to tell Gertrude to look at that Ghost, “On him, on him!” (3, 4, 126). This shows how persistent Hamlet is that there is a ghost and he isn’t going crazy and hallucinating. The repetition of Hamlet saying “on him” shows how emotional the moment is for Hamlet and how he wants Gertrude to see the Ghost as well. However, with Gretrude not being able to see the Ghost like how the guards and Horatio did the first time, it could indicate that Hamlet could possibly be going mad and hallucinating with the thought of wanting to prove that he isn’t going crazy so the murder of Claudius could be justified with a Ghost speaking to him. Hamlet believes that it is a dialogue with the conversation happening between him and his mother and him and the Ghost. However, it is noticeable to the audience that there is nobody there other than Hamlet and his mother. This shows the first act of Hamlet being led into the reality of madness and speaking to himself with his thoughts being stronger than the reality itself in front of him. An essay written by Tenney L. Davis, who is a professor who taught Organic Chemistry at MIT, that has studied how the body works with a philosophical background, has written a number of articles that have appeared in numerous science related academic journals. In his essay called The Sanity of Hamlet, he states, “His thoughts, and the images of his fancy, are far more vivid than his actual perceptions” (Davis, 1). This proves how Hamlet truly wanted to believe that there was someone else that he was speaking to other than his mother because of how strongly he believes that what he thinks is true, which leads to him believing his thoughts are stronger than the reality in front of him. The idea of Hamlet’s madness has also been discussed by Leo stating: “Hamlet feels he needs to seek justice by killing Claudius” (Stella-Bourshard). This is seen in the play with Hamlet seeing the ghost of his father demanding revenge for himself and his death. Greenblatt is an American literary critic and scholar specializing in Shakespeare and the Renaissance, known for his work in New Historicism, and on this topic states: “Many stories were told of ghosts who had returned to earth from purgatory, desperately pleading for help.” (Greenblatt, Will in the World, 314). This is just like how the ghost of Hamlet’s father pleading for Hamlet to kill Claudius to get revenge for his death.

Hamlet is seen believing that he is faking his madness by saying:  “(aside) though this be madness, yet there is method in’t-”(2, 2, 204). Polonius is seen justifying Hamlet’s madness by saying there is method to it and not wanting to admit how mad he's truly gotten and to justify Claudius’ death. Hamlet is shown to be delusional especially with how mad he is being to show that he is smart in the methods that he is using and not seem mad. It is seen more of Hamlet trying to convince himself that it is justified and okay to act the level of mad he is rather than trying to convince everyone else in the audience. The excuse of there being a “method” to it shows how delusional this truly is especially when it comes to the fact of looking at the reason Hamlet is acting this mad (to get revenge for his father’s death). Earlier, Polonius is shown spying on Hamlet with him trying to figure out what is causing his madness and Hamlet being aware and purposely acting mad to confuse and mock Polonius. While being spied on, Hamlet goes to say: “Excellent well. You are a fishmonger.” (2, 2, 175). Calling Polonius a “fishmonger” is an exaggerated insult. Hamlet distorts reality to appear more mad with the exaggeration making Polonius seem ridiculous and shows how much Hamlet can push his fake mad persona to an extreme so others will underestimate him. Shakespeare using an aside shows Hamlet’s thoughts and stream of consciousness to show how he thinks and why. The aside being Hamlet talking to himself telling himself that there is a method to how he is acting emphasizes on the idea of Hamlet trying to convince himself. In an essay written by Bennett Simon, who is an Emeritus Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, it states: “My fundamental thesis is that psychoanalytic interpretations, particularly those of individual characters in the play, rely on a long-standing "medical model." This is most prominent in regard to the question of Hamlet's insanity-whether it is real, feigned, or both.” (Simon,1). Whether Hamlet’s madness is real or not is questioned throughout the play a lot. Hamlet  trying to convince himself that his madness is fake is showing how he is slowly entering the phase of madness and needing to gaslight himself. The idea of Hamlet’s madness has also been discussed by Nina: “At first it was intentional in the beginning, afterwards he lost his control because of Ophelia and she just couldn’t control his madness and ended up consuming him” (Maniates). This is seen in the play with Hamlet slowly losing grip of his sanity and trying to justify himself. Helen Hackett is professor of English literature at University College London. An expert on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, she is the author of Shakespeare and Elizabeth and A Short History of English Renaissance and states: “Luther’s central doctrine was ‘justification by faith alone’, meaning that the only means of salvation was by whole-hearted belief and by the workings of the divine grace; human beings could not earn a place in heaven by ‘good works’ such as gifts of money to the church…Protestantism, then, made a significant contribution to a new culture of self-scrutiny…” (Hackett, 14).  Hamlet is seen as a Protestant by living during the time of everyone being protestant,]. The part of him needing faith to justify his actions by convincing himself is proof of how mad he has become.

By the end of the play we can see that Hamlet has come to the conclusion of him truly being mad with him admitting that he is crazy by saying: “... That might your nature, honor, and exception roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness.” (5, 2, 218). Hamlet has been shown as a tough character who does what needs to be done without any regret of his actions. Hamlet is seen as stubborn with no idea of the repercussions of his actions or what they can do. Hamlet’s fake mad persona was seen as slowly wearing off as the play goes on with him finally admitting that he has gone mad. With Hamlet saying “I hear proclaim was madness” is showing how he’s come to the realization of him being wrong and going mad. Likewise, Hamlet is shown to take responsibility for his actions, separating his true self from the madness that became a reality for him. Later, Hamlet states to Laertes: “Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged. His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy.” (5, 2, 225). Hamlet has given ‘madness’ a human-like role by claiming it is his “enemy”. Shakespeare suggests madness itself to actively work against Hamlet which is harming who he truly is. In the quotation of Hamlet admitting he has truly gone mad. Helping us see Hamlet’s thoughts, it helps to really put an emphasis on how important the realization was since he was believing this lie that he wasn’t trifle mad. In an essay written called Hamlet by Claude C. H. Williamson who was a British writer, compiler, and literary figure known for his encyclopedic books on broad subjects, often featuring short essays or anthologies had stated: “Hamlet the character has had a special temptation for that most dangerous type of critic: the critic with a mind which is naturally of the creative order, but which through some weakness in creative power exercises itself in criticism instead” (Williamson, 2). Throughout the play, Hamlet has been shown to evolve. Whether it’s good or bad, Hamlet has grown as an individual. Hamlet has been shown to be reflective and complex by the end. The idea of Hamlet’s madness has also been discussed by Ellen: “Hamlet uses his madness intentionally and in the process corrupts his own morality hurting those around him” (Beatty). Again, this is seen throughout the play with how Hamlet was seen to evolve as a person. Helen Hackett who is Professor Helen Hackett is a Professor of English literature at University College London. She is an expert on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in particular female writers and representations of women in Renaissance literature. She states: “...the Renaissance was the beginning of the rise of individualism, of confident self-will and self-assertion. More recent scholars, however, have often found the sixteenth-and seventeenth-century self to be characterised by a sense of insecurity, fracturedness, and troubled self-awareness, and have found in this an incipient modernity” (Hackett, 10). This is seen in Hamlet’s change of mind and his self realization that he has gone mad. 

In conclusion it is clear that Hamlet slowly but surely becomes more mad with his fake mad persona wearing off and becoming his reality. From Act Three Scene Four, Hamlet is seen to be talking to himself to his mother. Within Act two Scene Two, Polonius is seen trying to convince himself with Hamlet as well that Hamlet is not insane. Additionally, Hamlet is seen to come to the realization of his madness with Act Five Scene Two. 

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William, and SparkNotes. Hamlet: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English. SparkNotes, 2020. 

Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare. WW Norton, 2016.

Beatty, Ellen. In Class Question. Blyth Academy Burlington. December 16th 2025.

Maniates, Nina. In Class Question. Blyth Academy Burlington. December 16th 2025.

Stella-Bourshard, Leo. In Class Question. Blyth Academy Burlington. December 16th 2025.

Claude C. H. Williamson. “Hamlet.” International Journal of Ethics, vol. 33, no. 1, 1922, pp. 85–100. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2377179. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.

SIMON, BENNETT. “‘Hamlet’ and the Trauma Doctors: An Essay at Interpretation.” American Imago, vol. 58, no. 3, 2001, pp. 707–22. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26304723. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.

Davis, Tenney L. “The Sanity of Hamlet.” The Journal of Philosophy, vol. 18, no. 23, 1921, pp. 629–34. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2939352. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.

Hackett, Helen. A Brief History of English Renaissance Drama. I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. 2014.