Hamlet's Cause of Insanity

The theme of insanity, or decline in mental health, is one of the most prevalent themes in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, and the characters of Hamlet and Ophelia display it explicitly. The adjective “insane” is defined as “In a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill.”1 This definition covers a broad range of behaviors that are atypical to the norm and will be used as the basis for the diagnosis of both Hamlet and Ophelia’s clinical mental state. The two characters illustrate contrasting behaviors; Hamlet is shown as aggressive and has a tendency to hallucinate whereas the mild and gentle Ophelia expresses a complete lack of function in her state of profusely deep melancholy. Despite the extreme differences in their actions, they can both be termed clinically “insane” to a certain extent. The route cause of this mental breakdown appears to be from the breakdown or loss of relationships with the people that they are closest to; primarily the loss of the paternal bond subsequently after the death of both of their fathers. This paper aims to discuss other possible causes of the characters’ madness, and to what extent these other factors have contributed towards the decline in the mental state of both Hamlet and Ophelia.

One of the most popular theories of Hamlet’s madness, in the early stages of the play, is attributed to his apparent love for Ophelia. This idea is brought to the attention of Claudius and Gertrude by Polonius when he claims that he “Has found the very cause of Hamlets lunacy” (Act ii, Scene ii, line 48). Polonius presents the King and Queen with a letter written by Hamlet and addressed to Ophelia, which expresses a deep love for his daughter. This theory seems to be comforting to both the King and Queen, but Claudius appears to be very enthusiastic and hopeful, of this possible explanation for his insanity, as he fears that his erratic behavior may be a result of Hamlet finding out the...