The Madness of Prince Hamlet

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, throughout history, enthusiasts have come up with theories about Hamlet' sanity and how, for most, the conclusion they have come to is that Hamlet was mad and just went on a killing spree. It explores whether Hamlet's actions throughout the play are those of a mad man, whether he really meant to kill Polonius or whether he thought he was killing Claudius.

From the Paper:

"The second issue is whether or not Hamlet actually meant to kill Polonius or if he actually thought that Claudius was behind the arras. It is said that Hamlet acted very irrationally when he stabbed his sword through the curtain. However, after looking at the situation it seems that it was anger and not irrationality that made Hamlet carry out this action. He is having an intense fight with Gertrude and she actually fears he will kill her so she cries out for someone to help her. Behind the arras a voice screams out for help and Hamlet recognizing that someone is spying on him and her, he then stabs his sword to where the voice came from. Now Hamlet was probably familiar with both his uncle's voice and with Polonius' voice and because the person behind the curtain had spoken we could assume that if Hamlet could not tell whom the voice belonged to, he could probably figure out that it was not Claudius."

More papers on The Madness of Prince Hamlet:

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