Hamlet Themes

Hamlet Themes: Sanity vs. Insanity
Study Guide: 1. What gives evidence that Hamlet is not really insane but just upset?
The fact that Hamlet is re-enacting the murder of his father shows the readers that he is well aware of the situation and what has occurred. He is not in denial of the death, but seems to want King Claudius to feel guilty with his wrong doing. 2. What gives evidence that Hamlet is insane and not just upset?
The way Hamlet acted around Ophelia gave signs that he was going mad. No one in love acts like the way he did. Half naked, bobbling at the knees and incapable of talking are signs of someone losing insanity, not someone deeply in love. 3. How does everyone react to this change in Hamlet’s behavior?
Everyone questions Hamlet on whether he is insane or not. There is discussion among all of the townspeople and people wondering what has gone wrong. People are asking him questions and spying on him in attempts to find and answer for his sudden personality change. 4. Do you think Hamlet is sane or insane?
I think Hamlet is sane. He does things that make him seem crazy but a lot has occurred in a short period of time. His uncle murdered his father and his mother married his uncle to stay on the throne. In the end I think he is just very upset and disturbed by the whole situation, which causes him to act without thought. 5. Write an essay explaining how all the characters in Hamlet are becoming corrupt.
Throughout the story I have noticed that a lot of the characters are becoming corrupt. The play tries to play it off, as Hamlet being the only one going insane or being corrupt but if you notice the behaviors of the other characters then you will notice more changes. There have been changes in Ophelia, Hamlet, the Queen, Claudius, and Laertes.
Some of the changes in the characters are small but they change the characters personality. Ophelia starts to go crazy once Hamlet leaves and results in her killing herself. Hamlet is just changing all together. He puts on the play about his fathers death and kills Polonius because he is so paranoid. The Queen is paranoid because she knows what Claudius did and she betrayed her son just to stay on the throne. The play drove Claudius insane because he now knows that Hamlet knows the truth. Laertes is going crazy about finding the real answer as to why his father is dead.
It all seems like Denmark is going crazy. They seem all scared about what is going to happen and they want everything to stop. If you thought Hamlet was crazy I would also take a look at some of the other characters.