Hamlet

Hamlet In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main character exhibits a mysterious and ambiguous nature. The state of Hamlet’s sanity becomes a prevalent question throughout the play as contradictions in his character are revealed. In the play Hamlet faces an internal struggle brought on by the Ghost of dead King Hamlet. He must seek revenge for his father’s murder by killing Claudius. However, by taking on this responsibility, Hamlet must confront his own fears of death and the consequences of committing murder. Stemming from this battle within him are two conflicting behaviors seen in Hamlet throughout the play. One is of a calm, rational, and well-spoken man. The other is of a man consumed with madness. Hamlet’s mood shifts between the two continuously and causes one to question if he has truly become mad or if he has a well-calculated plan “To put an antic disposition on” (I, iv, 171) as he tells Horatio and Marcellus early on in the play. The first signs of Hamlet’s possible madness come from his behavior towards Ophelia. In a conversation with Polonius she reveals to him her perception of Hamlet in his recent visit. hamlet, madness, hamlet’s, polonius, scene, ophelia, act, mad, ii, iii, towards, ghost, two, play, however, truly, throughout, question, planned, murder, marriage, love, iv, himself, gertrude’s, gertrude, behavior, been, appears, actions, yet, words, true, tells, states