Is Hamlet insane, or is it just acting, or is it a mixture of the two, or anothe

Question:

Is Hamlet insane, or is it just acting, or is it a mixture of the two, or another mental imbalance?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hamlet is merely pretending to b insane, when in reality he is in emotional turmoil. I know that Hamlet procrastinates very much in this play, which perhaps causes him to be more emotionally unstable than he was earlier in the play towards the end; he feels that his lack of action makes him a weak character and he feels guilt over Ophelia's death and the lack of vengeance taken on Claudius.

Hamlet did not lose his mental faculties, and remained throughout the play, an intelligent character. However, he was grief stricken and remorseful; this and other factors such as his hatred of Claudius, anger at his mother, and his inability to trust Ophelia, due to her betrayal did, however guide him into behaving rashly on the odd occasion(such as stabbing Ophelia's father, and jumping in Ophelia's grave). Despite the fact that Hamlet was not insane, as he had man others believe,he cannot of have been wholly of a healthy state of mind.

I hope i have been helpful.

ps. i think that in thi play Shakespeare is ambiguous in some aspects, particularly in characterisation.(The extent of Ophelias madness is not known, nor is it known wether she grieves for the death of her father or what she thought was the death of Hamlet, or wether shakespeare was implng that she slept with Hamlet or not).Also, we are never quite clear on the character of gertrude. However, i think that it has been made quite clear that hamlet pretends to be insane; he confides in his friend that he is just pretending to be mad and swears him to secrecy. Though there are many uncertainties about the character Hamlet, i think it is quite clear that he is prtnding to be insane bt is emotionall inbalanced. That's the question, isn't it? It's a sign of Shakespeare's genius that he never resolves that question, he just gives us hints and lets us wonder. Yes, I agree with TG. Different productions (and different actors) make different choices about that. In some productions, he's pretending, and in others, he's insane. But I think most of the time they choose to make it a mixture, because that's the most interesting. It makes the audience wonder that very question for themselves? The whole point of Hamlet is that you have to make up your own mind. What do you think?

Personally, I've always thought he was boring, self-indulgent and indecisive. Not mentally ill, just weak.

BUT - that is just MY take. Neither he is dead , only his work remains . how can you judge a man who is no longer of this world . youre parent and friend just died you had no one to fall back on for advice,every one is out to do you harm and your dead father visits you at home,plus you have a country to look after,how would you feel as Hamlet.
imbalanced,no,Hamlet is just trying to keep it all sane. Shakespeare never liked to give his plot ending away, he was always intrigued to see what other interpretations of them were, as simple as that
Regards
Ryan Dior.