Hamlet: Hamlet's Sanity

Part I of Essay
“Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide.” Though John Dryden's quote was not made in regard to William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it relates very well to the argument of whether or not Hamlet went insane. When a character such as H ....

Part II of Essay
.... sharp and credible. “[Hamlet] concocts this state of madness...his intellect remains clear, his discourse sound and comprehensive,” (Harris, p. 129). Hamlet reveals to his friends and his mother of his plans to pretend act insane. He tells Horatio that he is going to "feign madness," and that if Horatio notices any strange behavior from Hamlet, it is because he is putting on an act. (I, v). Hamlet also tells his mother that he is not mad, "but mad in craft." (III, iv). In addition to his confessions, Hamlet's madness only manifests itself whe ....