Was Hamlet Mad or Madness in Craft?

By JH Sayyar

Hamlet is one of the famous plays of William Shakespeare. It is read by most of the over the world. On the other hand it is considered one of the complex plays of Shakespeare. It is due to Prince Hamlet’s delay in taking revenge in disguise of his antic disposition. Both the points are controversial among the critics. This universe is an enigma of God and Hamlet’s delay in taking revenge is the enigma of Shakespeare. It is very difficult out trace out the real causes of Hamlet’s delay in action and the causes of his antic disposition. Here Hemingway says, “Hamlet is a mystery and Brutus is puzzle. Shakespeare rewrote the tragedy of Brutus and called it the tragedy of Hamlet.”

One of the major questions of the play is Hamlet’s madness. Some critics call it appearance and some call it reality. Let us examine both comments under the light of the text. However, the text shows that Hamlet’s madness is pretended, not real because before the appearance of the ghost he is sensible a brilliant student of philosophy. After the appearance of the ghost he becomes lunatic. Here Harry Levin says, “Hamlet possesses a cheerful nature and jovial disposition and along with it he is sensible and contemplative. But it is a fact that Hamlet understands more than other heroes of Shakespeare are.

It is a bona fide fact that Hamlet does not act until he thinks philosophically over his action. He sometimes becomes sentimental and emotional while speaking but his tone become ironical in the play but out of the play he speaks with sensibility.

As the text shows that Hamlet observes Gertrude Polonius, Aphelia, Laertes, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and King Caludius keenly just to know the causes of his father’s murder. But all the people fail to understand Hamlet’s action and method of judging. Hamlet spend most of his time in observing, weighing the words of the ghost and either the ghost was real or fake. Hamlet’s mind is pure political and deceiving like Milton’s Satan. His madness is pure pretended. As the text shows clearly in these words his revengeful mood and what he wants to do with the mousetrap:

“I shall have there players

Play like something like the murder of my father

Before mine uncle, I shall observe his looks

I shall check him to the quick.”

These text lines show that Hamlet is not mad but he is emotional and sentimental under his reason. When his father’s foe is saying prayer he does not kill him in spite of having the best to kill him. Here he explains his conscious in these words:

“Now I might do it, now he is praying

And I shall do it, so he goes to heaven

And so am I revenged, that I shall be scanned.”

On the other hand killing Polonius is not his lunatic considering him to be the King. After killing Polonius he repents of his deed seriously. He also knew the plan that his Uncle is making to kill him secretly. Therefore, he frustrated his enemy’s plan through his pretended madness. It is a fact that Hamlet succeeds in his mission that the ghost’s words were true. He sets for this mousetrap and dumb show. Nut he fails to take revenge of his father.

Hamlet’s last soliloquy reveals his contemplative mind and he this that he has missed the golden chance of killing Polonius. Here lies a question that neither a mad man nor a lunatic thinks so as Hamlet does. As the text shows his contemplative mind in these words:

“After your death you were better, have

a bad epitaph than ill report

While you live.”

In the fourth scene of the text Hamlets jumps into the grave of Ophelia. Therefore, it was not his lunatic action. Before the mouse trap scene he is happy before entering the play hall. He warns Horatio to judge his father’s and mother’s face expressions while watching the play. So the scene of the murder of Gonzago changes the King’s facial expression. Here the King considers him to be the guilt of his conscious.

Hamlet’s antic disposition is pretended not real one. The appearance of the ghost makes him ready to take his father’s revenge and the story revolves around it. To know the truth he disguises himself in a lunatic person full of grieves but he does so just to know the words of the ghost. At the end he says to his mother his conscious in these words:

‘ It is not madness

That I have uttered, bring me to a test

But madness in craft.”

These lines prove that he is nor a mad man, nor a lunatic but a sensible person but the victim of circumstances that prevents him to do something. Actually Hamlet is mysterious lunatic person but intelligent and sensible. He spends most time in thinking and less time acting. That is why he fails in his mission.

Her Downed says, “ Hamlet is a slave of his ideas and passion both the elements make man coward and behind the curtain of such person acts his fear of death and worldly enjoyments prevents him to do something wrong that curtails his worldly pleasures.” Therefore, it is the same case with Hamlet who thinks more, acts less, and dies according to the law of nature. So according to Shakespeare himself, “ the Coward dies many times before their death, but the brave once.”