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Madness as a Revenge Tool in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

A Research

Submitted to the Department of English

Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages), Minia University

By

Hazem Mohamed Gamal

Abdelrahman Atef Mohamed
Abdelrahman Ahmed Sayed
Alaa Aboelazaem Mohamed
Mahmoud Ashour Hashem
Seniors in the Department of English,
Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages), Minia University

Under the Supervision of

Dr. Reem Abdelsalam Anwar

Lecturer in English Literature
Department of English,
Faculty of Al-Alsun, Minia University
Minia, Egypt
2023
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Abstract

This paper explores madness as a revenge tool in William Shakespeare's play

Hamlet with a particular focus on the protagonist, Hamlet. It examines how Hamlet

pretends madness as a means of avenging his father's murder and analyzes the

psychological and cultural context of the play to understand the implications of his

actions.

The research examines how Hamlet's madness serves as a strategic device,

allowing him to observe the actions of others and gain an advantage over his

enemies. The research also analyzes the consequences of using madness as a means

of revenge, considering how it affects Hamlet's mental and emotional state

throughout the play.

Overall, the research offers a deeper understanding of the complexities of the

theme of madness in "Hamlet," particularly in relation to Hamlet's use of madness

as a revenge tool. It will enrich our understanding of this timeless play.

Keywords: Shakespeare, Hamlet, madness, revenge, tragedy, justice, family,

betrayal, procrastination guilt, mortality, soliloquy, psychology, morality, conflict,

characters, relationships, consequences, fate.

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Introduction

William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is a play that has captivated audiences for

centuries, thanks to its sophisticated plot, complex characters, and timeless themes.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the play is the use of madness as a revenge

tool, with several characters feigning madness as a means of achieving their

objectives. This topic has generated significant interest and debate among literary

scholars, psychologists, and historians, and forms the basis of this research.

The concept of madness is central to "Hamlet," with the protagonist himself

pretending madness in order to avenge his father's murder. However, Hamlet's

madness is not the only instance of this theme in the play. Ophelia, Polonius, and

even Claudius are also shown to display signs of mental instability at various stages

in the play, but this research focuses on Hamlet’s madness as a strategic device for

taking revenge.

The research aims to explore the different ways in which madness is employed

as a tool for revenge in “Hamlet”. Additionally, the research will look at the

consequences of using madness as a means of revenge, considering the eventual fate

of the characters who employ this strategy.

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The research will analyze the different interpretations of the play throughout

history, considering how the portrayal of madness and revenge has evolved over

time.

The significance of this research lies in its exploration of a theme that remains

relevant to audiences. The use of madness as a tool for revenge is a concept that can

be seen in many works of literature and media today, highlighting the enduring

impact of Shakespeare's work on popular culture. The research aims to shed light on

this timeless theme, offering insights and perspectives that will enrich our

understanding of "Hamlet" and its enduring legacy.

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In his book The Concept of Revenge in 'Hamlet’, Öykü Özat discusses the

issue of revenge in Hamlet:

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s important revenge tragedy plays believing to

have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play points out flaming with revenge

after the King has been murdered by his brother and claims the throne.

People are provoked by the need for revenge. While having a humanitarian

feeling, it also forces people to engage in strange and dangerous actions. Revenge is

a common human tendency as long as there are human beings on the planet, as seen

in everything from Greek tragedy to Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the lack of rules and

regulations, this psychological sensation serves as a form of primitive justice. The

expectation of revenge, however, offers people pleasure since it serves a useful

purpose in the evolutionary process. But this joy is only fleeting. Even if revenge

initially makes people feel good, it ultimately drives them to do worse. Hence, with

the search for pleasure, and the feeling of revenge gives, people move forward

without any thought towhat this feeling results in at the end. In addition, revenge is

a universal feeling (Özat 1).

In a revenge tragedy, the plot is driven by the hero's desire for revenge because

he has experienced a significant injustice, typically the murder of someone he loves.

The protagonist often dies at the end of the play after murdering the person who
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mistreated him. The hero must first identify the killers and then get himself into a

position from which he can execute them.

By the conclusion of Act I, the protagonist, Hamlet, discovers who killed his

father, putting him in a position to kill Claudius right away. No one interferes with

his drive for revenge. The only real challenge Hamlet faces is within himself since

he is unsure of what to believe and how he should act.

In his book: The Concept of Revenge in 'Hamlet' by Öykü Özat discusses the

issue of revenge in Hamlet:

Hamlet is resolved to exact his father's revenge killing his uncle after

his father reappears and claims that his killer was his brother Claudius.

The play's climax is at this point. The drama has an overall feeling of

unfulfilled retaliation. ‘To be, or not to be, that is the question: whether

'tis nobler in the mind to suffer. The slings and arrows of outrageous

fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end

them:(Shakespeare 3. 1. 56). When he decides to carry out his plan of

revenge, he delays any action until the very last moment, revealing his

inability to do so. This lack of steadfastness reveals his conscience side.

Yet ultimately, it results in his and the other characters' death. Even though

Hamlet has the chance to kill Claudius, he hesitates on several occasions. For
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instance, when he draws his sword, Hamlet believes that if Claudius is killed while

praying, he will go to heaven and Hamlet will be exacted his revenge: “Now might

I do it pat, now a is praying, and now I’ll do’t and so a goes to heaven, and so am I

revenged” (Shakespeare 3. 3. 73). Claudius would go to heaven if Hamlet killed his

uncle while he was praying, and this would be a grace and a gift for him rather than

revenge. Furthermore, Hamlet makes note of catching Claudius dozing off while he

is in a situation where he is ineligible for God's mercy and favor (Özat 1).

Although Hamlet already desires to exact revenge, the ghost serves as the

catalyst. The conflict over the throne may be the only explanation for Hamlet's desire

for revenge. Hamlet had the right to the throne after his father's death, but Claudius

overthrew him by violating the chain of being rule. Hamlet sets out to accomplish a

goal at the outset that is mission related. But it is obvious that his father's ghost is

not the one sending him on this assignment. Hamlet is already aware of the ugliness;

the ghost does not teach him about people's ambition, self-seeking, deceit,

meaninglessness, or the depravation of Denmark. Only the first acceleration is

provided by the ghost.

The issue of Hamlet’s Madness is debatable among critics. Hamlet laments

the fact that he is unable to act and avenge his father s death. His indulgence in

extended thinking modes and philosophical utterances do prove that he is sane.

Though he appears to be mad, there is method in his madness as Polonius puts it. He
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declares in the first act that he will assume some antic disposition. Those who assume

that he is mad depend on the way he treats Ophelia. He enters her closet in disordered

clothes, takes her by the wrist, holds her hard, examines her face and raises a sigh

“so piteous and” profound as it did seem to shatter all his bulk. The motive behind

his madness is his grief for his father’s death and his mother’s hasty remarriage.

Polonius wrongly assumes that he is lost because of his love for Ophelia. However,

his thoughtful disposition and his reflective nature in soliloquies prove that he is

entirely sane if not a philosopher. Furthermore, his plan to see the king’s reaction to

the play is a scheme that cannot be contrived except by a sane man. Hamlet’s ability

to see what is beyond appearance and his ability to guess what his friends are for,

reveal his prudence as well as wisdom.

At the end of the play, Hamlet leaves all external trappings of madness and

fulfills the avenging action imposed upon him by circumstances and the appearance

of the ghost. There is a difference between what seems to be and what is actual, a

fact that the reader detects throughout reading the play.

One of the problems that we face during our reading is feigned or real.

Opinions are divided on this. To some it appears the play is whether Hamlet's

madness that Hamlet has lost his reason under the pressure of circumstances, such

as his mother's hasty re-marriage and the Ghost's revelation that Hamlet's father was

murdered by his uncle. But others think that what seems to be Hamlet's madness is
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the "antic disposition" which he has decided early in the play to wear as a mask. In

Act I, Scene v, he tells Horatio and others: "Here, as before, never, so help you

mercy, How strange or odd so'e'er I bear myself, As I perchance hereafter shall think

meet, To put an antic disposition on".... (Shakespeare 1. 5. 177). In view of this

decision of Hamlet, it does not seem right for any- body to interpret Hamlet’s

Subsequent behavior and talk, which at places are certainly very odd and strange, as

madness.

Those who think that Hamlet has really gone mad do certainly have

some ground for their belief. In Act II, Scene i (Lines 77-84 and 87-

100), Ophelia describes to her father the strange behaviour of Hamlet

when he called on her in her closet. Hamlet had entered Ophelia's closet

in disordered garments and, taking her by the wrist and holding her

hard, scrutinised her face and raised a sigh "so piteous and profound as

it did seem to shatter all his bulk". Hear- ing this description, Polonius

jumps to the conclusion that Hamlet's abnormal mental condition is due

to his disappointment in love. (Ramji lall,104)

Ophelia had refused to meet Hamlet because of her father’s instructions.

Polonius calls Hamlet’s mental condition at this stage “the very ecstasy of love”, and

immediately goes to the king to acquaint him with what has happened A reader’s

impression of Hamlet’s madness being real is likely to be soon confirmed by the

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manner in which Hamlet speaks to Polonius, to the two courtiers (Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern), to Ophelia, and to the King, and even more so by Hamlet’s murder of

the father of the girl whom he loves or whom at least he used to love.

In Act II, Scene ii, there is a conversation between Hamlet and Polonius which

seems to show that Hamlet is not in his right mind. Hamlet calls Polonius a fish-

monger and then proceeds to insult him further by his satirical remarks such as the

one that he makes about Polonius’s daughter: “Let her not walk i’ the sun;

conception is a blessing; but not as your daughter may conceive-Friend, look to ‘t”.

A little later in the same scene, the manner in which he talks to Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern strengthens that impression. When, for instance, Rosencrantz says that

the world has grown honest, Hamlet replies: “Then is doomsday near; but your news

is not true. Let me question more in particular; what have you, my good friends,

deserved of circumstances speaking to Ophelia, he insults her just as he has already

insulted at the hands of fortune, that she sends you to prison hither?” In her father.

He asks her never to get married but to go to a nunnery and later, in the play-scene;

he makes several obscene remarks to her. In the nunnery scene, the way he has

spoken to Ophelia convinces her that he is mad. after he leaves her in that scene, she

expresses her reaction in a soliloquy, saying: “Oh, what a noble mind is here

overthrown!” In this soliloquy she contrasts what he used to be with what he has
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now become, and concludes: “Oh, woe is me, to have seen what I have seen, see

what I see!” (Lall 105).

The murder of Polonius by Hamlet is another episode. True, he has no idea

who is hidden there when he makes a pass with his sword through the arras. Maybe

he believed the King was concealed by the arras. However, the reason why someone

would assume he's upset right now is because he shows no sign of regret for killing

an innocent man. When he learns that his victim is Polonius, he says this: "Thou

wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell; I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune;

Thou find’s to be too busy is some danger” (Shakespeare 3. 4. 31).

It is true that a little later in the same scene he says to his mother: For this

same lord (Pointing to Polonius) I do repent; but heaven hath pleased it so...

(Shakespeare 3. 4. 174). However, his glib way of speaking about this murder paints

him as completely uncaring, which supports the argument that he was insane.

Hamlet's behavior during Ophelia's funeral is another instance of evidence

that lends credence to the idea that he is insane. Hamlet moves to the side and

imitates Laertes when he jumps into Ophelia's grave in the craziness of his grief. In

the midst of their struggle, Hamlet threatens to kill Laertes and issues a speech in

which he challenges Laertes to match his level of sadness over Ophelia's passing.
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However, none of this evidence is sufficient to persuade us that Hamlet is truly

insane. His speeches, whether given in private or in front of Horatio, whom he has

gained the trust of, are without a doubt those of a guy who is not only sane but also

endowed with a remarkable mind. Not only are all of Hamlet’s soliloquies flawlessly

cohesive and logical, but they also exhibit a depth of thinking that reveals Hamlet to

be a sophisticated thinker. These soliloquies demonstrate his erudition and

philosophical reasoning. Hamlet’s use of stations throughout these soliloquies

demonstrates his profound wisdom: “And be a villain.” (Shakespeare 1. 5. 108).

What is a man if his main purpose in life is only to sleep and eat? To stir without a

strong argument is not to be rightly great. His monologue starts. One of the most

well-known sayings in all of English literature is “To be or not to be that is the

question.” (Shakespeare 3. 1. 165) The principles expressed in this soliloquy are

universally appealing and speak to every thinking man’s heart. All of his soliloquies

are not only replete with wisdom, but they are also notable for their poetic beauty

and exceptional linguistic skill. Hamlet’s soliloquies are unlike anything a man could

have said if he had even a hint of madness. He formulates a planned scheme in one

of his soliloquies by which he suggests to "catch the conscience of the King." An

mad individual could not have come up with such a scheme.

Likewise, the manner in which he speaks to Horatio is perfectly logical

and coherent, and Horatio does not on any occasion have the least
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suspicion that Hamlet's mind is crazed. When the players leave, Horatio

comes to Hamlet and in the quiet sanity of their conversation we see

how close their friendship is, how full of calm good sense. This talk is

another proof that there is no real madness in Hamlet. Had he been

without a confidant in his plot to catch the King that would have been

like a madman (Lall 106)?

The fact, says Stop-ford Brooke, is that Shakespeare never intended to

represent Hamlet as mad or half-mad, or verging on madness. Shakespeare expressly

made Hamlet a feigner of madness, and when he wished to represent real madness

and to contrast it with feigned madness, he created the real madness of Ophelia, and

did with wonderful truth and skill. There is not a trace of madness Hamlet. There is

plenty of eccentricity, plenty of fantastic thought and feeling, plenty of wandering

and roving imagination, plenty of wilds and even whirling phrases. But these things,

in a man to whom the soul is more than sense, who lives within rather than without,

are not madness. Moreover, when he lives in the outer world, Hamlet always knows

what he is about; always sees his position clearly, always reasons, with following

and linking intelligence, his point Ophelia does always understands himself and his

world; never gambols away from his thought on to another at the sound of a word

us and in all his soliloquies, however, strange and apart from worldly life his thought,

he makes his meaning clear. Those passages of thought which are used to prove that
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he was mad contain the wisest and deepest things he says, and those actions of his

which are used to prove the same theory obey a higher law of reason than any mere

logician has ever conceived.

Harry Levin, another critic, discusses the problem in the following manner:

At one extreme is the view that Hamlet counter. feted the madman. At the other is

the assumption that Hamlet was really the victim of the mental disease he claimed

to be simulating; in other words, his madness was pretended, a trick of the madman's

cunning. Another view regards Hamlet's madness as "the first and greatest

manifestation of the English malady, spleen". Hamlet was suffering, we are told,

from "melancholy", or, as we might say, having a nervous breakdown. This view

implies that Hamlet's case is not chronic, that since his father's death his conduct has

been uncharacteristic, and that he is not his courtly, scholarly, soldierly self during

the interval when we are his witnesses. Hamlet himself is quite explicit on this point;

and in his third soliloquy, the single occasion on which he refers to melancholy, he

couples it with weak- ness “Out of my weakness and my melancholy)” (Shakespeare

2. 2. 605). Claudius is well aware that Hamlet's condition is symptomatic of an

underlying malady, which has an objective and external cause: "There's something

in his soul, O'er which his melancholy sits on brood."(Shakespeare 3. 1. 167).

The motive for Hamlet's eccentric behavior is that he stands in need of a new

persona, once the Ghost has excited his suspicion, not so much in order to feel his
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way as to speak his mind with impunity. From the outset he feels it necessary to hold

his tongue, to keep his counsel, in a soliloquy "But, break my heart, for I must did

astic though hold my tongue"(Shakespeare 1.2. 159). With his fellow-courtiers, as

with the players, he gradually learns a show fairly outwards" (Shakespeare 2. 2. 377).

The mere show of mourning, he has told Gertrude, is far sur- passed by the actuality

of his grief. She had begun by asking him to cast thy nighted colour off"

(Shakespeare 1.2. 61). He will comply, with a vengeance, when he decides to "put

an antic disposition on" (Shakespeare 1. 5. 172). In a moment of hectic irony, he

asks Gertrude to tell Claudius.

One of Hamlet's soliloquies shows him devising a deliberate plan to "catch

the conscience of the King." His plan involves staging a play that corresponds with

the facts of his father's murder, as revealed to him by the Ghost, and observing the

King's reaction to it. Before the performance, he instructs Horatio to carefully

observe the King's response. Only a person with a sound mind and senses can

conceive and execute such a project with such accuracy.

After the King abruptly leaves the performance, Hamlet asks Horatio if he

noticed it, and upon receiving affirmation, declares, "O good Horatio, I'll take the

ghost's word for a thousand pound." This event confirms that Hamlet has indeed

"caught" the King's conscience. Throughout the entire ordeal, Horatio never doubts

Hamlet's sanity.
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Shakespeare did not intend to portray Hamlet as mentally ill, either partially

or completely. He intentionally made Hamlet pretend to be mad, and when he wanted

to depict real madness, he created Ophelia's madness with great skill and accuracy.

Although there is a great deal of eccentricity, scientific speculation, imaginative

musings, and dramatic expressions in Hamlet's character, these characteristics do not

add up to madness. He always understands what he is doing, and he has a clear view

of his position. He always presents his point of view logically and coherently, and

he understands himself and the world around him.

In order to protect himself, Hamlet pretends to be insane after realizing the

danger posed to his life by his father's ghost, who tells him to avenge his death.

Hamlet knows that his own survival is necessary to carry out the task of killing his

father's murderer, King Claudius. To achieve this, he decides to maintain an "antic

disposition" that will allow him to watch the king and wait for his chance to exact

revenge without revealing his knowledge.

However, even though Hamlet is not truly mad, there may be a hint of

abnormality in his character. When the play begins, we may assume that he has

already undergone a shift in his thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and has become

somewhat gloomy. This change is mainly due to his father's death and his mother's

hasty marriage to a dishonorable man. As the story progresses, his gloominess

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intensifies due to the Ghost's revelation, Ophelia's betrayal, and his own inability to

carry out his revenge plan.

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Conclusion

The use of madness as a revenge tool in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet

has been a fascinating topic of research and analysis. Throughout this research, the

researchers have been able to examine how madness is used as a mechanism of

revenge, a tool used by a character to achieve his ultimate goals.

The research has shown that madness is a complex concept that can be seen

as both a psychological distress and as a strategic device employed by Hamlet in the

play. Hamlet's feigned madness, for instance, serves as a means of gaining

information, manipulating people, and creating confusion.

One of the most significant findings of this research is the idea that revenge is

ultimately self-destructive. The characters in the play who seek revenge, including

Hamlet himself, ultimately meet tragic ends. This suggests that revenge is a fruitless

pursuit, leading only to further violence and suffering.

Overall, the use of madness as a revenge tool in Hamlet is a complex and

multi-faceted topic that has generated much discussion and analysis over the years.

It is clear that the play remains a powerful commentary on the human condition,

exploring universal themes such as revenge, madness, and the consequences of our

actions.
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Works Cited

Kliman, B. Revenge in Shakespeare's Plays. University of Massachusetts

Press,2004.

Lall,Ramji. Hamlet. Rama Brothers; New Delhi, 1997.

Levin, Harry. The Question of Hamlet. Oxford University Press, 1959, p.142.

McAlindon, T. Hamlet: A Guide to the Play. Greenwood Press, 2002.

Özat,Öykü, The Concept of Revenge in Hamlet by Shakespeare. EBook, 2021.

Shakespeare, William. The Norton Facsimile of the First Folio of Shakespeare.

Edited by Charlton Hinman, Norton & Co., 1996.