Hamlet and his sanity can be reasoned in many ways. Hamlet is under a lot of emotional stress because of his father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage to his uncle Claudius, which he believes murdered his father. His life is consumed by depression, this to me is normal for a person who has suffered the loss of a loved one. Furthermore, everyone becomes more convinced of his insanity when he goes mad over Ophelia’s love. A clear example is shown when Polonius states “Mad for thy love?” (2.1.
95), implying Hamlet’s insanity. However, Claudius is not fooled into believing that his father’s death is the only reasons behind Hamlet’s madness when he states, “More than his father’s death, that thus path put him / So much from th’ understanding himself” (2.2.8-9).
As such, Hamlet’s actual insanity level rises when he embraces a fake character which ultimately makes his real character morph into an insane one. Hamlet is seriously in danger of losing his sanity when he lets everyone believe that he is insane while on the other hand, he is planning a play reflecting a murder which he hopes would cause his uncle to confess to his crimes, so his guilt is proven, “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch th conscience of the King” (2.2.633-634).
Hamlet needs this piece of evidence because he worries that the ghost he met earlier on could turn out to be the devil who causes him to be weak and committing a sin against his maybe innocent uncle. If I were Hamlet’s therapist, I would judge him a sane person who pretends to be insane, to achieve what he wants, justifying his actions to the pain and vengeance he feels.
