Is Hamlet insane or mad?

The protagonist of the tragedy, Hamlet is a beloved prince and a thoughtful, melancholy young man. Terrified by the death of his father, Hamlet is no longer depressed by the succession of his uncle Claudius to the throne and his marriage after his mother.  

When the king's ghost, Hamlet's father, tells him that he has been murdered by his brother Claudius and that Hamlet must avenge, Hamlet becomes almost suicidal and obsessed with revenge. He is slowly driven mad by his inability to act on this instruction. 

As the plays begins, Hamlet already mad, as the first line addressed to Hamlet is: “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” (I.ii.): Claudius thinks it’s strange and unhealthy that Hamlet is still grieving for his father. 

In the same scene Hamlet tells us that he is wearing “solemn black” and a “dejected ‘havior” (I.ii.), which audiences in Shakespeare’s time would have recognised as signs of “melancholy,” a condition which Renaissance doctors believed could lead to madness.

Hamlet’s misogynistic behavior toward Gertrude and Ophelia can be seen as evidence that Hamlet really is going mad, because these scenes have little to do with his quest for justice, and yet they seem to provoke his strongest feelings.

We see little evidence in the play that either Gertrude or Ophelia is guilty of any wrongdoing, and they both appear to feel genuine affection and concern for Hamlet. Yet he treats them both with paranoia, suspicion, and cruelty, suggesting he has lost the ability to accurately interpret other people’s motivations. 

Although, Hamlet has felt forgotten and conflicted from the start, in a setting where he can’t really do anything about it, and he doesn’t sense he has anyone to turn to, and he feels like he has to hold it together.

 If he pretends to be insane and not mad, he doesn’t have to hold it together for people in his immediate circle or for larger society. It’s a way to let go of all his bitterness and anger and desperation, and its also a way to call attention to himself, to ask for help in a way that none of his previous actions had managed to do. 

Ultimately, I think Hamlet is not insane but most definitely mad and angry by his fathers death. He has every right to want to find his fathers killer, personally I would do the same. Besides, determined to find justice for your father does not mean you are insane. 

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