Hamlet, madness or reasonHamlet, by William Shakespeare, tells the story of a young prince who wants revenge when he learns of his father's murder. At the beginning of the play, the character Hamlet appears to be a normal, sane person. As the acts progress, Hamlet's personality changes from normal to depressed. There are allusions to madness that try to convince people that Hamlet is "crazy." Others might say that Hamlet is faking madness to further his goal of revenge. First, he sees a "ghost" who tells Hamlet who killed his father and married his mother. Was it a dream or was it real? Second, Hamlet kills more than one person to avenge his father's death. Where do these accidents or intentions come from? “Insanity: Legal term for mental illness of such degree that the individual is not responsible for his or her actions. » (Dorland Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers 2007). Eventually, Hamlet becomes depressed and contemplates suicide. The ghost appears three times in the room. First appearing to Barnardos, Marcellus and Horatio, but disappearing at sunrise. The ghost then appears at midnight and tells Hamlet that he is his father and that he was poisoned and murdered by his brother Claudius. Then asks young Hamlet to avenge his death. “But know, young Nobel, the serpent that stole your Father's life, now wears the crown” (Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 1 Scene 5 page 1029). This makes Hamlet angry and tells Horatio and Marcellus to swear that they saw nothing and that he may act "fool" to complete his mission. In Act 2, Scene 2 “The spirit that I have seen may be a devil, and the devil has power to take a pleasing form…” (Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, page 1049). This says that Hamlet is not sure if he actually saw a ghost or if it was just a d...... middle of paper ......d" or just bipolar. Work cited Mabunay, Ivana. “Analysis of Hamlet’s character: psychological disorders.” Transmedial Shakespeare. Wordpress.com, September 22, 2012. Web. April 19, 2014.Dorland. "madness." TheFreeDictionary.com. © 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved., January 1, 2007. Web. April 19, 2014..Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Literature: introduction to reading and writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 5th compact edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 1010-1107. Print “Depression.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster and Web. April 20. 2014..