From the time that Prince Hamlet was paid a visit by his late father's ghost who revealed his true murderer, the young heir to the throne never wavered in his mission to avenge Hamlet Sr. And while seeing a ghost might be grounds for accusation of madness, at the beginning of the play, guards Marcellus, Horatio, and Bernardo also witnessed the Ghost of the late King Hamlet passing right by them. But if the Ghost is just a figment of Hamlet's imagination, a projection of his subconscious, how were Marcellus, Horatio, and Bernardo able to see the Ghost too without being called mad men themselves? So while the state of the Ghost is unknown and questionable, Hamlet's ability to see it doesn't make him crazy. Rather it reveals his humanity, morals, and the anguish he feels for his father's death; not characteristic of a lunatic. And while it may seem less than reasonable to take orders from a ghost that may or may not be just a figment of the imagination, the request is justified . In the Bible, Exodus 21:23 states "...the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life," (one of many of Shakespeare's allusions to the Bible). Revenge in this form has lived for centuries before and after Hamlet's time. But while his taking orders from a ghost is cause for some concern, it merely means that Hamlet still carries his morals with him, his sense of right and wrong, something a crazy young man would rather lack.
Hamlet does an excellent job of putting up a facade of craziness and passivity. He calculates his every move, weighs all his options, and makes sure no one- least of all Claudius- knows the true meaning of his actions. During Act 1 Scene 1 in the banquet, Hamlet first comes off as a (rightfully) cold and uncaring son. But during his first soliloquy, he exposes his genuine emotions- pain, rage, despair- making the audience sympathize with him. As the play progresses, the audience catches snippets and more soliloquies that give insight to Hamlet's plans and motives. But through all of that, he is very self- critical, berating and chastising himself when he hasn't actually killed Claudius yet, beats himself up about not crying about his father's death. The depth of Hamlet's character continues to grow and surprise the audience, ultimately showing that he is the very opposite of insane.
Hamlet is still a very complex character with all his warring emotions raging inside him. However, one thing that remains constant is his wit and cleverness. Hamlet fools everyone into believing that he is in fact a mad man, driven crazy by unfortunate circumstances. He knows that everyone in the castle will stop paying him much attention so he can swiftly move forth with his plan for vengeful murder. Hamlet is aware of the fact that no one will question the crazy prince whose father just died, so he acts the part to keep people's guards down. Lord Polonius doesn't fall for Hamlet's ploy and recruits a spy named Reynaldo to keep an eye on him. But the perceptive Hamlet realizes Reynaldo's ulterior motive and allegiance to Polonius, adviser to King Claudius. So rather than out Reynaldo and confront him, Hamlet still plays the wacky prince who calls people names and stays in the background knowing that Reynaldo will report back to Polonius and retain the misconception of being a weirdo.
Once he discovers the truth that Claudius killed King Hamlet, Hamlet resolves to exact his revenge. And while Hamlet harshly criticizes and beats himself up for not taking action quicker and rather acting like a coward, he never once wavers in his determination to avenge his father's death. He even goes through the trouble of putting on a play that would elicit a reaction from King Claudius (and Queen Gertrude) to confirm his murdering King Hamlet. But everyone is critical of themselves; it's human nature. So Hamlet reprimanding himself isn't all that strange. At times he can be harsh, telling himself that he's a great coward and emotionless son. But all that is from the intense feelings that bubble inside him.
There is one specific instance that Hamlet no doubt acts unnecessarily rash and harsh: when he absolutely blows up at Queen Gertrude. Granted, she wasn't acting her best in front of him, but that doesn't justify Hamlet cruelly insulting her. On the other hand, Hamlet had been holding in most of his feelings for a long time, and Gertrude's approach was just the catalyst of the explosion. Hamlet calls her nasty names, scolds her for marrying Claudius, acting like a terrible son. And while Gertrude hasn't been the best, Hamlet's actions and words towards her are unwarranted because she is still his mother. Polonius enters and gets stabbed by Hamlet who acts nonchalant and uncaring about it. But Polonius was always an ingratiating scoundrel so he wasn't completely undeserving. But that was one of the rare times Hamlet acted a little less than in control and "normal".
The category of insanity can be an ambiguous one, but it is safe to say that Hamlet does not fit in it. He is far too calculated and smart. Hamlet fools everyone in the castle so he can get around them to kill King Claudius. He carefully plans out his steps, evades being sent away to England, even directs a play to confirm what he already knows so he can get justification. These calculated actions are not characteristic of madness. He knows what to say under pressure, how to get out of sticky situations and keep the impression that he's merely a stewing prince with no other motives. He has been able to bypass everyone so far, not an easy feat. So Hamlet, a mad man? More like Prince Hamlet the genius.
