Is Hamlet Insane?

     A major uncertainty in Hamlet is whether or not Hamlet has actually gone crazy or if he is faking it. In my opinion, he is not truly crazy, despite what he is going through. He is in a position in his life where it wouldn't be too surprising if he went insane. His father just recently died and his mom married his uncle only a few weeks after. In addition to that, Polonius believes that Hamlet is lovestruck for Ophelia and has gone mad from that. Because Hamlet has a lot of issues going on in his life, people would easily believe that he has gone mad from these events, so he uses this to his advantage. 

     After talking to his father's ghost, Hamlet

is dedicated to taking revenge for his father's death. He would do anything to obey his father's word and kill Claudius--even pretending that he has gone insane. By making it seem like he has gone crazy from his love for Ophelia and the terrible situations that he is going through, people will be more understanding when he kills Claudius. If people didn't think he was insane, then they would think he killed Claudius for selfish reasons like taking over the throne. Instead, Hamlet cleverly took advantage of his position in life at the moment to make killing Claudius more acceptable to his community.