The issue of madness is one of major importance in this play. IsHamlet truly mad, meaning insane? Or is he merely angry? Does he feignmadness and use it as a guise? Or does he place himself so dangerously closeto the line between sanity and insanity that he crosses it without evenrealizing it? Or is he so intelligent, cunning and in control that this is merelythe playing out of his completely conceived and well-executed plan of attack?The patient is a thirty year-old male. He is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,an introspective, grieving young member of the royalty, plagued by the recentdeath of his father, and the hasty marriage of his mother to his uncle,Claudius. He is capable of depressing anyone around him; the King andQueen attempt to pry Hamlet from his mourning. As relations become morestrained between Hamlet and Claudius, his attitude becomes destitute. Hebegins to withdraw himself from everyone in the castle, and spends most ofhis time in solitude; he is often seen walking alone, talking to himself.Upon deeper investigation, it is discovered that Hamlet is seeing theghost of the ex-King of Denmark, Hamlets father. The ghost becomesHamlets counselor, guiding him through his everyday maze of depressionand confusion. It is through the ghost of his father that he learns thatClaudius, the new King of Denmark, is solely responsible for his fathersfoul and most unnatural murder (I.v.26). He claims that he is told to seekrevenge on his fathers murder by murdering Claudius. Hamlet sees the ghostat various times over the course of the play, appearing when he is in need ofhelp.Hamlets condition persists, gradually getting worse, as he becomesincreasingly more aggressive and violent. His behavior towards Ophelia, thewoman he loves, becomes erratic. He has violent outbursts towards hismother. He kills various members of the castle without explanation. Hamletis clearly out of control, and is in need of a psychological evaluatio...
