Is Hamlet crazy?

[ginayang]

We are reading Hamlet right now and we have found out that Hamlet can see his father's ghost. And his father tells Hamlet that his uncle killed him. Do you think Hamlet is imagining all of this or do ghosts actually exist?

I think Hamlet is imagining all of this and descending into madness. Plus, his mother married his uncle right after his father died so of course he could only perceive Claudius in a bad light. Hamlet probably thought oh, since Cladius seduced my mother, he most likely also murdered my dad in order to become king.

[sageda]

It would be funny if everything turned out to be a dream. But his friends saw the ghost too so that means that he's not hallucinating. But he could actually be insane and imagining everything from his friends seeing the ghost to him killing everyone.

[sujeonggg]

I personally don't believe in ghosts, but I think what Hamlet and other guards saw was something meaningful that shouldn't be ignored. Also, Hamlet was not the only one who saw and thought it as his dead father, but rather, it was the three guards who saw it first and told Hamlet about it. So I think the king's ghost was not just Hamlet's imagination.

[seongrae]

Whether it is true or not, Hamlet knew what happened to his father’s death through his father ghost. I do believe that ghost exist, so I believe that hamlet’s father died without any big reason and he came back to revenge Cladius by telling everything to hamlet. So I do not think hamlet is imagining, he is actually seeing his father as ghost.

[juliekim]

It's interesting to see it in that way. I think Hamlet's imagining everything too. If he isn't, Hamlet's dad isn't as great as Hamlet thinks he is. What kind of dad would want to put so much pressure on a teenage boy? I guess Hamlet was unconsciously looking for an excuse to take revenge on his uncle. He didn't particularly like him even before he saw the ghost and heard the true story.

[jessicashim2013]

I believe in ghosts so I think that it might not be from Hamlet's imagination. It's true that his father was murdered by Claudius so he probably came to tell his son. In Act1 scene 1, even Horatio first does not believe the ghost but after seeing it, he is surprised.

[cathysjun]

I agree with you. I think that Hamlet is imagining things because I don't believe in ghosts. I think people believe in ghosts to just explain things that they can't explain.

[joon]

I think that Hamlet was just going crazy. In my opinion, the guards didn't actually saw a ghost, but instead saw something and mistook it for a spirit. This news started the madness within Hamlet, and he used that to give himself something to live for. I think it was, in a way, giving him an excuse to break down and distract himself from the pain.

[RegXD]

I think that Hamlet is half-way into madness, but as you guys know or read that his friends also saw the ghost of hamlet's dad. which doesn't makes him crazy enough to be crazy. And besides its hard to tell if a person is truly crazy of not. because base on movies and tv-shows people who act as crazy can be normal.

[davidh]

Well I don't think he is hero either... killing a person is still consider as a murderer and even though it is revenge, I think her deserved that kind of lose in his life. I wouldn't have done the same thing because of moral issues but I think it all depends on person's point of view but as a moral and sociological perspective, Its definitely wrong.

[hannahs]

I never thought of it that way but I guess that could be true. But, Hamlet isn't the only one that saw the ghosts since the guards saw it but this also might be Hamlet's imagination. I guess it's for the reader to interpret themselves. I think ghosts do exist but not like the way that Hamlet's dad's ghost did.

[minjaeyang]

I think Hamlet is imagining things because he is shocked that his mother is getting remarried. He almost seems crazy and it would not be weird if he was seeing things. Also, I think Hamlet is unconsciously thinking that his uncle killed his father. This assumption is making Hamlet see his father's ghost. Therefore, I do not think his father's ghost exists and I think Hamlet is just imagining things.

[edward08]

To think of him as being a psycho it would be scary because the story had told everythin well about the cause and the effect . Like how his father died and what he should do, but if the ghost part was all fake it would change the story because the fact that uncle killing his father might not be true and at the end he is considered as the psycho

[michellelee]

I don't think he made up all the ghost stuff in his imagination because other people like Horatio and the guards saw it too. But I do think that Hamlet is really exaggerating the stuffs the ghost tells him. Also, I thought the fact that Claudius is also planning to kill Hamlet was weird. As an uncle, he should have tried to talk to Hamlet and settle him down instead of trying to do the same killing. So, Claudius' immediate reaction kinda acted as a clue to me that he actually killed the king.

[anica]

Well, first of all.. I don't really believe in ghosts so I guess this would be a reason to why I think Hamlet is imagining all of this. Moreover, he might just be plummeting into insanity.