Nick Brungo

Miss Skirtich
16 November 2016
English 10: World Literature
Hamlet's level of mental instability increases throughout the play until he finally reaches
his breaking point. He claimed he was only acting crazy to find out the truth about Claudius, but
his madness got increasingly real as the play went on. By the end of the play, he looked like he
was on the brink of losing his sanity. Hamlet's mental instability is driven by betrayal, corruption,
and loss.
First of all, Hamlet's mental instability is driven by betrayal. First, two of his closest
childhood friends start spying on him for the man that killed his father "To draw him on to
pleasures, and to gather so much as from occasion you may glean"(II.ii.15-16.).Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern start spying on Hamlet for Claudius, and he knows it. Hamlet almost loses faith in
humanity after his two best friends do this to him, further sending him over the edge. Second,
Laertes, who was once good friends with Hamlet, wanted to kill him when he got back from
Paris "To cut his throat i' th' church."(IV.vii.144.). Laertes blamed Hamlet for everything that
happened to him, such as his father's death and his sister's insanity, causing to have a burning
hate for his once good friend. This was also a big contributor to Hamlet's mental state.
The second reason for Hamlet's mental instability is corruption. Corruption played a big
part in the overall play itself, and also drove Hamlet to near insanity. One example of this is his
uncle killing his father, and taking the crown for himself "O, my prophetic soul! My
uncle!"(I.v.48.). After this is revealed to him, Hamlet learns that he can't trust anyone, as his own
uncle killed his father. This deals a huge blow to Hamlet, and is the main event that sparks all of
the things that happen down the road in the play. Another example of corruption in the play is
Claudius and Polonius spying on Hamlet "We will bestow ourselves.-I hear him coming. Let's

withdraw, my lord."(III.i.49-63.). Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet to find out the cause of
his madness, but backfires when Hamlet finds out and eventually kills Polonius. This definitely
contributed to Hamlet's madness, as it led him to snap and kill Polonius.
Finally, Hamlet's mental instability is driven loss. Hamlet suffered a lot of loss
throughout the play, and it really took a toll on his mental state. One example of Hamlet's loss is
his father being killed by Claudius "I am thy father's spirit."(I.v.14.). Hamlet is already grieving
over the loss of his father when he finds out that he was murdered by his uncle. This is one of his
motives throughout the play and it is one of the main reasons for his madness. A second example
of Hamlet's loss is when he loses Ophelia "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not
with all their quantity of love make up my sum."(V.i.285-287.). Although he may not have shown
it that well in the play, Hamlet did love Ophelia, so when he learned of her death it sent him over
the edge and he snapped on Laertes. This was really the final blow needed to push Hamlet over
the edge of insanity.
Hamlet's mental instability is driven by betrayal, corruption, and loss. All of these
reasons, and many more, relentlessly pounded Hamlet's mind until nothing but a broken shell of
a man remained. He tried to hold it together, but it was too much, and he snapped. The reasons
mentioned above were definitely large contributors to Hamlet's mental instability.