Hamlet: Antic Disposition or Actually Deranged?
“I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on.” In Act I scene v of The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet proclaims these famous words. But what do they actually mean? For decades, readers and audiences alike have been wondering if Hamlet’s “antic disposition” is actually an act, or complete and total madness. It is very possible that, if Hamlet were alive today, he would have been diagnosed with many mental illnesses including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder. This is not to say he had these throughout the entirety of his life, but after the death of his father and other traumatic events that added to Hamlet’s misery, his act of madness developed into actual insanity. If he were alive in modern times, he would have been treated for these illnesses with a combination of therapy and medications. Unfortunately, during the time this play is set and was written, a full understanding of psychological disorders has not yet been reached. Because his mental illnesses went untreated, Hamlet was a danger to both himself and others. He is so much of a danger that he kills his uncle, King Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, and his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Additionally, although it is not by his own hand, both Ophelia, the love of Hamlet’s life, and his mother, Queen Gertrude, take their own lives. Eventually, Hamlet himself dies as a result of a backfired plot to expose his uncle. The effects of Hamlet’s madness on both him, and everyone around him becomes too much, and the tragedy unfurls, although it would have been much different if Hamlet had received the proper treatment for his so-called “antic disposition.”
The human body can only handle so much stress at once. For Hamlet, having his father die suddenly was terrible enough. Adding to this, his mother marrying his uncle so soon after her husband’s abrupt passing...