Shakespeare's Hamlet

Acknowledged as one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, Hamlet centers on the actions of a young Danish prince called upon by a ghost to avenge his father's murder at the hands of his uncle, King Claudius.

Some critics have been concerned with Hamlet's apparent plunge into madness during the course of the play, and whether this insanity is real or feigned. Others have concentrated on Hamlet's revenge for his father's death--which directly and indirectly leads to the demise of nearly all of the major characters in the drama, including Hamlet himself--asserting that it raises the moral question of whether or not the prince is basically good or evil in his intentions.

The question of madness in Hamlet has consistently intrigued modern scholars, many of whom have placed this subject at the center of their interpretation of the play by focusing on the compelling and enigmatic figure of Hamlet himself and the precise nature of his alleged insanity. For some critics, Hamlet is the victim of a pathological grief that manifests itself in his melancholia. In Freudian terms , this melancholy is a repressed rage diverted toward himself instead