The Madness Within

HAMLET:
"O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell? O fie! Hold, hold, my heart,
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee?
Ay, thou pour ghost, whiles memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial, fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmixed with baser matter."
(1.5.99-111)

Because there is no non-dialogue description of characters or events in plays (these things being demonstrated by the production of the work) there must be some assumptions made when reading plays. This allows for directorial interpretation of characters and their emotional and physical states. A figure of grief, entirely obsessed with the events surrounding his father's death, Hamlet's monologue after his talk with the ghost of his father supports theories that he is going mad.

The monologue begins after old Hamlet's ghost has left his son, beseeching him to remember what has been said between them. Hamlet immediately calls, desperately and sarcastically, to the "hosts of heaven" (angels and saints, presumably) and to the earth to bring even more shocking news (1.5.99). He asks if he will "couple hell," meaning that he is questioning the fate of his soul (1.5.100). These are quite natural reactions to an encounter with the ghost of one's father, especially when said ghost reveals that he was killed by his own brother, who has now married the ghost's wife. Hamlet's reaction to these things is understandable, but depending on the choices of the director and the actor, these words could be made more or less desperate and panicked.

Hamlet also speaks to himself, appealing to his inner strength. He tells his heart to "hold" and his "sinews" to "grow not instant old, / But bear [him] stiffly up" (1.5.100-102). In translation, he is trying to calm his emotions and keep his body strong and stable. This could be simply an attempt to steady himself. However, the director could have made the choice to show Hamlet in Act I as very feeble due to poor self-care since the death of his father. Depending on the choices made with Hamlet's appearance and way of carrying himself, these few lines, and the lines that follow, can be interpreted as representative of Hamlet's madness.

For the rest of the monologue, Hamlet swears to his father that he will remember what has been revealed to and asked of him. He repeatedly asks, "Remember thee?", as if doubtful that he could do anything else (1.5.102,104). He not only promises to remember -- he says that he will remove all other memories from "the table of [his] memory" so that his father's "commandment all alone shall live [there]. . . unmixed with baser matter" (1.5.105,109-111). Whether this is Hamlet's -- and Shakespeare's -- natural dramaticism or Hamlet's insane preoccupation with his father's death is determined by the decisions of the director and the actor. Hamlet could be making a measured and rational oath, or he could be whipping himself up into a passion about avenging his father's death.

Hamlet's sanity is completely unregulated by the script. Hamlet can be interpreted as a hero and martyr, or as a madman and murderer. The decision has to be made for each production of the play, because Hamlet's sanity or madness must also entirely shape the audience's understanding of the play. The reality of the ghost's appearance, the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet, and the audience's perspective of Claudius are all dependent on the audience's interpretation of Hamlet and his state of mind.