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 confused and concerned him greatly. This combination of events caused Hamlet to have what is now called post-traumatic stress disorder.
There are many different factors that can cause post-traumatic stress disorder. Most common are severe trauma, or when one sees, lives through, or experiences an event that can cause intense fear, helplessness, and horror (Vilens 23). In Hamlet’s case, He has experienced both of these things. The effects of post-traumatic stress are hopelessness about the future, difficulty maintaining close relationships, and hearing or seeing things that are not actually there, all of which Hamlet displays in the text. Looking to the famous “To be, or not to be” soliloquy, we see the quote “to die—to sleep, no more;” displays exactly this hopelessness about the future. Throughout the entirety of this monologue, hamlet is absolutely devastated about his future and contemplates suicide. He also has difficulty maintaining relationships, specifically with his lover Ophelia. In Act II Scene i, she rushes to her father, proclaiming she has “been so affrighted!” Hamlet appears to her chambers looking as though he “had been loosèd out of hell.” His increasing madness frightens Ophelia and drives her to her own death as the play goes on. Finally, it can be argued that Hamlet does indeed see and hear things that are not there. The ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to Horatio, Marcellus, Bernardo, and Francisco, but says nothing. When Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, they carry on a conversation. Whether this the spirit of King Hamlet actually relaying information to his son or a fabrication of Hamlet’s madness is an ever debated topic, but if Hamlet indeed has post-traumatic stress disorder, is it entirely likely it was not an apparition, but a hallucination.
Another symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder is depression. Like PTSD, depression is caused by a combination of factors (Cryan 157). In Hamlet’s case, what influences his depression most are the environmental factors the surround him, namely the death of his father. In many instances in the text, Hamlet beings a soliloquy with a statement that would not cause much alarm, but then the abnormality of the text escalates (Heaton 36). For instance, in Act I Scene ii, beginning with, “‘But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue,” Hamlet is obviously lamenting over the death of his father, and rightfully so. Yet, he becomes increasingly more somatic. He goes on to say, “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” The world, to him, seems to have no meaning. He is almost suicidal in this scene. This is a prime example of depressive behavior. In another example, going back to the famous soliloquy, the opening line “to be or not to be” is perhaps the best example of this illness taking over Hamlet’s life. In this line, he is literally contemplating if life is worth living. He goes on to say “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take arms against a sea of troubles, by opposing them?” Here, he is explaining how his mind and the thoughts in it are eating away at him, alluding it to “slings and arrows” and “a sea of troubles.” This added to the contemplation of suicide Hamlet displays earlier in the play is distinct evidence of Hamlet’s depression.
Depression can be a factor in bipolar disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “Frequently, manic episodes occur following psychosocial stressors” (American Psychiatric Association 360) This, left untreated, can cause excessive mood-swings. Bipolar disorder is described as, “a mental disorder marked by alternating periods of elation and depression” (Mondimore 47). At the start of the play, Hamlet is particularly upset whenever he interacts with his mother, Queen Gertrude, and stepfather King Claudius. Although scenes before the marriage of the two are not seen, the audience can infer that is it both the death of his father and the added disgust of his mother marrying his father’s brother, especially so soon after the King’s passing that triggers this sadness. As depressed and morbid as Hamlet seems, his mood can also become extremely elevated within a matter of seconds. A matter if pages after Hamlet is brooding over his mother’s questionable marriage, he is jumping for joy at the arrival of his friend, Horatio. Additionally, many times an individual with bipolar will exhibit feelings of invincibility (Mondimore 48). In Act I, Scene IV, Hamlet’s first manic episode occurs. In this scene, Hamlet uses extremely poor judgment in following the ghost. When Horatio begs him not to follow the apparition, he states, “Why, what should be the fear? I do not set my life at a pin’s fee; and for my soul, what can it do to that, being a thing immortal as itself? It waves me forth again;—I’ll follow it.” Here, he shows he feels his life is worth less than a “pin,” but displays inflated self-esteem and invincibility in choosing to follow the ghost. These are all key symptoms in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
All these behaviors exhibited by Hamlet are far from normal behavior. Clearly, by modern standards, he would be diagnosed with different types of psychiatric disorders, but in the 1600’s, not enough information about the human psyche was known to make an accurate diagnosis. For example, according to a doctor in Hamlet’s time, his bipolar disorder would be categorized as “suffering from intellectual melancholy due to excess black bile” (Heaton 48). Disorders such as these were simply not understood, so naturally, the behavior that came as a result was seen as madness and shunned. Nearly all of the deaths that occurred in the play were by Hamlet’s hand in a fit of madness or as an effect of his insanity. This could have been greatly corrected if he were to be given the proper treatment, therapy and medication, that he would have received in modern times.
Much of the decisions Hamlet makes are irrational and extremely irresponsible. This comes partially as a result of the way in which he handles things. Traditional concepts on gender identity hold that a man is a creature of thinking, and a woman of feeling. The tragic flaw of Hamlet is his love of thinking (De-Yan 91) Hamlet does exhibit, at times, very masculine traits such as courage, rationality, and aggressiveness, but he is, at times, weak, emotional, and passive. Specifically in the way in which he makes choices, he often times lets his emotions get in the way of a proper decision. If he were to assess the situation from an intellectual standpoint at first, mental illnesses aside, this tragedy may not have ended the way it had. In the times of Hamlet, this would be seen as extremely “feminine” behavior (De-Yan 89) Because of his deep-rooted patriarchal concept of gender identity, Hamlet cannot make a compromise with the “feminine” traits he possesses, and it somewhat prevents him from taking effective action to avenge his father (De-Yan 89).
To effectively convey this idea, one must first examine Hamlet’s said “masculine” traits, next, examine his “feminine” traits and how they build Hamlet’s character.
First and foremost, Hamlet has a massive amount of courage. Starting even from the first few scenes of the play, the ghost of King Hamlet, described as a “dreaded sight” by the guards on watch, does not phase Prince Hamlet who actively pursues the apparition (De-Yan 90). While everyone around the ghost is timid and shaking, Hamlet stands firm and unwavering in the sight of what could well be a threating and dangerous figure. Going further, when the ghost beckons Hamlet to follow him into a completely isolated place he dismisses the warnings of his friends and follows it, even though he is warned the ghost may bewitch Hamlet so he may fall off a cliff and into the sea (De-Yan 90)
Hamlet is indeed very courageous, but unfortunately, what could be perceived as “feminine” traits at time outweigh the “masculine” ones. He displays his femininity in three separate ways: as a prince, as a child, and as a lover (De-Yan 92)
A prince’s duty is to stand up for his country and face its troubles head-on. Instead of this, when faced with trouble, Hamlet slinks away and hopes the problems go away. Throughout the play, the prince of Norway, Fortinbras, is preparing his troops to attack Denmark. Hamlet, being the prince and only heir to the crown, should be one to step up, take charge, and help defend his people. Yet, he does the exact opposite. When faced with this reality, he proclaims, “O cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right!” (De-Yan 92) Instead of equipping his mind with resolution to redress the social ills and destroy any foreign invasion, Hamlet unfittingly questions fate and why this mission is placed on him. In this sense, Hamlet is really a coward, a deserter.
Although Hamlet is grown adult, he often times acts as though he is still a small child. He is a man of intellect, a philosopher, and a thinker. In deeds, however, he is dominated by “feminine” and immature emotions. Part of this is due to the way he was treated as a child and a young adult before his father died. Hamlet was always bathed in the love of his mother and protected to the highest extent by his father. Once King Hamlet was killed and his wife married to soon after, everything Hamlet had come to know as a “normal” way of life was changed. Because of this quick shift, Hamlet yearns for the times of his youth and sometimes reverts back to such. They way in which he does this is with extreme mourning. He mourns not only the loss of his father but the loss of his childhood. He does not take action about these mourning feelings, causing Sigmund Freud to deem him as “a little Oedipus who cannot ring himself to kill Claudius.” (De-Yan 93)
Love is a feeling that should be treated with sensitivity. Although when Hamlet reveals his love for Ophelia, he carries out his affections in an almost spineless way. He does love Ophelia and vows to be faithful to her. The problem is that his love is a doom to Ophelia, because he does not know how to love her as a traditional man would have done. Hamlet wants nothing more than to love Ophelia and take care of her as men normally do, but Hamlet himself is extremely sensitive and needs the care of a lover himself. He is very reliant on others emotions and feelings and in order to carry on must have the emotional support from others. For example, Hamlet constantly woes about needing his mother’s love, his father’s protection, and the admiration of his subjects and, most importantly, Ophelia. Even through all of this talk, he fails to realize he must first give to receive. He chides his mother’s hasty remarriage without mercy, ignores his father’s order, sends his two childhood friends to death, shows no concern about the destiny of his country, and most unforgivably he indirectly causes Ophelia’s death. It is obvious he is so overly emotional it blinds his jugement and gets in the way of his relationships with his friends and family.
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, the madness Hamlet experiences can be argued that is it in fact an actual psychiatric disorder and not the “antic disposition” he claims. Additionally, he is perceived as an extremely feminine character, despite his strong masculine traits. This causes those around him to worry about his sanity, which in turn worries Hamlet. The combination of his mental illnesses and mistreatment result in the story read by audiences around the globe. If Hamlet were to be treated properly, this tragedy may not be a tragedy, but more of a tale of Prince Hamlet’s woe.

Works Cited
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American Psychiatric Association. (2005). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-TR. Washington: American Psychiatric Association.
Vilens, Alexander, and Leo Sher. Neurobiology Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. New York: Nova Biomedical, 2010. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
Cryan, J. F., and B. E. Leonard. Depression [Electronic Resource] : From Psychopathology To Pharmacotherapy / Volume Editors, J.F. Cryan, B.E. Leonard. n.p.: Basel ; New York : Karger, 2010., 2010. SetonCat - Library Catalog. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. De-Yan, Guo. "Hamlet's Femininity." Canadian Social Science 5.5 (2009): 89-95. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 May 2013.