Hamlet: Was Hamlet Insane In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the question of whether Hamlet is insane or just pretending to be insane is a central dilemma. The readers of the play as well as critics who look at the different aspects have to consider both sides. One way that this can be examined is seeing Hamlet as two people or having a split personality. On one hand he is a sensitive young man with a thirst for knowledge and an idealist. He seems to be a “sweet prince” (internet, Hamlet, pg. 1) who expresses himself with poetry and who is dedicated to truth. The second is a barbaric Hamlet who treats Ophelia cruelly, kills Polonius, and then sends Rosencrantz and Guildenste