sparknotesThroughout the play, Hamlet claims to be feigning madness, but his portrayal of a madman is so intense and so convincing that many readers believe that Hamlet actually slips into insanity at certain moments in the play. Is this true, or is Hamlet merely play-acting insanity

Hamlet is merely play-acting insanity.

Explanation:

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the young prince feigns madness to try to prove his theory of finding out the killer of his father King Hamlet. And though he may have acted like a really convincing mad person, we finds that his acts are just too much at times to conclude that he is indeed insane.

By using insanity as his mask, he tries to fool his enemies so that they will not know about his real intentions of trying to prove the culprit of his father's death. But, along with the act of hanging on to his 'insane' act, he almost slip into the actual insanity, after what he saw and experience along his father's death. He no longer believe in religion, and lose all trust for his mother and society as a whole.

Thus, although he did not fully become or is insane, he also almost slip into insanity during his ordeal of dealing with his enemies on the pretext of being mad.