This paper actually came the most natural to me, probably because, for the first time, I truly felt like I knew what I was talking about. Being my second reading of Hamlet, and being much older, I realized the extent Hamlet’s madness influenced the play. I’m sure I’m not alone, but I feel like this is the central issue of the play, because how you perceive Hamlet influences the entire play. Of all the plays we’ve read this semester, I really feel like this is the most real one we’ve read because I can see most anyone struggling in the same manner Hamlet did. Of all the theories I propose in my paper I’m not really sure which one I believe the most, perhaps the most chilling idea of all is that maybe he’s not actually mentally ill. As humans, we don’t like to think of murderers as ‘normal’ people, so we slap the label of mental illness onto them so we can classify them as ‘others’ because no ‘normal’ person would go on a killing spree. Plenty of normal people commit HORRIFIC acts, and then the label of mental illness is applied after the fact – usually after they can’t defend themselves.