With respect to Ophelia, Hamlet would like to express his intense, irrepressible anger towards her without arising suspicion in her or in others that he is in a hostile rational mental state. This would help prevent others in the royal household from speculating that Hamlet was rationally planning hostile actions such as killing Claudius. (The specific nature of this anger will be discussed later).

With Gertrude, Hamlet would also like to express his anger towards her, as well as possibly kill her or make her go insane, without arising suspicion in others that he possesses a hostile rational mental state. In addition, he would like to confront Gertrude with the premises of Claudius' crime, without her thinking that he actually believes in them, so that she might somehow think about them and realize that Claudius is guilty. Thus, she will no longer love Claudius (thus providing Hamlet with the psychological freedom he needs to kill him) and she will not believe that Hamlet believes that Claudius is guilty. If she believes this, she might purposely or inadvertently pass on this fact to

Feigning insanity also allows him to express his anger towards Claudius, while expecting lenient treatment.

With respect to friends or colleagues, Hamlet would like to express his anger towards them without arising suspicion that he is in a hostile rational mental state. He also wants to be able to punish them or hurt them for supporting or potentially supporting Claudius, while going free on basis of insanity.

Hamlet's decision to stage a play in order to "catch the conscience of the King" results from his obsession with gathering information about whether or not Claudius' committed the crime. Why is Hamlet "obsessed" with doing this, as opposed to merely being "interested" in gathering such information? The reason is that whatever Hamlet learns from such information, that is, whether it proves or disproves Claudius' guilt, Hamlet will feel great psychological relief from the information. If he disproves to himself that Claudius killed the king, then Hamlet will be instantly relieved of his obsession to kill Claudius, along with the intense psychological stress it induces within him. At worst, he will still feel the substantial but much more manageable stress he felt, before he met the ghost, from his response to his mother's over-hasty marriage to Claudius. In addition, proving that Claudius is guilty has great psychological advantages for Hamlet. For one thing, such proof will prove to him that his endeavor to kill Claudius is justified. Thus, he will not be engaging in his risky, dangerous undertaking for no reason. Such proof will also spare a principled Hamlet from the agonizing possibility of engaging in a crime that violates many moral, political and religious principles if it is not justified. Such proof will also justify Hamlet's inner maintenance of the painful sense of resentment he feels towards Claudius, Gertrude and others within the royal household. It will also provide Hamlet with the opportunity to use hard evidence to prove to his friends and loved ones that Claudius is guilty. This might make them support Hamlet in his endeavor, thus providing him with the psychological support he needs to carry it out. Thus, disproving the ghost's message promises Hamlet instant relief from his pain, and proving this message will nurture him by enabling him to justify his obsession and to possibly use such proof as a means of acquiring peer support of his endeavor. From Hamlet's psychological standpoint, then, obtaining further information about whether or not the ghost was true to his word is a win-win undertaking.

Hamlet procrastinates in the play, such as during the protracted Players' scene or during the clown's graveyard scene, for the essential reason that his psychological feelings confuse his ability to confront his destiny. He finds it very difficult to decide whether to kill Claudius or let him be, due to his catch-22 psychological situation.

Some topics in this essay:
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