Whenever I have read any of Shakespeare’s works, I tend to get lost in what is being said, because of the strange way the English language was spoken in this period. If I were to have understood the English of his time, perhaps his works wouldn’t be as difficult to comprehend with the use of complex vocabulary. Plus, his plays where just that, plays, so they don’t provide the most detail like other literature pieces, since these were to be acted out. Although, once you sit down and critically analyze what is being said, you have an enjoyable tale, along with hidden innuendoes that Shakespeare left behind in many of his plays. Not to mention, I enjoyed the parallels to Disney’s The Lion King, so in a way I knew the plot outline, but it was fun reading the line, “Long live the king!,” and thinking about Scar dropping Mufasa (p. 2629). Unlike the Disney adaptation, however, this play displays that none of the main characters are safe from Shakespeare’s signature trait for his tragedies, as they meet their demise at the end, but Hamlet did exact his revenge before sub-coming to the poison.
Throughout the play, there are numerous occasions where it appears that Hamlet has lost his mind, mainly due to the loss of his father. However, within the play there is much evidence that he had falsified his outbursts of madness, to allow him to through off his traitorous uncle along with the rest of the castle. Polonius had detected this early on when speaking to Hamlet alone,
Many would point to the murder of Polonius and say that Hamlet's action was caused by insanity. According to this believe, unlike all his other actions he was spontaneous and almost thoughtless, but it is not true. Almost directly before his arrival in the chambers of his mother, Hamlet had been upset in his attempt to kill Claudius because he was praying. However, at the time he felt ready to correct his revenge. When he goes to his mother's room not only did he most likely still have this feeling within him, her reaction towards his attempt at an explanation probably increase his anger for Claudius. When his mother calls for help, Polonius's voice muffled from behind the curtains, Hamlet may have thought he was Claudius and therefore killed with no need for additional thought even though it couldn't have been since he had just saw
There is a distinct division of opinion among the other characters of the play about Hamlet's sanity and the split is along gender lines. Ophelia and Gertrude both state that Hamlet has gone mad, but the major male characters, on the other hand, like Polonius think that there is "method" in Hamlet's "madness," that his insanity is a surface mask to shield him as he plans the darker purpose of revenge. Since Hamlet is disturbed by the sudden death of his father and his mother's marriage to his uncle, King Claudius, the abnormality of his behavior to some extent is also understandable. Hamlet is naturally withdrawn, dark, and passive in the wake of those traumatic events. He also shows this when he constantly releases his anger with lines like "How (weary), stale, flat, and unprofitable seems to me all the uses of this world!" His self-exile and his self-reproach are essentially normal reactions to a series of events that he must avenge at his dead father's command but without further direction against a powerful chain of power within the guilty King.
Hamlet’s madness is questioned by many readers. The truth is that Hamlet portrayed madness before he came up with the plan of acting madness. This madness is an important characteristic in the play with Hamlet’s actions revolving primarily around the idea he has because of his madness. There are several occasions further in the play when the audience sees Hamlet acting mad even though there is no one else in the room that he was aware of. In act three, scene four, when Hamlet is in his mother’s chamber and hears a noise behind the arras the rash decision to stab the noise behind the curtain shows exactly how erratic and unstable Hamlet is. His rash behaviour to kill without seeing what he is doing shows that his madness is real and not something he is faking to have revenge for his father. In act five scene two, Hamlet announces that he has switched the letter that ordered Hamlet to be killed in England; instead writing that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are to be killed. This is perhaps because he thought they were the ones who ordered his death when in fact they were just following Claudius’ instructions. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were Hamlet’s friends which show that he was perhaps paranoid in his madness. They were there to help yet his rash character after seeing the Ghost has yet again ended people’s lives. It is important to consider that in the Elizabethan era madness was defined differently than what the
While it is true that Hamlet was merely playing the role of someone who had gone mad, many people may say that Hamlet’s madness was brought upon himself simply by the fact that he was trying to fulfill the orders from his dead father yet couldn’t because of his lack of acting upon a plan. It is strongly possible that Hamlet became extremely frustrated because every chance he got to expose Claudius and capture him in this enormous secret, he failed to do so. Therefore, Hamlet’s madness could be judged as reasonable but most likely for different reasons than one may think. Rather than going mad over the concrete facts that his father died and his mother remarried his uncle less than two months afterwards, he drove himself mad over his own flaws. Hamlet’s tragic flaw absolutely led to his tragic downfall as a
The most interesting thing about all of the characters' guesses as to the logic behind Hamlet's insanity is that the majority of their opinions stem from the thing that most plagues or preoccupies them. Claudius believes that Hamlet is crazy because he has a secret. This was ironic because the secret that Hamlet does have is that he knows that Claudius is his father's murderer. The very secret that plagues Claudius is the same that plagues Hamlet. Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, is wrapped up in her guilt about marrying Claudius so soon after the death of her late husband. She thinks that this must be what makes Hamlet rant so incoherently. While spying on Hamlet for the King, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern decide that he is going crazy because he can no longer fulfill his potential. Their betrayal of their school chum is fueled by the same blind ambition that they believefuels Hamlets insanity. Polonius thinks that Hamlet must be mad
As well as that, Hamlet’s madness is used as an excuse. He does not have to answer any questions people may have about why he is acting weird which gives him more time to continue plotting to hurt Claudius. His objective was to appear crazy and make it believable, and in doing so it makes him appear even smarter. Hamlet acts like himself and only acts insane when it is necessary. When he talks to Horatio about watching Claudius for signs of guilt he says “Give him heedful note, for I mine eyes will rivet his face, and, after, we will both our judgments join in censure of his seeming (3.2.87)”. The way he speaks makes it clear that he is perfectly fine. Horatio is one of the only people he does not need to feine insanity to. As well as that,when he is explaining to the players how to act, he asks “You could, for a need, study a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines, which I would
The astute statements and remarks that Hamlet says throughout the play prove that he is completely sane. Hamlet does indeed act mad throughout the play, but it is only an act to prove that Claudius killed King Hamlet. “I am essentially not in madness, but mad in craft” (3.4.187-188). Hamlet is admitting that he has been acting mad, but that it is by his will, which shows that is in control of his actions. Also, after Hamlet kills Polonius, Hamlet gives clever hints to where Polonius’s body is hidden, something that an insane person would be incapable of doing. “Where is Polonius? In heaven. Send thither to see. If
Polonius's assertion is ironic since he falsely believes Hamlet's madness stems from Hamlet's love of Ophelia. But Hamlet's behaviour becomes more erratic; his acting mad seems to cause Hamlet to become temporarily insane and lose his grip on reality. His impulses and madness drive him to succumbing to physical violence when under duress indicates that Hamlet is not merely acting mad but rather experiencing a psychotic breakdown. This proves that acting on psychotic impulses, even on the spur of moments, usually involves disastrous consequences.
Shakespeare also exemplifies contrast of mental illness and wellness between characters in the play Hamlet. As the characters, Ophelia and Hamlet both endure the stress of a father's death their actions begin to change. This makes it easy for a reader to perceive the difference between Hamlet, Ophelia, and the other characters in the play. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex characters, his insanity is often a subject of debate. The article “Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear” states that “he is an apt example of the complexities of the human psyche which are often beyond comprehension” (Ebsco). To find out the answer to the ultimate question of whether Hamlet is insane, comparing his actions to those of other characters would be helpful. At the beginning of the play both Hamlet and Horatio are trusted when the ghost appears to the guards. However, soon after Hamlet begins to spiral into insanity. In Act Two, Scene Two Hamlet talks with Polonius and this is the first time a reader can see Hamlet start to act unstable. Hamlet begins with “You are a fish monger” (190), and after Polonius corrects he continues to act deranged, by the end of their conversation Polonius is convinced “though this be madness” (223), meaning that he believes Hamlet is mad. However, Hamlet seems to be able to control his madness, which is why people often think that he is just acting. But by the end of the play Hamlet, similar to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, has hallucinations. He sees his father’s ghost again, but this time no one else can see it. Hamlet asks his mother, “Do you see nothing here?” (3.4, 150), and she answers with “Nothing at all” (3.4, 151). Comparing Hamlet’s actions to his Mother’s in this scene creates a sense that Hamlet’s acting mad and need for revenge has caused his to change his mental state. Ophelia, also driven mad by her father's death, plus Hamlet's twisted love for her can also be compared to Hamlet throughout the play to see that she is sane at the beginning, but just as mad as Hamlet, if not more, by the end. Ophelia at the start of the play is trying to help the King and her father to catch Hamlet, what she thought was to help him. However, after her lover, Hamlet,
Hamlet went crazy throughout the play in a number of ways. Hamlet saw his father's ghost and he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He was told by the ghost that his dad was murdered and that the death was not from natural causes. Right away, he starts plotting his revenge so that he can avenge his father’s death. So that he could even the score. Hamlet says, "Haste me to know ’t that I, with wings as swift as mediation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge" (I. v. 30). At the point in the play where Hamlet is in his mother's room, Polonius makes a noise from behind the curtain where he was hiding. Hamlet thinks that it is Claudius and since he really wants to kills him, he goes and stabs the curtain with Polonius behind it and he dies. Right before he stabs Polonius, he says, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!”(Stabs his sword through the arras and kills Polonius)(III, iv. 24). Hamlet goes insane in this part because the need to kill Claudius is so great that people around him are dying and he is
Throughout the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare applied a myriad of motifs to enhance the meaning and complexity of his work. One of the numerous motifs utilized in the play is madness. The question of Hamlet’s actual madness is profusely raised among readers in the Elizabethan era and is still brought up numerous times today. Some may assert that Hamlet was literally mad and others may argue that Hamlet’s madness was feigned. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet spotted his father’s ghost and discerned that his father’s death was caused by his uncle, Claudius. This situation initiated a whirlwind of events that took Hamlet on a downward spiral. These events are comprised of Hamlet’s actions to try to avenge his father’s death. They support and convey the impression that Hamlet’s madness was real. Although, Hamlet specifically claimed that he was not mad in the text. Hamlet’s madness was feigned since he confessed his reasoning for his antic disposition in order to avenge his father’s death and get revenge for Claudius’ actions.
Hamlet’s insanity can be thought of as a tragedy or misconception of reality. The death of his father had shaped the first few impressions of his own persona as well as a new experience with his new aunt. As a result of his genius insanity prince Hamlet has devised a plan to make things more clear to the audience. “Hamlet’s behavior strikes the audience as abnormal on several occasions. For example, Hamlet seems to be really mad when he is in front of Ophelia in disordered clothes. He behaves as if he had been loosed out of hell to speak of the horror”. As the progress of the play foreshadows a significant end to his insanity that he acts upon. As the play progresses throughout, Hamlet finds ways in order to give others the impression that he has lost his sanity from his “love” of Polonius’s daughter Ophelia. “(Ophelia)He grabbed me by the wrist and held me hard, then backed away an arm’s length and just looked at me, staring at me like an artist about to paint my
When we first meet Hamlet, he is a sad, dark, loathsome figure; the loss of his father and the whoring of his mother have upset him indefinitely. Like a ticking time bomb, Hamlet’s noticeable temper reflects the storm of emotions and thoughts brewing in his head, and then like a catalyst, his meeting with the Ghost of King Hamlet brings his anger to a boil. With revenge in mind, Hamlet plans to fake his madness so that he may be free to pursue his father’s killer. Everyone, except his close friend Horatio, seems convinced that he is mad. Claudius however, fearful that someone will discover his evil deed, has also had his perceptions heightened by his guilt and he experiences chronic paranoia throughout the
The toll that the reversal between personalities takes on his mind cause Hamlet to say, “In my heart, there was a kind of fighting.” (5.2.3-4)The number of times his mind has to switch between sanity and madness has began to slowly twist his mind, leaving him confused. He seems insane but it's because he’s tired himself out which could potentially lead to him losing his mind. This perceived insanity can be seen when Hamlet, for a second, becomes irrational and accidentally kills Polonius who he believed to be King Claudius hiding behind the
Hamlet constantly flaunts his superior intelligence while conversing with certain characters. Hamlet constantly mocks and criticizes Polonius— like when he calls him a fishmonger — which is slang for someone like a pimp — in ways that signify that Hamlet is aware of the poorly set traps that Polonius has laid out for him. Not only does that insult serve as proof that he’s cognizant of traps set for it, but it’s also Hamlet’s way of shaming Polonius for using his own daughter as some type of pawn in his plan. Mott also praises the complexity of Hamlet’s intellect and his “To Be of Not to Be” soliloquy, which is when Hamlet contemplates suicide, and claims that Hamlet must be sane if he’s able to show such a great sense of discernment and articulateness while philosophizing mortality. Hamlet, undoubtedly, experiences some traumatic event, such as his father being murdered and the death of his love Ophelia, that would drive the average person to insanity and, in extreme cases, suicide.