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Antic Disposition In Hamlet

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Antic Disposition in “Hamlet”
Was Hamlet’s madness real?

Hamlet along with other characters, exhibits characteristic traits suffered during a manic episode, which left untreated can lead to other psychological problems as seen through Hamlet in the play. In laymen’s terms, Hamlet possesses the same traits as a crazy person would, or more justly put, a mad person. This form of mania stems from Hamlet’s depressed state at the beginning of the play. The play begins after the death of Hamlet’s father, Hamlet Sr., and the remarrying of Hamlet’s mother Gertrude, to Hamlet Sr.’s brother, Claudius. Gertrude’s awareness of Hamlet’s sudden change in his appearance comes about in act one, scene two when she tells Hamlet to wear brighter clothes, to which Hamlet remarks that his clothing could never express how depressed he feels. Depression often appears as the first stage of a manic episode. Which tends to evolve to other traits and tendencies creating a persona for an individual that one would see as “mad”. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet appears to the royal court in a depressed mood. Claudius makes the first to remark that Hamlet appears depressed asking him “How is it that the clouds still hang on you” (Shakespeare 13)? Hamlet simply brushes this statement off only to for his mother, Gertrude with questions of his dark clothing. Hamlet tells Gertrude that his “…inky cloak…” (Shakespeare 13) could never truly display his depression. Depression seeps from both Hamlet’s

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