Depression In Shakespeare's Hamlet

His mother drank the poison that was meant for Hamlet that was supposed to drink. The king put the poison in it because he knew that Hamlet was onto him for killing his father and marrying his mom. At the very end though Hamlet, His mother, and father ended up together. All three of these examples show he has depression because he was angry at the world and he was always thinking of negative thoughts.

In the playwright Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet often shows many signs of depression. It is argued whether he is putting on the act, or if he is actually severely depressed. I believe after the death of his father, Hamlet becomes very emotionally unstable. Three things affect Hamlet, the death of his father, the remarriage of his mother, and Ophelia. Hamlet contemplates death, and becomes prepared to die near the end of the play.

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,

It is not an uncommon occurrence for a person to attend a funeral in their lifetime. They will experience the heavy feeling in their heart, hear the moaning and crying, and observe all the grief-stricken people, wiping tear-stained cheeks and wearing depressing, dark colors. Each person in this scene is attempting to comprehend what they have lost. Loss, whether physical or mental, can dismantle a person. The bonds and connections that people forge with each other defines their existence and gives them the drive to continue living, but when these bonds are broken the brain cannot cope with the detachment. A person is particularly vulnerable in this state and will do anything to replace the gaping hole that lingers in their life. In the novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski and the Shakespearean play Hamlet, two women are put through various kinds of loss. While these women--Trudy and Gertrude--appear weak, they willingly accept the enchantments of Claude and Claudius only after enduring hardships which skew their judgments, revealing the effect of trauma and depression when a relationship is lost.

“Take these again; for to the noble mind, Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind (Act 3 scene 1). Ophelia softly and nobly points out to Hamlet that however fancy and rich a gift may be, it loses any value when the person who gave the gift turns to be one of the false motives and wicked emotion. Like most women, Ophelia values the emotion and thought put into gifts of love, not the materialistic gift itself. Hamlet has been criticized for hundreds of years, enduring virtually every facet of Shakespeare's life and the ties to his play Hamlet. In “Hamlet’s Not Depressed, He’s Grieving.” by O’Rourke, the critic focuses on Hamlet’s reaction to his father’s death and the ghost he see’s, questioning the idea of whether or not Hamlet has literally

Shakespeare's plays have tendencies to be tragedies with those who suffer from flaws or mental illness`s that can lead them to death. Hamlet is a tragic play written by Shakespeare about the prince who`s uncle killed his father. Hamlet lives with many difficult moments that can affect anyones mentally. In the play Hamlet, mental illness is a common problem that creates tragedy in the lives of Hamlet and Ophelia throughout the play. Hamlet displays signs of Schizophrenia with the way he hallucinates his deceased father King Hamlet. Ophelia suffers from mental illness from mental abuse she has suffered from her significant other. These two characters suffer from mental illness that affect those around them.

Ever wonder why characters in Hamlet seem to be so skittish, paranoid and seemingly “off”? It probably has little to nothing to do with mental illness! Mental illness includes a wide range of thoughts, actions and behaviors. In 2017, the society as a whole has moved toward recognizing mental illness as the very real and important disorders that they are. That said, learning the difference between mental illness and having ‘symptoms’ of mental disorders, is imperative for the growth of a generation. The qualifications for diagnosing require a degree obtained after extensive schooling, neither of which a senior in high school has. For the sake of this paper, I will ignorantly diagnose a fictional character from William Shakespeare’s, “Hamlet”. This story takes place in a much older time in Denmark. King Hamlet was pronounced dead and two castle guards claim they have seen his ghost. The ghost speaks to Prince Hamlet, King Hamlet’s son, and tells him he has been murdered by the new King which is King Hamlet’s brother. This sends Prince Hamlet into a spiral as it would any functioning person. He is deeply saddened and his love, Ophelia, as well as the rest of his family, are worried about him. Hamlet becomes so erratic he ends up slaying Ophelia’s father, mistaking him for King Claudius. Ophelia is obviously extremely upset as her father was just murdered by her boyfriend. Claudius becomes worried he will expose his secret and has Prince Hamlet sent away to England to be assassinated. While he is gone, the Queen discovers Ophelia has drowned.Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, talks with the King and is furious with Prince Hamlet for the death of his father and now his sister. Prince Hamlet’s ship is invaded by pirates and he secretly makes his way back to England. With this news, Laertes and Claudius devise a plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes will battle him and put poison on his sword and as a backup plan Claudius will put poison in wine and offer it to Hamlet. During the battle Hamlet and Laertes switch swords and Hamlet is pricked by the poisonous sword in the process. Queen Gertrude drinks from the poisoned wine and then Laertes is cut and poisoned. The Queen drops as does Laertes and when Hamlet realizes what has

Hamlet shows numerous symptoms and people wonder “why he’s acting so dazed and confused” (Shakespeare 135), but do not take initiative to get him treatment. Hamlet criticizes himself as a “low-life” (Shakespeare 129), a “lily-livered man…, and an uncourageous rascal” (Shakespeare 131), similar to Craig. Another parallel is that Hamlet sees “no future ahead for [himself]” (Shakespeare 179) and is fixated on “dying” (Shakespeare 139). Everyone around him just thinks he is insane; consequently, this “treatable disorder… goes unrecognized” ("Depression in Young People" 3), because the people in his life have failed decipher his symptoms of clinical depression. When Hamlet’s “depression [is] left untreated, [it] can be dangerous, even fatal” ("Morbidity" 1), which is shown to be true as he spirals into a further state of lunacy, leading to his death. Though Hamlet ‘lived’ 400 years ago, he had suicidal ideation, erratic behavior, self-hatred, anxiety, and a skewed reality just like present-day

Laertes in Ophelia's grave. Hamlet tells her that he never loved her when she returns his

Did you ever notice there are many characters in Hamlet that have mental disorders? Hamlet has a few characters that could possibly be diagnosed with a mental health disorder. At the beginning of the story, Hamlets dad is possibly murdered and Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, takes over the king spot. Hamlet's father's ghost arrives in the castle, it causes suspicions with the whole remarrying right after the death. He becomes very confused on how and why his father passed away. Due to the confusion and questions Hamlet wants answered, he could have developed a mental health disorder in the process of trying to figure things out.

His diminishing outlook on women is, in fact, not the only attribute that affects Hamlet throughout the play. There are various conclusions in academic journals regarding Hamlet's mental state, all of them agreeing or refuting the theory that Hamlet is mad throughout the play. Despite having sufficient evidence, the analyzation of this play is subjective and no definitive conclusion has been made. Nonetheless, one opinion remains to be the most popular: Hamlet is not mad, yet encounters various feelings regarding mental and emotional health.

Midlife crisis denial, depression, and displacement in Shakespeare Hamlet” William Shakespeare applies the psychoanalytic criticism in the play “Hamlet” to express the turmoil of emotions that his main character Hamlet experiences after the recent death of his father. Shakespeare utilizes denial, depression and displacement to demonstrate the theme of depression throughout the play. A popular twentieth century Swiss-American psychiatrist named Elisabeth Kübler-Ross believes that once an individual experiences a loss they exhibit five distinct stages of grieving. Kübler-Ross model can be broken down into five stages: they are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Kübler-Ross believes when a person experiences a death they have

Worldwide 350 million people are affected by depression per year. Depression has afflicted more people then it has ever in the past, but the past has its fair share of depression. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare the theme of depression is ever so present in some of the main characters. Hamlet is stricken with depression because of his father's murder, and his mother’s quick remarry. Ophelia is overwhelmed with depression, after her father’s murder, that she becomes relatively insane. Even though I have not gone through any of the problems that Hamlet and Ophelia been through, I do know what it feels to be depressed. To feel like you are nothing and nobody would care if you disappeared. Depression is a major problem that too many people

At best, I believe that Act I, Scene II might be one of the most important parts of Hamlet. It prepares any reader with the character’s styling of Hamlet, its importance to the play, its characters, and the logical play on words to show the complexity of Shakespeare’s skills as a playwright. Though, it might be a bit of over-aggrandizing to say that the first Act and second scene could be so crucial. It set the tone of the play for many of the characters and their motives from Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet. The Act shows the true nature of many of the characters and where they stand in the apparent and the hidden stance. As the scene begins, we see Claudius come straight out as the antagonist, though not immediately. He (Claudius) begins to establish himself as King of Denmark but it is until Hamlet makes his appearance that we see some of Claudius’s attributes.

If one wants to truly understand the psychological implications of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the primary focus should be on the character Hamlet, and how he develops and modifies throughout the play. Using the fundamentals of the psychoanalytic perspective of critical evaluation, one would be able to truly identify and explore the true nature of Hamlet, and the effects that his character has on the situation surrounding him. In order to gain a true understanding of most of the detail that is implied through Hamlet's way of portraying himself to others, it is vital to look deep into the actions that are carried out, and analyze them psychoanalytically.