In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a series of tragic events unfolds as the main character, Hamlet, quickly slips into a state of insanity due to the murder of his father Hamlet, the King of Denmark. From the beginning of the play Hamlet is portrayed as undoubtedly shaken and depressed by the death of his father as well as crazed by it. As the play goes on though, Hamlet sees the ghost of his recently deceased father and plummets into a deep insanity. After this point Hamlet informs a few close friends and family members that he will begin to “act” insane, although this is truly an expression made by Hamlet to justify his actions rather than admit to his insanity. Hamlet’s madness is real and progressively becomes worse throughout the play and although …show more content…
Hamlet feels an internal grief that Gertrude could never see and his actions along with his clothes only show a part of it. Gertrude can’t understand Hamlet’s extreme actions because a sane mind can’t likely understand the actions of the insane mind. Hamlet was so deeply troubled and depressed by his father’s death that he was able to slip into a state of insanity that revolved around the idea of his father. In this state Hamlet’s mind fixated about his father’s death and was unable to think of much else other than his own possible death. Hamlet wishes that he can commit suicide. In one of his soliloquies Hamlet …show more content…
This act pushes Hamlet’s madness over the edge to the point where he is unable to exist in a stable state at all. After Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, his insanity worses and continues through the play in an extremely crazed and distraught state. This form of insanity causes Hamlet to commit multiple acts that a sane man could never commit. One example of Hamlet’s crazy antics is when he kills Polonius on a whim. While Hamlet is speaking to his mother in the “closet scene” in her room Gertrude calls out for help because of Hamlet’s aggressive nature with her and she thinks that Hamlet may kill her. From behind the curtains Polonius was lurking and listening in on their conversation. Hamlet just assuming it is Claudius lurking behind the curtains stabs through the curtain and kills him. This act shows Hamlet’s pure insanity because no one in their right mind would be able to just assume who they were killing and continue to kill them. In addition, once Hamlet realizes it’s Polonius, he is not bothered that he murdered the wrong person. Hamlet stands over Polonius’s dead body and calls him a fool and a low life. Once Hamlet is done insulting the man he just wrongly murdered, he comforts his mother by saying that he’ll take care of the dead body in her room and drag him out. Not only does this casual murder show the true insanity of
There is a fine line between sane and madness that everyone can teeter on in some point in their lives. Sometimes this is the result of a broken relationship, a loss of a job, confusion about the future, anger, or can be a result of countless other events or reasons. This theme of insanity is present in countless pieces of literature due to its relatability to everyone, not just people with a diagnosed mental illness. People tend to do crazy things and act crazily without being completely insane. Along the same lines, when people linger in their crazy actions and start to do it purposefully, it can lead to something that is real and more permanent. Hamlet’s madness, in Hamlet by Shakespeare, is a complex idea that is constantly developing throughout
Many people have seen Hamlet as a play about uncertainty and about Hamlet's failure to act appropriately. It is very interesting to consider that the play shows many uncertainties that lives are built upon, or how many unknown quantities are taken for granted when people act or when they evaluate one another's actions. Hamlet is an especially intriguing production, both on the set and on the screen because of its uniqueness to be different from what most people expect to be in a revenge themed play. Hamlet's cynicism and insane like behavior cause him to seem indecisive, but in reality he is always judging and contemplating his actions in the back of his mind in order to seek revenge for the murder of
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is about a young prince who wants revenge when he learns about the murder of his father. As the play begins, Hamlet’s character appears to be a normal, sane person. Moving through the acts Hamlet’s personality changes from normal to depressed. There are hints of insanity that try to convince people Hamlet is “mad”. Others might say that Hamlet is faking madness to pursue his goal of revenge. First, he sees a “ghost” that tells Hamlet who killed his father and married his mother. Was this a dream or was this real? Second, Hamlet kills more than one person to avenge his father’s death. Where these accidents or intentional? “Insanity: a legal term for mental illness of such degree
Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.
Insanity can be defined as a mental illness that causes a person to have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Whether Shakespeare’s Hamlet was insane or feigning insanity is a controversial topic. Gregory Shafer argues that Hamlet is not insane and that he uses insanity or madness for his own political purposes (42). In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s circumstances force him to seek revenge for the murder of his father King Hamlet. He creates a plan that he believes will give him an opportunity to kill Claudius, and the main part of this plan involves him faking insanity. Further and further into the book, his actions of a madman become more believable. However through his thoughts and actions it is clear that he is not truly insane, and his is only acting in this way in order to reach is ultimate goal of revenge.
Why does insanity affect some people in different ways and why? Hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare which tells us when we read it about how some people react differently to insanity then others. Hamlet is the some of the late King Hamlet who was murdered. Gertrude, King Hamlet's wife, was remarried to her brother-in-law Claudius, two months after her husband died. Insanity takes hold of three people in particular in the play: Hamlet, Ophelia and Claudius.
One of the recurring themes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is Hamlet’s unwillingness or rather inability to act and make decisions when necessary. Time and time again, he is given the chance to exact his revenge for his slain father and murder his uncle. Yet every time he comes up with an excuse as to not have to act. Granted he takes some action to prove that it was in fact his uncle that killed his father, however, he goes no farther than that. Hamlet’s inability to fulfill his destiny and take out his revenge that he wants shows insanity. Hamlet is a man who’s father passed away, his mother married his uncle, and he later finds out that it was his uncle, his mother’s new husband, who killed his father, this would cause serious mental issues in any man. Even though Hamlet may have feigned insanity, Hamlet is insane because he is clinically depressed, he shows signs of being bipolar and he has hallucinations. Eventually even in his insanity he is left no other choice but to kill Claudius, his uncle, however until then his depression, bipolar disorder, hallucinations, and overall insanity keep him from exacting his revenge.
Hamlet is a young man who has become crazy from his trials and tribulations in life. He lost his father due to his uncle murdering them and then had to watch his mother marry the killer. Hamlets insanity can be demonstrated by his crude language and disregard for the well being of his mother. It can also be shown by his depression, which causes him to second guess everything including his life and finally his love, Ophelia helps to justify his absurdness by acting as a mirror. His foolish behavior worries many in the kingdom and creates a hostile and paranoid environment for those around. While some in the castle may believe that Hamlet is putting on an act, he proves that he is mad through his violet actions, his mental health and Ophelia.
Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William
Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his
The insanity of a person can be contributed through the trauma that is caused by a few events in a person’s life, but in the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote the main character prince Hamlet experiences a few dramatic events from the play which his attitude changes throughout. In order to figure out whether hamlet is insane is by figuring out what the characteristics of his insanity. Characters see Hamlet in different shades of gray, each side more or less sane than others. His sanity can be his truth or his lie.
Shakespeare's Hamlet is a master of deception. Hamlet decides to make Claudius believe that he is insane, but the scheme backfires when everyone, except Claudius, falls for it. Ophelia is one of those who believes Hamlet lost his mind, and when he does not return her love, she is so brokenhearted that she commits suicide. Near the end of the tragedy, Hamlet plays the part so well, that he convinces himself he is insane. Clearly, Hamlet's plan to put on an antic disposition is a tragic error.
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the character of Hamlet feigns insanity. For a person in his situation, having one's peers think of one as crazy can be quite beneficial. His father, the king, had just died, and he is visited by a ghost who appears to be his father's spirit. The ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who is now the current king and who recently married the former king's wife. Hamlet vows revenge and, as a tool to aid him in that plan, convinces people that he is crazy. The fact that he is acting, as opposed to actually being insane, can be seen in Hamlet's conversations with a watchman, two childhood friends, and his mother. Also, there are many actions in the play that he would not have
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, must seek revenge for the murder of his father. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to murder Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet becomes more and more believable in his act, even convincing his mother that he is crazy. However, through his thoughts, and actions, the reader can see that he is in fact putting up an act, he is simply simulating insanity to help fulfil his fathers duty of revenge. Throughout the play, Hamlet shows that he understands real from fake, right from wrong and his enemies from his friends. Even in his madness, he retorts and is clever in his speech and has full
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the lead character, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, has been interpreted in numerous ways. Throughout the play Hamlet takes on different personas, making it hard define him as only one character type. Often when critics analyze the character of Hamlet, they question his sanity because of his ambiguity soon after he sees his father's ghost. What does it mean to be insane? The definition of the word "insane" says that the person must "exhibit serious and debilitating mental disorders." does Hamlet truly go insane, is his father's ghost just a figment of his tormented imagination, or is Hamlet a smart actor who meticulously planned to avenge his