Essay on Hamlet V Don Quixote

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

Hamlet kills Polonius and Gertrude becomes scared as to what is going to happen with Hamlet. Claudius betrays her trust by taking advantage of it and takes matter into his own hands. Claudius solution to the problem is to have Hamlet sent to England, where he is going to be safe from the law and will not have to deal with any consequences for his actions. " O Gertrude, come away! The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch. But we will ship him hence, and this vile deed. We must, with all out majesty and skill, Both countenance and excuse" (4.1.28-32). Claudius makes Gertrude believe he is setting this up because he wants to protect Hamlet. But even though the audience knows the real reason as to why he is doing this. He is sending Hamlet to England to be killed. " By letters congruing to that effect, The present death of Hamlet" (4.3.66-67).

Delaying, Hamlet continues to avoid murdering Claudius. After hesitating to kill Claudius, Hamlet flees to his mother’s room. Polonius hides in Gertrude’s room while Hamlet is speaking with his mother, but Hamlet soon catches on and murders Polonius. Shocked, Gertrude confronts Hamlet about the murder, but Hamlet retaliates by asserting, "A bloody deed! almost as bad, good

The next area that questions Hamlet’s sanity is that of deaths though out the story. Polonius, who is hiding in Queen Gertrude’s room, is stabbed through the drapes by Hamlet because he thought it was the King. This might have been an accident, but Hamlet’s irrational behavior leads us to believe he is becoming impulsive and unforgiving. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are executed in England by Hamlet’s clever idea to change the name on the death warrant. Here is where Hamlet displays signs of rational thinking to save his own life. Hamlet stabs Claudius with a poisoned sword and forces a poison drink down his throat (Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 5 Scene 2 page 1105), his ultimate revenge. Then, with the same poisoned sword that was prepared to kill him, Hamlet cuts Laertes and he dies. (Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 5 Scene 2 page 1105). Hamlet’s total change in personality makes him appear to be “mad” at this point. All forms of sanity are now gone and any plot he had to avenge his father’s death resulted on chaos and his own death.

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

Hamlet's madness is not in vain. As Polonius says in Act II, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't" (109). The reason Hamlet is pretending to be insane is to exact revenge against his father's murderer, the King. He is aware that the King will be concerned about his behavior and he is right. After the play all the characters attend, the King is very disturbed. His reason for being disturbed is that he just witnessed a play which depicted the murder he committed against his own brother, the former King of Denmark. The King knows Hamlet knows of the murder and is aware that Hamlet may not be completely insane. Because he is afraid of losing his power and title of King, the King decides that Hamlet should go to England.

He knew that his Uncle Claudius was guilty to the murder of his brother. While trying to get revenge for his father, he killed Polonius by stabbing him through the curtain. He thought Polonius was Claudius behind the curtain. After killing Polonius, Hamlet doesn’t react in the way a normal person would. Hamlet hides Polonius under the stairs. This act of madness leads to the death of Ophelia. Ophelia drowns herself from being stressed out and overwhelmed by the death of her father. The killing of Polonius makes Laertes want revenge on Hamlet for his father. Hamlet’s act of madness contributes to a lot of deaths throughout the

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

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one of the most evident and important themes is the theme of madness. The theme is apparent throughout the play, mainly through the actions and thoughts of Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes. Madness is defined as the quality or condition of mental illness or derangement (being insane). Madness is at the center of the conflicts and problems of the play and is conveyed through Shakespeare’s elaborate use of manipulation and parallels between Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes to contribute to Hamlet’s tragic character.

Cleverly, Hamlet decides to feign madness before the King and the court as a way for others to ignore him, so he may construct his plan of revenge for his father’s death. What is interesting is that he initially does not set out to kill Claudius the current king, which suggests that he is troubled on whether or not the apparition he spoke with is truly his father telling the truth. He deceptively uses Ophelia as a messenger to the King to describe his initial count of being mad. This causes the King, Polonius, and Ophelia to spy on Hamlet. When putting on a production to see whether Claudius is truly guilty of being the murder Lord Hamlet states, “that he must be idle” which suggest that his madness is feigned. With Claudius being deemed guilty, Hamlet knows what he must do. Interestingly, Hamlet is unable to kill Claudius the first time when he gets a chance since he did not want to send Claudius to heaven. The level of distress of Hamlet is apparent when he sees his mother after passing Claudius praying to God. Getrude calls for help and a noise is heard behind a curtain. Without thinking Hamlet slays Polonius; the person behind the curtain. This is a very controversial moment for this

This, in turn, exploits Hamlet’s similar flaw of ego and furthers the conflict, but what’s more, it illustrates Claudius’ sheer audacity and lack of repentance. He continues to try to cover up the sin and appease Hamlet into complacency rather than confess and ask for forgiveness. In a mark of pure arrogance, Claudius tells Hamlet to “throw to earth / This unprevailing woe and think of us / As of a father”, conceitedly requesting that Hamlet merely forget the murder and replace his father with the murderer himself (I, ii, 110-112). Similarly, instead of directly confronting Hamlet about his mental condition, the king more or less hires Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on the prince, again cementing his smug mindset. The king does not believe he can be caught or, rather, that Hamlet is competent enough to figure out his plan and foil him. Claudius, too, thinks only of himself after Hamlet’s inadvertent killing of Polonius, pondering “how shall this bloody deed be answered? / It will be laid to us” instead of considering the ramifications of the murder with respect to Hamlet (4.1.17-18). The other two paper-thin traps the king hatches only reinforce his failure to see beyond the apparent; his attempt to deport Hamlet to England and have him killed reeks of treachery and, luckily, Hamlet realizes the king’s subterfuge, crushing the plot and flipping it back on him. Claudius remains steadfast in his efforts to remove Hamlet, going so far as to set up a

Hamlet soon resolves to take action. He sets up a play to trap Claudius so he can find out if the ghost was telling the truth. This is his intelligence and craft. He will not impulsively commit murder because of the word of a ghost who seemed to be his dead father. When he meets with his mother later, he is very angry and emotional and kills Polonius believing it was Claudius. Hamlet shows himself to be a man of action before thought in this case. He is rather cold that he is not terribly sorry about this accidental death but does show genuine concern for his mother which leads him to fits of intense emotion.

After killing Polonius, Hamlet feel no guilt at all, he acts indifferently. The audience can evidence how appearances and reality come back into play when Queen Gertrude cries out, “O, what a rash and bloody deed is this” (Act 3, scene 4, page 106). Hamlet, responds without repentance, “A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king, and marry with his brother.” (Act 3, scene 4, page 106). After this statement made by Hamlet, there is a twist in the scene. Instead of the scene being centered towards the death of Polonius, it becomes centered towards Hamlet’s obsession and hatred towards his mother for betraying him and his father by the rapid and opportune marriage to

In return, Hamlet tries to break her down by putting her sins in front of her because she married the king’s brother so soon after his death. When she cries for help, innocent Polonius enters and Hamlet says “How now! A rat?” and kills Polonius because he thought that it was Claudius. Hamlet’s insanity is like a blind rage. He is so focused on revenge that he doesn’t realize what he is doing. Hamlet is taking sick pleasure in hurting the ones around him in order to please himself which his pure insanity.

Gertrude realizes Hamlet’s madness after this and speaks to Claudius about it. Hamlet is so paranoid that he kills the once love of his lives father and doesn’t even feel guilty about it even after he finds out who it truly was behind that curtain.