Hamlet's Paranoia

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is laden with tragedy from the start, and this adversity is reflected in the title character. Being informed of his father’s murder and the appalling circumstances surrounding the crime, Hamlet is given the emotionally taxing task of avenging his death. It is clear that having to complete this grim undertaking takes its toll on Hamlet emotionally. Beginning as a seemingly contemplative and sensitive character, we observe Hamlet grow increasingly depressed and deranged as the play wears on. Hamlet is so determined to make his father proud that he allows the job on hand to completely consume him. We realize that Hamlet has a tendency to mull and ponder excessively, which causes the notorious delays of action

Shakespeare's drama Hamlet has become a central piece of literature of Western culture. It is the story of a prince named Hamlet, who lost his father. Soon after that he has to confront multiple obstacles and devises a series of situations to defend the new king's royalty. Furthermore, he had to prove that King Claudius, who was the prince's uncle, had killed Hamlet's father. This story has remained among the most popular and the most controversial plays around the world. It generates controversy for all the doubts that this play leaves with the readers. One of the most questioning situations in the play is the delay of Hamlet in avenging Claudius' for his father's death. As a reader this

In scene one after Hamlet exits, and he’s taking Polonius’ dead body, Claudius asked Gertrude to tell him what happened with Hamlet. She tells him Hamlet killed Polonius and Claudius realizes that his life is in danger. Claudius asks where Hamlet went, and Gertrude says that he took the body away. The king orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet and discover where he has taken Polonius’ body. After that the scene ends and we are left wondering what Claudius will do now that he fears hamlet will kill him and wondering if hamlet is actually going mad or if he is just acting to be mad.

Hamlet’s sanity has made many people question him. “Hamlet certainly displays a high degree of mania and instability throughout much of the play, but his “madness” is perhaps too purposeful and pointed

Hamlet is as much a story of emotional conflict, paranoia, and self-doubt as it is one of revenge and tragedy. The protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, is instructed by his slain father’s ghost to enact vengeance upon his uncle Claudius, whose treacherous murder of Hamlet’s father gave way to his rise to power. Overcome by anguish and obligation to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet ultimately commits a number of killings throughout the story. However, we are not to view the character Hamlet as a sick individual, but rather one who has been victimized by his own circumstances.

Hamlet questions the true intentions of the ghost and whether it be “a spirit of health or goblin damn’d,” (1.4.669). The Ghost enlightens the Prince of the treason committed by his uncle Claudius, which Hamlet doubts the legitimacy for an instance. According to “Hamlet’s Precarious Emotional Balance,” “Hamlet conceives a way out of his uncertainty, a way to make certain that he has not, because of his melancholy, simply hallucinated the ghost's revelations or been tricked by an evil spirit,” (Lidz). Hamlet develops a scheme to “catch the conscience of the king” by staging a play that depicts the murder of King Hamlet precisely (2.2.581).

Unlike the mother who questions “Whereon do you look?” (III.4.92) when the ghost appears, Hamlet is the only one who is believed to see the ghost. In such a case, it is suggested that Hamlet cannot even see the ghost himself. However, through his extreme emotion of grief and anger towards the death of his loved one, Hamlet confuses himself into believing his figment of imagination, for the ghost is his primary motivator in avenging his father’s death. Since the ghost is the only connector between Hamlet and his father, Hamlet becomes mentally insane to become close with his deceased dad to the point of actual madness.

Hamlet begins play by breaking bonds with his family. The death of his father, the former king of Denmark, leaves Hamlet in a state of depression. During Gertrude’s, Hamlet’s mother, and Claudius's, the new king and Hamlet’s paternal uncle, wedding ceremony, Hamlet is the only one wearing “nighted colour” (1.2.68), which are clothes for mourning. He isolates himself from the joys of everyone and instead chooses to wallow in his own dark world, with his initial grief for his father being the catalyst for his descent into isolation. Hamlet begin to have hopes to commit “self-slaughter” (1.2.132) as he is frustrated with his life in its current state. Hamlet is rejecting his family as it is, instead lamenting on his father, to the point where he contemplates suicide. By isolating himself from the land of the living, Hamlet believes he does not have a purpose anymore. When his mother comments on Hamlet seeming sad during the ceremony, Hamlet replies that he “know not ‘seems’” (1.2.76), commenting on his mother’s use of the seem and saying that his depression is not an act, but genuine. His mother notices that “His father’s death and our o’er-hasty marriage” (2.2.57) could be the cause of his emerging familial isolation and regrets to not have been able to do anything to help her son. Having seemingly lost his purpose in life, Hamlet begins his isolation by removing himself from his family.

These defects of his characteristics originated after the death of his father and the unfaithfulness of his mother. His stress comes with frustration, unpredictability and loneliness while he was obliged to weigh everything anew. Foremost is the death of his father, after which he sinks into a deep melancholy that traps his mind and spirit. Hamlet’s confidence in the moral world was frail, and his moral faith was devastated. Everything that was most beloved to him had apparently been deserted of heaven, and he was abandoned to struggle alone. Under these adverse circumstances he wishes he were departed, and exclaims against the world: "How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!" (Hamlet I; ii; 133-134) His motives combined with the overwhelming feelings of aversion to the world creates an ostensibly undoable mode of action, reflectively indicating Hamlet is in a state of confusion and desires for guidance.

With Hamlet’s tragic flaw being his inability to act, he is plagued throughout the play by his immense intelligence and philosophical nature, which causes him to overanalyze each situation, rendering him unable to carry out any action in response. This is evident in the play by the frequent delay of acting out his father’s revenge due to the uncertainty of the evidence pertaining to his uncle’s crime. Hamlet’s inability to act creates a discourse between hamlet and his consciousness, generating an abundance of stress, which causes him to become increasingly frustrated as the play progresses. This frustration leads to him at moments in the play to behave in a rash and impulsive way or acting in an inappropriate manner, contradicting his methodical and reserved disposition. It is the consequences of these “inappropriate” actions that resurfaces at the plays end, to haunt the character, as Hamlet’s inability to act while using his renowned logic and intelligence ultimately leads to his eventual demise at the plays conclusion, due to his inability to act both “effectively” and “appropriately” in critical situations.

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In it, a young, Danish prince struggles with the death of his father and the betrayal of his mother. This struggle is so profound; it shakes its main character Hamlet to the core and brings him to the brink of sanity. Shakespeare uses madness to convey important information throughout the play especially through Hamlet and his love interest, Ophelia. Hamlet does not always appear to be mad, in fact throughout the play his sanity is questioned by the reader and other characters. Whether real or faked, Hamlet and Ophelia’s madness reveal to us more about their characters, opinions and secrets than their regular discourse.

Here, Shakespeare illustrates how difficult it can be both mentally and emotionally on one’s child when they are faced with struggles and difficult decisions. We see this with Hamlet when he is confronted with the dilemma of defending his parents honour. “ How stand I then, that have a father killed, a mother stained, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep.” Hamlet openly admits his weakness, but is also a very honourable prince. This effects the audience due to the fact that they can relate to both the emotional side of Hamlet and his struggle to revenge death as well as understand the ethical reasons for his fight. Hamlet also expresses his sense of worthlessness as a human being, as it is very clear to him just how hesitant he is to act. Hamlet feels like a coward for thinking to much; “ of thinking to precisely on the event - A thought which, quartered hath but one part wisdom And ever three part coward.” This allows the audience to further understand Hamlet as a character. It is evident that Hamlet has the willpower, motivation, ability and opportunity to do the task, yet still cannot. The audience can relate to this human weakness, as many of us have moments in our lives where we are frozen to inaction, where our conscience plays between our emotions and our thoughts stopping us until the moment has passes and we have done

It is this mourning that becomes the foundation of conflicts to come. After an encounter with his father’s ghost, Hamlet learns of his uncle’s treachery and is at first filled with rage, “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift, as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” (Hamlet aside, Act I, Scene V, p.1651), but it is Hamlet’s struggle with himself that leads to not act upon his words as fast as he had clamed to.

The ghost made the whole situation for Hamlet seem even that much more unreal. He already wished that all of the recent events he had to deal with were not real. He then has to deal with the reality of this ghost. It seems to influence him terribly and takes a negative toll on his emotions. This occurrence continues to further diversify Hamlet’s feelings and emotions (Snider, 67).

First we can analyze hamlet being devastated by his fathers death. It is only fair to understand the pain he must have felt, and on top of that he is supposed to be the heir to the throne of Denmark. Instead, his uncle takes it from him by marrying his mother, Gertrude, so quick. By looking through the psychoanalytic lens, we first look at his id or unconscious, which are our most desired dreams or hopes that are deep within our mind, also known as the “pleasure principle: is the