I Am A Mad Genius

What is madness? Is someone considered mad or insane simply because they are different, and they, in turn, see the rest of the world as insane? William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who plays the role of a tragic hero. He encounters several misfortunes from experiencing his beloved father’s death, witnessing his mother 's incestuous remarriage to his uncle, and seeing his father’s ghost. Due to all of this, Hamlet falls into a deep depression. Hamlet begins his journey by seeking revenge against Claudius after discovering that his noble father was murdered by his own uncle. Hamlet is a character whose actions and emotions may seem like one of an insane person, however, in the beginning of the play, it is clear that he decides to fake madness in order to gain an advantage over Claudius. This would aid in him in accomplishing his revenge. Hamlet is sane throughout the play: he only shows signs of insanity in front of certain people whom he does not trust. However, even they believe that his madness is not sheer madness but has a reason to it. Hamlet’s character is sane as in the play his rationality is shown through the logic and intelligence he uses in his plots. He usually calculates his movements and his impulsive acts are justified. While there are reasons to believe that many of the hardships could have driven Hamlet to the point of insanity, his display of intelligence and rational thinking throughout the play proves his sanity.

He differentiates between madness as a clinical condition and a mystical madness. He further supports his argument with Elie Wiesel distinctions of the two. Clinical madman isolates himself from the world while mystical madman brings the Messiah in him (112). Patterson further discusses the notion of madness before the creation of human and

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

Madness is defined as the state of being mentally ill or having extremely foolish behavior. It is a condition in which is difficult to identify whether it is true or not. In William Shakespeare's masterpiece, Hamlet, there is confusion as to whether or not his madness is real. The ghost of his father asks Hamlet to avenge his death. While he tries to accomplish this, he puts on an antic disposition. The antic disposition reoccurs throughout the play, but is merely an act. Hamlet is mad in craft because he admits that he is not mad several times, he behaves irrational only in front of certain individuals, and he has many feigned actions.

Generally people with mental issues are cast aside in society. The mentally impaired are immediately labeled as different. Questions on what to do with these people are common. In literature they are seen being locked into a tower room where they are forced to live their days peeling back the yellow wallpaper. This confines the characters to a world where it's just them and their insanity. These characters are present in many different stories. Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Shakespeare's King Lear are two prime examples of characters suffering from mental disabilities and disorders. Although they are not locked in a tower, the mental illnesses are apparent when studying the Mad Hatter, Alice, King

Insanity is described as “a derangement of the mind” according to the online dictionary, (Insanity). Throughout the novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it is to be understood that the main character, Randie McMurphy, is portrayed as a mentally deranged being that is purposely breaking all of the wardens’ rules, Nurse Ratchet. From the point of view of the narrator, the story is told about how the feud of the two begins and grows more intense every day. McMurphy is purposely breaking Nurse Ratchet’s rules for multiple reasons, perhaps to make a point that even a mental man can make mistakes and any normal being on this planet. There is imagery, symbolism, and a of metaphors throughout the entire novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest that

Everyone goes mad in their own particular way. Nowra thinks madness is too generalised, and it is based on each individuals past and experiences etc.

This example personifies “madness” because it's being described to have living traits considering its ability to infect people, like a virus. ~ Irony Examples/evidence: "We were to leave the train here. There was a labor camp

Madness, the state of being mentally ill, exuberating extreme behavior, or a state of a frenzied mind. A definition which is a recurring major theme in Hamlet. By comparing and contrasting Hamlet to Ophelia, readers can see the different state of mind between the two characters.

Can a certain amount of knowledge and wisdom drive a man to insanity? Possibly. “But Chris, on the brink of death, is not hiding in fear, but smiling. I firmly believe it is because he found his happiness, his passion, his meaning of life; living simply in nature, in the wild.”(Robins,J. 2012) The school has a tendency to drive a student psychotic due to a large amount of stress. Christopher graduated from a four year college, indefinitely, he has endured the taxing experience. Finishing an educating experience can give a sense of satisfaction to an individual, that level of knowledge opens opportunities of what you could choose to do in life, for Chris, it made him want to leave society and live in the wild by surviving naturally. “People don’t get it. ‘He didn’t have a map. What kind of idiot...’ That was the point. There’s no blank spots on the map anymore, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you’ve got to leave the map behind.”(Krakauer,

It is my intention with this quote to show the crucial relationship between madness and the evolution of higher thought. I argue very plainly for this correlation linking the “truly wise” and madness because it demonstrates Socrates attempt to “dangle” an idea in front of Phaedrus, who after Socrates 1st speech was expecting a philosophical, structured way of defining the soul and now left to wonder what madness has to do with anything. The quote defends the claim that madness is an essential part of Socrates attempt to persuade Phaedus (the reader) that madness is not something bad; the way Lysias outlined it in his speech, but an obligatory element in developing a passion for something.

each of their two main characters, Hamlet and Wily Loman, are put up to this

Considering the idea that Madman was one that studied human interaction, we can see how he understood the process of knowledge by this quote ,”I can never sleep

Men have called me mad, but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence--whether much that is glorious--whether all that is profound--does not spring from disease of thought--from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect. Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night - Edgar Allen Poe

Many factors hinder a truly effective study of and conclusion to the relationship between genius and insanity. For instance, who determines a genius? One can measure neither creativity nor madness, for these two factors are purely objective and up to the discretion of the individual carrying out the test (Simonton; Weisberg 362). In addition, the measures of genius and madness may simply depend on the culture and time period; Galileo, the famed astronomer who proved the Copernican theory that the planets revolved around the sun, a presently obvious but at the time completely heretical idea, was deemed a madman by the Roman Catholic Church (Ludwig 12; “Genius or Madness?”). The issue remains and probably will remain dubious; nevertheless, through much investigation and research, many credible speculations have surfaced that may explain the phenomenon.