Madness In Hamlet Essay

While Hamlet’s “mad” behavior starts out as an “antic disposition,” his mental state deteriorates. Does Hamlet truly go “mad,” or is all of his wackiness an act?

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

However, Hamlet proceeds to murder and hide the body of Polonius, which leads to Ophelia’s insanity and the scene where everyone dies, as well as the completely senseless murders of minor characters Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Speaking of Ophelia’s madness, it becomes apparent to the audience that she is well and truly insane, when she enters, singing, “They bore him barefaced on the bier;/Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny;/And in his grave rain'd many a tear:--/Fare you well, my dove!” which, even by the archaic standards of Shakespeare, is complete and utter nonsense. Ophelia, apparently, due to rejection by Hamlet, her boyfriend, and the death of her father, had become hysterical, possibly having PTSD. PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a mental disease commonly found among soldiers, but can be caused by the murders of close family members, and does result in delusions. Whatever the case may have been, Ophelia later commits suicide by drowning herself in the river, possibly due to delusions, or out of depression over her father’s death. Whatever the case may be, both Hamlet and Ophelia are prime examples of insanity and madness within Shakespeare’s writings.

2001. One definition of madness is “mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.” But Emily Dickinson wrote “Much madness is divinest sense to a discerning eye.” Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a “discerning eye”. Select a novel or play in which as character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the “madness” to the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Midway through Hamlet, Ophelia is well under the control of Polonius and Hamlet. They are both manipulating and using her as a pawn as to get what they want and she has little to no say about it. Act 2, scene 1 serves as a turning point, as it is when Ophelia begins to realize the manipulation she faces at the hands of both her father and Hamlet, and that she can only truly gain her freedom when she herself descends into madness. Polonius’ manipulation, Hamlet’s control and Ophelia’s own thoughts and actions demonstrate her descent, and the aftermath.

      When one refers to madness in Hamlet, most would think of Hamlet's madness, or at least that that he was pretending to possess. Although Ophelia does go insane and ultimately commits suicide, the central lunacy of the play revolves around Hamlet himself. Hamlet's plan to act mad is completely unexplained. It is safe to

Hamlet and Ophelia were two young people in love and were supposedly driven mad by their relationship and passion for one another. When they actually went mad, it was after the death of each of their fathers. When Ophelia entered and was singing and talking to the King and Queen in Act 4, Scene 5, the King

   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.

           Ophelia allowed herself to become a sort of marionette in Polonius' schemes toward understanding the seemingly mad prince. While her relationship with Hamlet was on the line, she allowed Polonius to commandeer the strings that determined her actions. Polonius was determined that Hamlet's supposed madness stemmed from lovesickness for Ophelia. He convinced Ophelia that her betrayal of Hamlet was a necessary evil and she began to relay all of Hamlet's messages and attempts at communication to him. He told the king and queen:

It is or is it not true that Hamlet was faking his insanity? I’m not saying Hamlet was faking the whole thing. The meaning for insanity on Dictionary.com is “a permanent disorder of the mind.” I don't think Hamlet had a permanent disorder of the mind he knew what he was doing and even planned the majority of the events that happened. Most of the time anyway.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare writes about another character who had really gone mad. After her father’s death Ophelia was robbed of her sanity. When comparing Hamlet to Ophelia one can see that Ophelia acts as an insane person would. All she is able to do is dance around and sing about death whilst Hamlet speaks eloquently even if others don’t understand what he is trying to say. Other characters pick up on each of their state of minds. After speaking to Hamlet in Act 2 Scene 2, Polonius says to himself “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” (204), which means that while Hamlet may have been speaking nonsense there was a reason for it. In contrast when Ophelia speaks her brother says “Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge, / It could not move thus.” (IV.V.169), calling her insane and proving that she had completely lost her mind.

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, a kind of madness ultimately infects everyone, leading to an ending in which almost every major character is dead. Two of these maddened characters are Hamlet and Ophelia, who also share a love for each other. But though their irrational behavior is often similar and their fates alike, one is truly mad while the other is not.

king and queen that Hamlet’s madness comes from his love for Ophelia. Hamlet senses that

Another example of how Hamlet is truly insane is his treatment of Ophelia. “Others argue that Prince Hamlet goes over the edge into madness at times during the play. His treatment of Ophelia, a woman he had loved, is extremely cruel, and driver her to insanity and then death either though a mad accident or suicide.” (Shakespeare)Throughout the play Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia worsens. Ophelia was once Hamlet’s girlfriend and true love. After Ophelia randomly ends her relationship with Hamlet, Hamlet won’t accept it and starts to change his attitude towards her. Hamlet starts to use harsh language towards Ophelia and questions her decision many times. Hamlet doesn’t respect Ophelia and her decisions and thinks she’s a phony and has been throughout their entire relationship. Because of this, Hamlet begins to go mad and behaves mad, Due to Hamlet’s treatment and behavior Ophelia also begins to show signs of being mad and later this drives her to commit suicide. Hamlet also shows the theme of his madness after the killing of Polonius and his treatment of Ophelia by spreading his madness over to Ophelia. “The gentle

This point is further backed by the fact that although Claudius and Gertrude would like to believe that it is Hamlet's unrequited love for Ophelia that has driven him 'mad', Hamlet's behaviour with Ophelia convinces them that Ophelia is not the main cause of his illness.  As Claudius said 'Love?  His affections do not that way tend; Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, was not like madness.' (Act 3 Scene 1).