Main Theme Of Madness In Hamlet

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is one of Shakespeare’s most tragic plays. Most of the characters in this play suffered a heartbreaking death, although, all of the characters faced anger, regret, madness or distress. Madness was a reoccurring theme in this play, two characters portrayed this more than others. Ophelia and Hamlet faced similar fates, with similarities and differences along the way, all to do with their madness.

Many people, while reading and studying Hamlet, often question the sanity of various characters throughout the play. There are many signs throughout Shakespeare’s writing that indicate a lost sense of sanity in the main characters Hamlet, his uncle/father Claudius, his mother/aunt Gertrude, and Ophelia. Each of these character’s sanity plays a large role in the plot of the play.

64. As opposed to Hamlet’s madness by becoming too consumed within his own thoughts of revenge, Ophelia’s madness stems from her loss of identity. Though both characters had lost their fathers, Hamlet maintained his individuality, whereas Ophelia, without her sense of duty, has been rendered unto nothing. Ophelia is not the tragic hero that Hamlet is, she serves merely as a plot point and a foil to Gertrude in her purity and lack of selfhood. Ophelia is a damsel left to wallow in her tragic fate as no one comes to her rescue.

English Studies Text Production : Hamlet Oral Presentation Transcript Hamlet is a revenge tragedy that focuses on madness, which was a very popular element in many revenge tragedies at the time including The Spanish Tragedy, also featuring a protagonist who descends into madness as a result of his built-up desire for revenge. However in Hamlet the concept of madness is more accurately depicted through Ophelia, a secondary character opposed to Hamlet, the protagonist of the play. Whether Hamlet is truly mad or playing the role of an ‘antic disposition’ is a separate argument and we will be focusing on the madness of Ophelia, the love interest of Hamlet, and the daughter of Polonius.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, madness is very evident and a major theme throughout the play. Shakespeare uses the character Hamlet to exemplify the complex workings of the human mind exploring ideas of insanity and madness. Madness is the quality or state of being mad: rage, insanity, extremely foolish behavior. Throughout the play Hamlet is perceived to be mad, however his insanity was more than an act of life. Hamlet’s life involves many tragedies including the death of his father, his mother’s incestuous marriage, and his own death at the end of the play.

Madness is one of the central themes of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and has many effects on the characters and the complexity and depth of the plot. Insanity is apparent in small amounts in almost all of the characters in the play. It can range from full on insanity, to only shades of madness. Madness occurs in a character when he or she breaks the social norms, and acts oddly or rashly when spoken to or asked to carry out a task. Hamlet’s storyline revolves around the recurring theme of madness, which influences the characters and plot by adding intrigue to the character of Hamlet, causing death and drama, and spreading itself throughout the characters like a virus.

Madness, and fear of madness, are the driving factors behind the plot and character interactions in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. By the end of the play, almost every main character ends up dead as a result of the hysteria or indecisiveness of other characters. As more and more tragic events and countless deaths occur, each character is forced to find a coping mechanism. Some succumb to the pressure, like Ophelia, who goes mad and drowns after her father dies, but others attempt to hide the effect the pressure has on them, like King Claudius. A deeper examination of Claudius’s emotions and behaviors reveal that his psychological state is in truth severely damaged and has taken a toll on his actions.

Madness is not only caused by mental instabilities but also by the environment one lives in. This later point rings the truest in Hamlet’s case. Hamlet’s madness was not caused by his mind but by the hand life dealt him. When Hamlet learns the truth of his father’s death, he acts mad to convict his uncle. Hamlet’s madness is shown first hand when Polonius comments on it to the King and Queen.

Hamlet acts like he is insane because he does not want Claudius to figure out that he knows about him killing his father. He proceeds to act insane until he has a

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the titular Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, wars against his own inhibition to avenge the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, now king. In pursuit of this goal, Hamlet assumes a guise of madness to escape investigation and scrutiny, however this backfires, leaving his uncle more suspicious than ever before. Hamlet, however, is not the only character troubled by madness, his love interest, the noblewoman Ophelia falls to insanity after the death of her father Polonius at the hands of the one she loved. In Hamlet, manifesting itself differently throughout the play in the speech of both Hamlet and Ophelia, madness is one of the main driving forces behind the story’s progression, and while reason can be found hidden within their cryptic and maddened speech, madness leads not only them but those around them to their untimely demise.

To dig deeper into the heart of the play, it is beneficial to expound upon a specific dynamic character and develop analysis through their eyes and surrounding environment. Ophelia is a prime character to utilize because she was intermingled in dealings with all other major characters and contributed a unique disposition to every scene in which she was featured. Ophelia strived to embody obedience and equanimity in all that she did and in turn experienced many moments that fully tested her nature. To specify, Ophelia was loyal to maintain obedience to her father and brother, whilst grappling to contain her composure when faced with various relationship struggles between her and Hamlet. Ophelia's devout submission and obedience to

Insanity is a severely disordered state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder. It infect all it touches with irrational thoughts, actions and emotions. In William Shakespeare's play “Hamlet”, the main character is plagued with this disease of madness as Shakespeare explores if this madness is authentic or simply an act to plot revenge. He initially claims to put on an “antic disposition” at the start of the play but his actions and thoughts suggest that he is truly mad. When we first meet prince Hamlet he is grieving the death of his father and on top of that, dealing with his mother’s betrayal; hence, Hamlet is distraught from the opening scene of the play. Hamlet also has numerous interactions with the paranormal and constantly questions the purpose of being alive as a result of suffering from severe depression. To add to this, Hamlet must address the corruption in the kingdom of Denmark which includes his closest friends and family. Throughout the play, Hamlet is perceived to be mad by the other characters while in reality he has been infected with insanity.

contradicts every way Hamlet has acted towards her throughout the entire play, in the beginning

Her father tells her to stay away from Hamlet, who she has fallen in love with. Hamlet has warned her earlier that whatever he tells her in the future will not be true but, when he tells her he does not intent to be with her it starts the beginning of her madness.

One of the debates surrounding the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, is focused on whether Hamlet is actually insane, or pretending to be. The cause of Hamlet’s madness, whether  it be voluntary or not, is questioned. Unlike many other novels or plays in which the “Discerning Eye” could decide whether the character is meant to be mad or not. This could lead to a possibility of multiple interpretations of the character. Hamlet’s eccentric behaviour could be  viewed as reasonable, or at least having some reasonable thinking. It could be viewed as complete madness.  In the play, in spite of his troubles, Hamlet’s disputable choice to be mad characterizes himself as intelligent, revealing his turmoil surrounding his obligation to avenge his father.