Mental Illness In Hamlet

Many people have seen Hamlet as a play about uncertainty and about Hamlet's failure to act appropriately. It is very interesting to consider that the play shows many uncertainties that lives are built upon, or how many unknown quantities are taken for granted when people act or when they evaluate one another's actions. Hamlet is an especially intriguing production, both on the set and on the screen because of its uniqueness to be different from what most people expect to be in a revenge themed play. Hamlet's cynicism and insane like behavior cause him to seem indecisive, but in reality he is always judging and contemplating his actions in the back of his mind in order to seek revenge for the murder of

Shakespeare also exemplifies contrast of mental illness and wellness between characters in the play Hamlet. As the characters, Ophelia and Hamlet both endure the stress of a father's death their actions begin to change. This makes it easy for a reader to perceive the difference between Hamlet, Ophelia, and the other characters in the play. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex characters, his insanity is often a subject of debate. The article “Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear” states that “he is an apt example of the complexities of the human psyche which are often beyond comprehension” (Ebsco). To find out the answer to the ultimate question of whether Hamlet is insane, comparing his actions to those of other characters would be helpful. At the beginning of the play both Hamlet and Horatio are trusted when the ghost appears to the guards. However, soon after Hamlet begins to spiral into insanity. In Act Two, Scene Two Hamlet talks with Polonius and this is the first time a reader can see Hamlet start to act unstable. Hamlet begins with “You are a fish monger” (190), and after Polonius corrects he continues to act deranged, by the end of their conversation Polonius is convinced “though this be madness” (223), meaning that he believes Hamlet is mad. However, Hamlet seems to be able to control his madness, which is why people often think that he is just acting. But by the end of the play Hamlet, similar to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, has hallucinations. He sees his father’s ghost again, but this time no one else can see it. Hamlet asks his mother, “Do you see nothing here?” (3.4, 150), and she answers with “Nothing at all” (3.4, 151). Comparing Hamlet’s actions to his Mother’s in this scene creates a sense that Hamlet’s acting mad and need for revenge has caused his to change his mental state. Ophelia, also driven mad by her father's death, plus Hamlet's twisted love for her can also be compared to Hamlet throughout the play to see that she is sane at the beginning, but just as mad as Hamlet, if not more, by the end. Ophelia at the start of the play is trying to help the King and her father to catch Hamlet, what she thought was to help him. However, after her lover, Hamlet,

Insanity can be defined as a mental illness that causes a person to have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Whether Shakespeare’s Hamlet was insane or feigning insanity is a controversial topic. Gregory Shafer argues that Hamlet is not insane and that he uses insanity or madness for his own political purposes (42). In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s circumstances force him to seek revenge for the murder of his father King Hamlet. He creates a plan that he believes will give him an opportunity to kill Claudius, and the main part of this plan involves him faking insanity. Further and further into the book, his actions of a madman become more believable. However through his thoughts and actions it is clear that he is not truly insane, and his is only acting in this way in order to reach is ultimate goal of revenge.

   Poor Ophelia, she lost her lover, her father, her mind, and, posthumously, her brother. Ophelia is the only truly innocent victim in Hamlet. This essay will examine Ophelia's downward spiral from a chaste maiden to nervous wreck.

“To be, or not to be: That is the question” (III.i.56). In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet is a young man who has become crazy from his trials and tribulations in life. He loses his father due to his uncle murdering him and then had to watch his mother marry the killer. Hamlets insanity can be demonstrated by his crude language and disregard for the wellbeing of his mother. It can also be shown by his depression, which causes him to second guess everything, including his life. Finally, his love, Ophelia helps to justify his absurdness by acting as a mirror. His foolish behavior worries many in the kingdom and creates a hostile and paranoid environment for those around. While some in the castle may believe that Hamlet is putting on an act, he proves that he is mad through his violent actions, his mental health and Ophelia.

Hamlet is a young man who has become crazy from his trials and tribulations in life. He lost his father due to his uncle murdering them and then had to watch his mother marry the killer. Hamlets insanity can be demonstrated by his crude language and disregard for the well being of his mother. It can also be shown by his depression, which causes him to second guess everything including his life and finally his love, Ophelia helps to justify his absurdness by acting as a mirror. His foolish behavior worries many in the kingdom and creates a hostile and paranoid environment for those around. While some in the castle may believe that Hamlet is putting on an act, he proves that he is mad through his violet actions, his mental health and Ophelia.

Ever wonder why characters in Hamlet seem to be so skittish, paranoid and seemingly “off”? It probably has little to nothing to do with mental illness! Mental illness includes a wide range of thoughts, actions and behaviors. In 2017, the society as a whole has moved toward recognizing mental illness as the very real and important disorders that they are. That said, learning the difference between mental illness and having ‘symptoms’ of mental disorders, is imperative for the growth of a generation. The qualifications for diagnosing require a degree obtained after extensive schooling, neither of which a senior in high school has. For the sake of this paper, I will ignorantly diagnose a fictional character from William Shakespeare’s, “Hamlet”. This story takes place in a much older time in Denmark. King Hamlet was pronounced dead and two castle guards claim they have seen his ghost. The ghost speaks to Prince Hamlet, King Hamlet’s son, and tells him he has been murdered by the new King which is King Hamlet’s brother. This sends Prince Hamlet into a spiral as it would any functioning person. He is deeply saddened and his love, Ophelia, as well as the rest of his family, are worried about him. Hamlet becomes so erratic he ends up slaying Ophelia’s father, mistaking him for King Claudius. Ophelia is obviously extremely upset as her father was just murdered by her boyfriend. Claudius becomes worried he will expose his secret and has Prince Hamlet sent away to England to be assassinated. While he is gone, the Queen discovers Ophelia has drowned.Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, talks with the King and is furious with Prince Hamlet for the death of his father and now his sister. Prince Hamlet’s ship is invaded by pirates and he secretly makes his way back to England. With this news, Laertes and Claudius devise a plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes will battle him and put poison on his sword and as a backup plan Claudius will put poison in wine and offer it to Hamlet. During the battle Hamlet and Laertes switch swords and Hamlet is pricked by the poisonous sword in the process. Queen Gertrude drinks from the poisoned wine and then Laertes is cut and poisoned. The Queen drops as does Laertes and when Hamlet realizes what has

Mental disorder is a common term to refer people’s mental health conditions in Canada and internationally. People who have studied Hamlet, a play that’s written by William Shakespeare, know that Ophelia is one of the characters who suffer from a mental disorder, which known as major depressive disorder. At the beginning of the play, Ophelia’s mental state is very healthy, she falls in love with her boyfriend Hamlet, yet their relationship is controlled by her father. During the play, Ophelia experiences a transformation of her mindset, which causes by Hamlet. As the play closer to the end, the death of Polonius, father of Ophelia, makes Ophelia’s mental becomes more unstable, which leads her to suicide at the end. Thus, due to all the unhappy events that happen to Ophelia’s life all at once, the psychological harms slowly turn Ophelia becomes insane and eventually brings her to death.

There are several reasons why one would suspect Prince Hamlet to have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder has five classifications, including: bipolar I, bipolar II, rapid cycling, mixed bipolar, and cyclothymia. It causes mood swings, severe depression, extreme feelings, and/or confusion. Hamlet, said to be about twenty years old, has been through so much more than the typical twenty year old has. In the play, Hamlet’s father had been recently murdered by his uncle, whom his mother has also recently married. These are the main reasons why Hamlet has also shown serious signs of major depressive disorder as well, which can often go hand-in-hand

The insanity of a person can be contributed through the trauma that is caused by a few events in a person’s life, but in the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote the main character prince Hamlet experiences a few dramatic events from the play which his attitude changes throughout. In order to figure out whether hamlet is insane is by figuring out what the characteristics of his insanity. Characters see Hamlet in different shades of gray, each side more or less sane than others. His sanity can be his truth or his lie.

Did you ever notice there are many characters in Hamlet that have mental disorders? Hamlet has a few characters that could possibly be diagnosed with a mental health disorder. At the beginning of the story, Hamlets dad is possibly murdered and Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, takes over the king spot. Hamlet's father's ghost arrives in the castle, it causes suspicions with the whole remarrying right after the death. He becomes very confused on how and why his father passed away. Due to the confusion and questions Hamlet wants answered, he could have developed a mental health disorder in the process of trying to figure things out.

Great authors can develop the same idea in different ways. Shakespeare introduces the characters of Hamlet and Ophelia to mental illness throughout “Hamlet”. Hamlet a, Depressed and Monomaniacal Psychopath, runs off of the vengeance of his father to kill his uncle, King Claudius. Ophelia A victim of, hysteria and depression, cannot function without the support of her father and lover without this support she can loses the will to live. Shakespeare uses metaphors, gender, tone, and word choice to develop the progression of mental illness in his characters throughout “Hamlet”.

His diminishing outlook on women is, in fact, not the only attribute that affects Hamlet throughout the play. There are various conclusions in academic journals regarding Hamlet's mental state, all of them agreeing or refuting the theory that Hamlet is mad throughout the play. Despite having sufficient evidence, the analyzation of this play is subjective and no definitive conclusion has been made. Nonetheless, one opinion remains to be the most popular: Hamlet is not mad, yet encounters various feelings regarding mental and emotional health.

Madness is defined as “mental delusion and the eccentric behavior arising from it.” In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the delusional state that Hamlet embodies has to be seen with a “discerning Eye.” While Hamlet claims his insanity is simply an antic disposition, his awareness of his deteriorating mental state is questionable. This state of madness can be judged reasonable as it allows him to investigate and avenge the unexpected death of his father. Consequently, Hamlet’s insanity results in a ripple effect, causing madness to become a central theme in the play through its effect on both Laertes and Ophelia.

Ophelia was known as a sweet, innocent, and more importantly obedient girl. Yet, being the obedient, daughter she was, she separated from Hamlet by orders of her father and helped him spy on Hamlet for the King. Being in love with Hamlet, this was a difficult thing for Ophelia to do, although, not until her father’s death does the reader really see Ophelia in a state of madness. When she talks to Gertrude she begins to sing, “He is dead and gone, lady, / He is dead and gone;/ At his head a grass-green turf, / At his heels a stone” (4.5.29-32). The way Ophelia acted seemed obviously uncharacteristic of her, and portrayed a mental breakdown that ultimately leads her to take her own life. This tragic event marked a turning point in the play due to the fact that she wasn’t murdered, but a casualty of the feud between Hamlet and Claudius. Both of them bared responsibility for the murder of her father, which lead to her decision to commit suicide. Additionally, losing the love of Hamlet may have caused her to feel alone and in such a dark place it made her feel suicide was the only option. In conclusion, Ophelia’s death was caused due to the backlash of Hamlet and Claudius feud and the responsibility for her death should be placed on both of