Ned Vizzini's Hamlet: Diagnosing Clinical Depression

Hamlet, the eponymous hero of Shakespeare’s greatest work, descends swiftly into madness and paranoia after the murder of his father and the realization of his mother’s true, morally reprehensible, nature. As a result of these new responsibilities and extreme circumstances, Hamlet diverges from his usual, logical thinking into paranoia and over analysis, a condition that prevents him from trusting anyone. Hamlet, having been born a prince, is, for the first time, forced to make his own decisions after he learns of the true means of his father’s death. Another contributing factor to his madness is the constant probing of others into Hamlet’s sanity. These factors all contribute to Hamlets delay, and that delay contributes to the tragic

Shakespeare uses metaphor and tone to stress the development of mental illness in the character Hamlet throughout “Hamlet”. Mental illness is defined as a condition that affect mood, thinking, or behavior; furthermore, Hamlet presents himself as a character affected by mental illness. Hamlet, in his first lines, describes his pain and suffering, simulating signs of depression, a form of mental illness. Early in his introduction, Hamlet describes his feelings regarding the death of his father King Hamlet, and sudden marriage of his mother Gertrude to his uncle Claudius. Gertrude asks Hamlet to stop his mourning, and Hamlet responds by saying “I know not seems tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black nor windy suspiration of forced breath” (I, ii, 76-79). Shakespeare uses words like “black” and “inky cloak”, to develop a dark and solemn tone; furthermore, this tone allows the character of Hamlet to develop a dark and depressed attitude which reflects his internal depression. Shakespeare also uses metaphors to develop the idea of Hamlet’s depression. Hamlet conveys multiple symptoms of depression, like thoughts of suicide. Hamlet often debates about his death and what the effects his death would bring. Hamlet also debates life after death and questions religion. Hamlet describes death as “ this too too sallied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew” (I, ii, 129-130). Shakespeare compares flesh melting to the resolving of dew; this comparison reflects Hamlet’s thoughts on death. Hamlet believes that after death, life fades away into nothingness. Hamlet’s constant thoughts of death and life after

It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself. This true, but eye-opening statement is the very first line of the book about Craig Gilner's thoughts. Craig is put under a lot of pressure from school, which leads to suicidal thoughts, an eating disorder, and insomnia. Craig is extremely sad, but not in a I-just-got-my-heart-broken way. He's sad in a I-don't-want-to-live-in-this-world-anymore kind of way. A there's-no-point-why-do-I-exist kind of way. This way of thinking leads to him to the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight. Before he jumps off, he stops himself, dials 1-800-SUICIDE and goes straight to the A&E to check himself in as suicidal. He spends 1 week in psychiatric ward of the hospital.

#NOTALLMEN Depression consumes everything. It lingers in the corners of the mind. It whispers in ears, kindling doubt and anger, resurrecting fears. Depression forms barricades. It isolates.

We feel like we don’t care about much of anything and wish life would just hurry up and pass on by” (Hibbert,2005) These are characteristics of the 4th stage which is Depression, and Hamlet shows awfully a lot of these symptoms. It is obvious that at the beginning of the play Hamlet is depressed for the passing of his father like every son would be. Hamlet’s depression is first notice in Act 1, Claudius tells Hamlet “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” Claudius then continues to address Hamlet that the death of a close one is part of human nature. Claudius fails to see the real factors of Hamlet’s depression, and the whole kingdom shows no sympathy towards him. Claudius feels as if Hamlet is too wrapped up in his father’s death, and feel as if he should be over it by now. However, Hamlet feels that everyone has moved on to quickly, which adds more pain to Hamlet’s depression. Hamlet’s feeling of hopelessness increases throughout the story, from the ghost’s confession to the death of Ophelia. When Hamlet tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, it seems as if there’s no way out of the madness. Hamlet views his world as a prison, because he is surrounded by people that have shown to be disloyal. Depression major symptom is the thoughts of self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Hamlet is indeed contemplating suicide through all his soliloquy, but never does

Shakespeare's Hamlet gives us the character Hamlet and shows us his descent into madness following the death of his father; he contemplates suicide, is cruel and calculating ignoring the feelings of others in his goal of avenging his father, and he sees supernatural beings that are not there. For Hamlet to be contemplating death after the death of his own father is not unusual, his thoughts go past what would be considered normal. Some of the first hints of Hamlet’s true mental state come from his fascination with death. He has thoughts of suicide and death throughout the play, these are attributes of a person with a mental disorder, someone who is becoming unhinged. The famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy (3.1 57-91) has Hamlet question

Worldwide 350 million people are affected by depression per year. Depression has afflicted more people then it has ever in the past, but the past has its fair share of depression. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare the theme of depression is ever so present in some of the main characters. Hamlet is stricken with depression because of his father's murder, and his mother’s quick remarry. Ophelia is overwhelmed with depression, after her father’s murder, that she becomes relatively insane. Even though I have not gone through any of the problems that Hamlet and Ophelia been through, I do know what it feels to be depressed. To feel like you are nothing and nobody would care if you disappeared. Depression is a major problem that too many people

Hamlet and the Question of Depression: Is it Existential Philosophy or Mental Disorder? Two contrasting views emerge in discussion about the character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s tragic play about a young son who seeks out to avenge his father’s most foul and unnatural murder. The first view is that Hamlet is just a deep thinker and concerned about the nature of humanity and the fate stemming from his impending mortality. The entire play is a dance to death. But what is the takeaway?

Sarcasm, Insanity, and Suicidal tendencies are what lead Hamlet to fall off the rails and kick the bucket. Hamlet was an interesting a entertaining book filled with lots of shock and dramatic events. Those events would not have come to occurrence without Hamlets over exaggerated emotional pull. From trying to hid his feelings by being sarcastic and frankly cruel, to putting himself into a severe depression it was hard to honorably make an analysis on how he felt deep down. With a constant curiosity with how Hamlet would be affected by his Father’s death and Mother’s remarriage was one to constantly think about.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlets’ peculiar personna composed of paranoia and manic depression plays a vital part in the outcome of the play by manipulating his actions. Shakespeare depicts Hamlet as a Prince that has been dealt a bad hand in the beginning of the play. This hand is comprised of his father dying and his uncle marrying his mom. These set of events create a domino effect that brings despair, hostility, confusion, and denial. The combination of these emotions arise a sense of paranoia within Hamlet.

“The usual reading of Shakespeare’s play attributes Hamlet’s depression to his father’s death and his mother’s too-prompt remarriage. (Greenfeld 352).” Everything that is happening in Hamlet’s life causes his mind to deteriorate. His family life is crumbling apart, and life as he once knew it is changed for the worst, and it causes him to be depressed. As suicide is a major sign of depression, Hamlet has mental illness

While reading Hamlet, without a doubt the reader will diagnose Hamlet with some sort of mental illness. Although, we cannot be quite sure, it appears Hamlet faces depression. He exclaims “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon’ gainst self-slaughter.

“There is no great genius without some touch of Madness” - Aristotle. In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the question is not “to be or not to be”, it is if Hamlets mad outbursts are real, or just a facade (Shakespeare 3.1.56). Many literature experts such as Isaac Ray believe that Hamlet is faking. However, the pain he experienced after losing his father caused him to unlock a new divine sense that advanced his cognitive thinking to far beyond his time period. As a result, Hamlet began to lose his friends and family because they could no longer connect with him on the same intellectual level. With this new sense of self, Hamlet was not concerned with his morality and struggled with suicidal tendencies throughout

Hamlet is suffering grief and despair from the beginning; his uncle’s usurpation of the throne and fathers death,  and rapid wedding of his mother. You can watch his intense grief tip toeing on the line with suicidal behavior as of Act II Sc I, where he

A common theme in literature is the instability and uncertainty of life and the effects of the awareness of this. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this theme is explored through, and greatly impacts, the development and actions of the eponymous character in the wake of his father’s untimely death. At the play’s start, Hamlet, understandably, is greatly affected by the passing of the former king of Denmark. In fact, he seems to be the only member of his family to be grieving King Hamlet, despite it being only a short time after his passing. As the story progresses, and the truth behind his father’s passing is revealed to him, Hamlet's emotional and mental state is severely impacted. Although they somewhat overlap, his state of mind can be throughout the play can be divided into three categories: sane, sane but feigning insanity, and disturbed.