Strange Behavior and Ghosts in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

In the beginning of the play the main character, Hamlet, gets a visit from the ghost of his father that has recently deceased unexpectedly. His father’s ghost appears throughout the play but only Hamlet has the ability to see this spirit which leads to the conception that he has gone insane. He grieves his father’s death in very unhealthy

Hamlet shows numerous symptoms and people wonder “why he’s acting so dazed and confused” (Shakespeare 135), but do not take initiative to get him treatment. Hamlet criticizes himself as a “low-life” (Shakespeare 129), a “lily-livered man…, and an uncourageous rascal” (Shakespeare 131), similar to Craig. Another parallel is that Hamlet sees “no future ahead for [himself]” (Shakespeare 179) and is fixated on “dying” (Shakespeare 139). Everyone around him just thinks he is insane; consequently, this “treatable disorder… goes unrecognized” ("Depression in Young People" 3), because the people in his life have failed decipher his symptoms of clinical depression. When Hamlet’s “depression [is] left untreated, [it] can be dangerous, even fatal” ("Morbidity" 1), which is shown to be true as he spirals into a further state of lunacy, leading to his death. Though Hamlet ‘lived’ 400 years ago, he had suicidal ideation, erratic behavior, self-hatred, anxiety, and a skewed reality just like present-day

Both Gertrude and Ophelia’s sexualities are seen as detrimental things by the various men in the play, with Hamlet especially focusing on this. For Hamlet, the women in his life are seemingly put on pedestals, and the worst thing they could be are sexually impure. Hamlet begins losing his sanity when Ophelia is kept from him, and when she tries to talk to him, he denounces her crudely and insults her sexuality (“Get thee to a nunnery!” (3.1 135)). After this instance, for Hamlet Ophelia represents “merely a spectre of his psychic fears. This spectre of the dishonest woman figures, in his neurotic projections, as a duplicitous whore.”(Dane, 410). This is another contributing factor to his downfall. Hamlet’s obsession with Gertrude sleeping with Claudius is also a major conflict for him. After the Ghost implores him not to harm his mother, Hamlet internally still blames her for her ‘incestuous act’ with Claudius, saying “O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!” (1.5 106-107). Hamlet’s disgust with his mother is a recurring theme throughout the play, and it all stems back to the fact that women, to Hamlet, must be kept pure. Since Hamlet is an idealist, he cannot deal with his ‘perfect’ mother “in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stew’d in corruption, honeying and making love over the nasty sty” (3.4 92-95). Dealing with this internally, Hamlet becomes more erratic and physically acts out against his mother. Hamlet’s obsession and subsequent rage with his mother’s sexuality also directly affected him in the sense that he, in a fit of passion, killed Polonius who was spying on them. Ophelia went insane after finding out, and Claudius was thus able to convince Laertes to kill Hamlet. This physically led to his ultimate downfall - his

William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a drama which has been renound for its content and depiction of characters. Over the years, it has gone through many variations of interpretations and criticisms. One such criticism is the nature of the ghost who takes the form of Hamlet's dead father. At first glance, it may be sufficient to accept the ghost as the spirit of Hamlet's dead father who returns to the land of the living in order to have his son avenge his murder. However, looking deeper into the text, several unignorable signs become visible which lead us to see that the ghost is actually the devil in disguise. Kenneth Brannagh's 1997 production of Hamlet brilliantly portrays these signs of evil and

Throughout Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, we questioned Hamlet’s sanity. Did Hamlet have a mental illness or was it all an act? Was he really that great of an actor or was he really losing his mind slowly? Did Hamlet father’s death caused his insanity or was it his motivation? One part of the play, you would think he is not insane, and has out smarted everyone. Then in others scenes, you would think he had completely lost it. He often toyed with the idea of killing himself, and plays with the idea of killing others. It seem as he is swinging both ways. Some parts of the play, Hamlet seem as an unstable human people who feel as he no longer wants to live anymore. On other parts Hamlet seems like he is a sneaky manipulative intelligent person who is play with the minds of others for entertainment.

Hamlet continuously throughout the play not only self-deprecates himself, but he also talks about committing suicide and the reasons he has for and against it. Hamlet self-deprecates for multiple reasons consisting of: Claudius killing his father, Gertrude marrying her husband’s brother after his death, his complications with Ophelia, and his very own insanity. From Hamlet’s self-deprecating tendencies, it is evident that he is not only depressed, but suicidal. Hamlet has many things going on in his life, and to him, he doesn’t know if his life is even worth living. Hamlet states, “To be or not to be? That is the question…Be all sins remembered.” (3.1.57-91), meaning that Hamlet really couldn’t care less what happens anymore. Hamlet summarizes the pros and cons to suicide, and he questions what he should do. He does this because he has changed – primarily his personality – and the events occurring around him are

William Shakespeare wrote the play Hamlet around the 1600, telling the story of a young prince dealing with the tragic death of his father and the subtle remarriage of his mother to his Claudius. The play uses mental health, both real and faked, as a way to show human behavior and emotions. The Prince of Denmark, the title character, and the protagonist, Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle’s scheming and disgust for his mother’s sexuality. A reflective and thoughtful young man, Hamlet is often indecisive and hesitant, but at other times prone to rash and impulsive acts.  Hamlet’s mental state was originally fake to create concern in King Claudius, but ended up truly taking root as people died and his false state of mind had the wrong consequence of what he expected.

In ‘Hamlet: The Prince of Denmark’, a play by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is portrayed as being insane. One of the most debated topics in Hamlet is the interpretation of Hamlet’s character. Hamlet has experienced life events that include: the death of his father, the remarriage of his mother, the return of his father’s ghost, and the death of his lover. This could essentially push any person over the edge into insanity. Hamlets acts as though he is insane, however, he is mentally sane.

Hey guess what!!! Your father King Hamlet is dead!!! Amazing right, I know, so not I'm going to attempt to steal his life, that does include marrying his wife. Your mom, so from now on don’t call me uncle just call me dad!!!! Whoa whoa whoa that was wild I know “but that what does that have to do with anything?” you may be asking yourself. Well Hamlet is struggling to deal with the realization that his world has just been turned upside down!! “Well has is he dealing with it?” you may be asking yourself. Well buckle up because we are going to take a closer look at Hamlet's relationship with the Ghost (Hamlet’s father), King Claudius(Hamlet's Uncle), and Queen Gertrude (Hamlet’s mom).

Hamlet also metaphorically compares Claudius and Gertrude to pigs in a sty by saying “honeying and making love/Over the nasty sty!” Hamlet feels betrayed and disgusted with his mother and believes that she is subhuman. By comparing this crude animalistic image to Gertrude’s relationship with Claudius, Hamlet reinforces his argument that their relationship is morally wrong and corrupt. In her relationship with Claudius, Gertrude is driven by her sexual needs, which is the physical representation of her inner corruption. His mother’s betrayal leads him to believe that all women are disloyal and dishonest to their husbands. This portrayal of women to Hamlet completely changes his opinions on women. Notably on Ophelia, Hamlet’s girlfriend, due to the fact that in the beginning of the play when Hamlet and Ophelia are having a conversation, Hamlet acts cordially towards Ophelia, but later turns on her and suddenly denies ever loving her. He attacks her with unfounded accusations, claiming, “If thou wilt needs marry,/marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what/monsters you make of them” (III.i.149-151). In this quote, Hamlet’s distrust of women, born from his anger at his

He scorns the queen's company for 'metal more attractive' (Ophelia) (III.2.119), yet holds a great deal of respect for her - using no daggers when he would speak them to her (III.2.403), and calling her Mother (III.4.214) and 'good lady' (III.4.181). Considering that a son without respect for her would call her 'woman', or even with respect for her standing 'Your Highness', these names are very respectful. It would seem that Hamlet loved Gertrude dearly, and held her in great respect. It would, therefore, be a mistake to brand Shakespeare a 'misogynist'. However, when he dwells upon her marriage to his uncle, he has no respect, whatsoever. He gives her no credit for the marriage - holding the view that she was 'whored' and 'cozened at hoodman-blind' by Claudius. Hamlet's fury at her 'o'erhasty marriage' (II.2.56) makes Hamlet soon forget the respect he had for her, though this seemed to return, once he had judged for himself the fact that she did indeed seem innocent of his father's death. He also used word games with her. These word games are certainly not the way a son would be expected to speak to his mother, even though it does fit in with Hamlet's character and wit.

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet spews extremely harsh words against his mother Gertrude and his love, Ophelia. Some people may claim that these venomous statements mean that he is misogynistic, but, in fact, Hamlet's anger towards Gertrude and Ophelia stems not from their sex but from their betrayal. Throughout the play, Hamlet viciously attacks more than just the women; he has contempt for every person that betrays him and his father. After he recognizes the magnitude of Claudius' deceptions, Hamlet describes Claudius as a "Bloody, bawdy villain! / Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless / villain!" (Hamlet, II, ii, 607-609). Later, when Hamlet kills Polonius, he feels no remorse and calls the corpse a "wretched, rash,

Hamlet’s sexual deviancy is a defining characteristic of Hamlet, and is an often talked about topic when discussing the play. Hamlet is engrossed in people’s sex lives, whether it is his mother, Gertrude, or his ex-girlfriend, Ophelia. Hamlet’s general distrust and disgust with women makes him a misogynist. Hamlet seems mad that his mother, Gertrude, moved on so quickly to Claudius seeing as it had only been two months since her first husband, Hamlet Sr. died. This seems like a logical response, however Hamlet keeps bringing it up. So much so, that his father’s ghost even says "Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive / Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven." (1.5.9) Hamlet shows sign of jealousy toward Claudius as if he is the one who wants to be with his mother, because of this Hamlet

    Though Shakespeare cannot claim the invention of the ghosts in tragedies, still he can claim to have clothed his ghost in Hamlet with convincingness. This essay concerns his one supernatural character in the tragedy.

"Hamlet", written by William Shakespeare in the seventeenth century, is a tragedy of great proportion and great debate. When the play begins, Hamlet is moping around at home. His father recently died, his mother sinfully married her brother-in-law, and he was cheated out of the throne by his ambitious uncle. He is angry and bitter, and after initial skepticism, is more than willing to accept the ghost who seems to resemble his deceased father. The specter, who claims to have been murdered by Claudius, calls upon Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet's current state of mind, the ghost's request for revenge, and the ghost's appeal to Hamlet for mercy toward his mother, all put