The Effects Of Insanity In The Story Of Hamlet

There is a distinct division of opinion among the other characters of the play about Hamlet's sanity and the split is along gender lines. Ophelia and Gertrude both state that Hamlet has gone mad, but the major male characters, on the other hand, like Polonius think that there is "method" in Hamlet's "madness," that his insanity is a surface mask to shield him as he plans the darker purpose of revenge. Since Hamlet is disturbed by the sudden death of his father and his mother's marriage to his uncle, King Claudius, the abnormality of his behavior to some extent is also understandable. Hamlet is naturally withdrawn, dark, and passive in the wake of those traumatic events. He also shows this when he constantly releases his anger with lines like "How (weary), stale, flat, and unprofitable seems to me all the uses of this world!" His self-exile and his self-reproach are essentially normal reactions to a series of events that he must avenge at his dead father's command but without further direction against a powerful chain of power within the guilty King.

       The most interesting thing about all of the characters' guesses as to the logic behind Hamlet's insanity is that the majority of their opinions stem from the thing that most plagues or preoccupies them. Claudius believes that Hamlet is crazy because he has a secret. This was ironic because the secret that Hamlet does have is that he knows that Claudius is his father's murderer. The very secret that plagues Claudius is the same that plagues Hamlet. Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, is wrapped up in her guilt about marrying Claudius so soon after the death of her late husband. She thinks that this must be what makes Hamlet rant so incoherently. While spying on Hamlet for the King, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern decide that he is going crazy because he can no longer fulfill his potential. Their betrayal of their school chum is fueled by the same blind ambition that they believefuels Hamlets insanity. Polonius thinks that Hamlet must be mad

Laertes voices his concern of Hamlet's true intentions towards Ophelia and advises her to be wary of Hamlet's love. Laertes impresses upon Ophelia that Hamlet is a prince who, most likely, will have an arranged marriage. Hamlet's strong love for Ophelia withers after she rejects his affinity. Hamlet's extensive love for Ophelia resulted in grave suffering for Hamlet once his affection was rejected. Hamlet's appearance decays due to the rejection of his love for Ophelia "Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other" (Act 2, Scene 1, line 82). The loss of Ophelia's love for Hamlet causes Polonius to believe it has caused Hamlet to revert to antic disposition. Once Laertes learns of the death of his sister, he is afflicted with sadness. In the same way, Hamlet is shocked and enraged over Ophelia's demise. Both Hamlet and Laertes are so profoundly distressed at the death of Ophelia, they jump into her grave and fight each other.

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,

One of the recurring themes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is Hamlet’s unwillingness or rather inability to act and make decisions when necessary. Time and time again, he is given the chance to exact his revenge for his slain father and murder his uncle. Yet every time he comes up with an excuse as to not have to act. Granted he takes some action to prove that it was in fact his uncle that killed his father, however, he goes no farther than that. Hamlet’s inability to fulfill his destiny and take out his revenge that he wants shows insanity. Hamlet is a man who’s father passed away, his mother married his uncle, and he later finds out that it was his uncle, his mother’s new husband, who killed his father, this would cause serious mental issues in any man. Even though Hamlet may have feigned insanity, Hamlet is insane because he is clinically depressed, he shows signs of being bipolar and he has hallucinations. Eventually even in his insanity he is left no other choice but to kill Claudius, his uncle, however until then his depression, bipolar disorder, hallucinations, and overall insanity keep him from exacting his revenge.

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.

Why does insanity affect some people in different ways and why? Hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare which tells us when we read it about how some people react differently to insanity then others. Hamlet is the some of the late King Hamlet who was murdered. Gertrude, King Hamlet's wife, was remarried to her brother-in-law Claudius, two months after her husband died. Insanity takes hold of three people in particular in the play: Hamlet, Ophelia and Claudius.

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.

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.

Hamlet is far too on top of things to be mad. Hamlet’s intellectual brilliance is first brought out in Act I, scene V when he plans on acting mad to confuse his enemies. Hamlet is also quick to figure out who his enemies and who are his real friends. “I know the good King and Queen have sent for you” (I.iv.37). Hamlet instantly knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not paying a social visit to Hamlet, but were in fact sent as spies for the former King of Denmark to find out the cause of his sudden madness. Hamlet immediately knows that he cannot trust his former school friends, and that he must take caution in what he says when is around the both of them. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talk with Hamlet, but "with a crafty madness [Hamlet] keeps aloof" (I.iv.37), and they are unable to find the cause for his odd behavior. Hamlet’s true intellect is brought out in Act III, scene II when he plans on putting on a play. "If his occulted guilt do not itself unkennel in one speech, / it is a damned ghost that we have seen, and my /imaginations are as foul as Vulcan’s stithy" (III.ii.84). When Hamlet comes up with a brilliant plan to put on a play about someone killing a King, he determines whether or not Claudius is guilty of murder, or if the ghost is really his dead father or an evil spirit whose setting him up to kill an innocent man. Hamlet coming up with a successful plan to prove

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.

   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.

As stated by Ms. Turk, “If a person in a rational state of mind decides to act crazy, to abuse the people around him regardless of whether he loves those people or hates them, and to give free expression to all his antisocial thoughts, when he starts to carry out those actions, its it possible to say at what point the stops pretending and starts actually being crazy?”. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the way others interpret Hamlet’s behavior is different from the way Hamlet views himself.

Many criminal suspects today are found guilty by them attributing their insane actions to society by breaking human laws. In return, they are to make a contribution to in horrendous places such as place of confinement, guardhouse and correctional facility with their labour, effort and time. Nonetheless, what are the punishments for someone who feigned his or her madness and sparks off the death of the entire royal family? Shakespeare's Hamlet significantly demonstrates the consequences of dissimulating, in a way of dishonesty, but is Hamlet's madness simulated or real? This question is often left unanswered among the fans of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The idea of a character impersonating the concept or motif of insanity is not foreign to great literary works in modern days although many authors in ancient time use it to convey the sanity of the humor. There is much evidence in the play of Shakespeare's Hamlet, which Hamlet deliberately feigned fits of madness to confuse and plan to disconcert the king until he reveals his secret that he is responsible for Hamlet's father murder. However, the majority of the professors continue to argue that Hamlet's anti-decomposition is purely innocent and that he is not pretending. Nevertheless, with the similar saying of “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch”, in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, Hamlet’s fatal flaw of

Insanity is a perfectly rational adjustment to the sane world. In the play Hamlet several times only with family and close family members has he showed any signs of madness. However when he is alone he is thinking of ways to make other believe that he is insane. Hamlet is trying to deceive everyone by his words and his actions. Essentially the book Hamlet is about a boy who needs to help his father to take revenge by assassinating the king so that he may be in peace. Although Hamlet seems insane throughout most of the book, he is just faking it so that he may assassinate the king and avenge his forebear.