The Importance of Madness as a Theme in Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

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.

     Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a complex play, filled with layers of meaning. These are often revealed through the madness of the characters and the theme of madness throughout the play. Although Hamlet and Ophelia are the only characters thought to be so afflicted, the reactions of other characters to this madness mirrors their own preoccupations.

   Hamlet's public persona is a facade he has created to carry out his ulterior motives. The outside world's perception of him as being mad is of his own design. Hamlet is deciding what he wants others to think about him. Polonius, a close confidant of the King, is the leading person responsible for the public's knowledge of Hamlet's madness. The idea that Hamlet is mad centers around the fact that he talks to the ghost of his dead father. He communicates with his dead father's ghost twice, in the presence of his friends and again in the presence of his mother. By being in public when talking to the ghost, the rumor of his madness is given substance.

“An apple cleft in two is not more twin / Than these two creatures” (5.1.218-219). Abundant in parallels, William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy of disguise and confusion. Before it even begins, the theme of doubles emerges in the title, as the play also has the subtitle What You Will. However, this theme reaches beyond clever naming. Shakespeare uses pairs to comment on the similar experiences shared between people despite differences in the total journey.

Throughout the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare applied a myriad of motifs to enhance the meaning and complexity of his work. One of the numerous motifs utilized in the play is madness. The question of Hamlet’s actual madness is profusely raised among readers in the Elizabethan era and is still brought up numerous times today. Some may assert that Hamlet was literally mad and others may argue that Hamlet’s madness was feigned. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet spotted his father’s ghost and discerned that his father’s death was caused by his uncle, Claudius. This situation initiated a whirlwind of events that took Hamlet on a downward spiral. These events are comprised of Hamlet’s actions to try to avenge his father’s death. They support and convey the impression that Hamlet’s madness was real. Although, Hamlet specifically claimed that he was not mad in the text. Hamlet’s madness was feigned since he confessed his reasoning for his antic disposition in order to avenge his father’s death and get revenge for Claudius’ actions.

   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.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, there are two characters that display qualities of insanity.  They are Hamlet and Ophelia.  Although they both appear to be mad at times, their downfall (or supposed downfall) is quite different.  Ophelia's crazed characteristics show up and intensify quite rapidly, until she is ultimately led to suicide.  Her madness seems definite, and it is never questioned.  The insanity or sanity of the main character is an arguable question.  The issue can be discussed both ways, with significant support to either theory. Certainly, Hamlet has many reasons to lead him to becoming insane, because of the pressure and emotional strain that he is suffering from.  This might be enough to cause the character to become

Insanity, the idea that one’s mental health is weak and questionable. This concept of a low level of mental stability seems to have a concrete definition, which means it should be easy to discern. And yet, the criteria needed to be of sound mind is less tangible. Dr. Frederic S Lee writes, “The actual degree of insanity from which any one of us suffers is a matter of difficult of determination, since it can be made known only through the verdict of one’s peer, who themselves in turn are demented” (823). Lee’s explanation on the degrees of insanity is illustrated in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where the mental health of the title character is under constant scrutiny. The uncertainty surrounding Hamlet’s mental wellbeing has fascinated psychiatrists for about two hundred years. His behavior has caused him to be diagnosed with a range of did psychoses such as melancholic, manic, bipolar, neurotic to name a few. However, there are those that also call him sane (Bynum and Neve 391). Hamlet’s true nature is unclear throughout the play since he appears to have lost his mind in the presence of a select few, whereas, around others he is completely lucid. Add in the entrance of his father’s ghost requesting revenge and it is no wonder that those around Hamlet find themselves unsure of him. Nevertheless, it is the ghost that gives Hamlet the mission that drives him, while the appearance of the slain king’s spirit serves a representative for Hamlet’s varying degree of sanity

How Shakespeare Portrays Madness in Hamlet Many questions have been raised about Hamlets madness. Whether it was an act, or that his father’s death and his ghost genuinely drove him to the brink of madness. Along side with Hamlet, further on in the play Polonius’s death brought Ophelia and the audiences to question her own sanity as well. Although Hamlets madness and Ophelia’s are caused by the same thing, the death of their father, they both have very different consequences to their new found personality change.

It is the driving force of mankind that has delivered man from the age of stone to that of industry. This force is also the essential ingredient that produces the inescapable prison of the mind, a frightful disease that may be viewed as the greatest irony of life. Pain is a dreadful disease in which every individual has felt the everlasting effects. The grief of pain can become a crashing wave that leaves behind only a semblance of sanity in its wake. For in thinking there is both life and death. Trapped inside the prison of his mind, chained by a grief consciousness served only to torture him, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, reveals to the world his methods of dealing with pain.

“Then you are mad indeed, if you be no better in your wits than a

The word “madness” often provokes thoughts of schizophrenia, dementia, and psychosis; however, these illnesses prove not to be the exact cause of the various downfalls to the characters throughout the play Hamlet. The author, William Shakespeare, depicts a different type of insanity in the play, one that seems ambiguous but also feels eerily similar to ones that still affect others to this day. Shweta Bali, author of Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear, reiterates this by stating, “Insanity—real or obfuscated—is integral to the fiber of many of Shakespearean plays. Apart from reflecting the political turmoil, madness adds to the atmosphere of pathos, misfortune

Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s comedies that encapsulates the chaos that ensues at the end of the Christmas season. In Shakespeare’s time the remaining twelve days of the season were reserved for the nobility to revel and celebrate by drinking and having huge feasts. The festivities are dragged out to cope with the long bleak winter and people are free to get lost in the magic of the celebration. This was the inspiration behind Twelfth Night. All of that madness was used to express the unorthodox acts that would occur in this play. In a time of carnival the usual rules do not apply to societal expectations and that is exactly what this play embodies. Throughout the play there are many songs sung to bring a sense of reality and stability back to the play. When things start to unwind and the chaos becomes too much a song reminds the characters and the audience of the raw reality of the situation. The songs are there to reveal what the characters’ most inner feelings are at that particular time.

At this point in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Olivia is becoming more outgoing towards Cesario, making flirtatious comments to him. For example, when Olivia apologizes to Viola for how strange she acted upon receiving Orsino’s ring, her pitiful response makes Olivia think “that’s a degree to love” (3.1.130), and that “wit nor reason can [her] passion hide” (3.1.160). In other words, Olivia’s passionate love for Cesario is accumulating each day, and her adoration for him cannot be hidden. She desperately yearns for Cesario to return the love, and is willing to wait for his views to change.

There is a lot of use made of practical jokes with the sending of the