The Madness Inside, or Outside Hamlet

While Hamlet’s “mad” behavior starts out as an “antic disposition,” his mental state deteriorates. Does Hamlet truly go “mad,” or is all of his wackiness an act?

He goes from general melancholy to pretend madness, to this in-between state, to full on hallucinations. It all started in the very beginning, his grieving method was really the determinate of all the following consequences. He chose to deal with his grief through revenge and deceit and hate, partly because he was looked down upon by everyone for dealing with it in any other typical way. Hamlet didn’t start out as a crazy person, I'm not even sure if he was predisposed to the sickness, however, under the right circumstances and in the right mindset, anyone can teeter towards their side of insanity. Hamlet is just one of many examples of a person lingering too long and embodying the madness they once just faked. This is prevalent not only in pieces of literature, but also in

To exemplify Erickson’s psychosocial theory which emphasizes the emergence of the self, the search for identity, the individual’s relationships with others, and the role of culture throughout life (page), I will begin with the opening of the movie which shows Simba at the infancy stage where he is developing a trusting behavior from his parents (Mufasa and Sarabi) and the Hornbill bird, Zazu, who is always reminding everyone to be cautious and careful. His parents accomplished this by providing him a safe and comfortable living environment and Sarabi made sure there was someone wiser (Zazu) to go with him when he wanted to start exploring. Mufasa taught him how to make a living and other new activities,

At the beginning of the film the camera angle looks up towards him, the lights shine on young Simba; the importance of his birth is immense, although Simba may be oblivious to the fact at the time. Another parallel is the fact that both Simba and Hamlet at one stage wish to be dead. When Timon and Pumbaa find him, they believe Simba to be dead when they first find him. He is not – but wishes to be. The same could be said about Hamlet when he questions his life – “To be, or not to be”. Like Hamlet, Simba tends to need to be on his own to reflect. Hamlet and Simba are near perfect examples of tragic heroes. Both are tested to the extent of their inner strength and faith in the triumph of good.

When reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a class, the first thing that most teachers or professors point out is the argument/idea of sanity, specifically Hamlet's sanity. I believe that Hamlet is, in fact, feigning his madness. What I do not know is if I believe this because it is what I was taught or if I came up with the idea myself based on my own interpretation. When I was taught Hamlet there was no argument it was just fact that he was faking his madness. Because of my confusion, I came to find that it may be interesting take out of the play any moment in which Hamlet makes the audience aware that he is only pretending that to be mad. I want to take out any proof that his madness isn’t real. The argument for legitimate madness is always

Simba was banished from his homeland by his evil uncle Scar's hyenas (who acted as his personal army and assistants), who were really supposed to kill him. He is found by Timon and Pumba, a meerkat and warthog, and he grows up in a

The Lion King is another example where we see the physical, mental and emotional growth of Simba. When Mufasa dies, Simba tries to bring him back to life by nudging him and telling him to come back. Simba reminisces of

A couple minutes after Nala leaves, Simba is graced with the presence of a crazy baboon named Rafiki who tells him that his father is still alive, inside of him, and that he should follow him if he wants to see for himself. Simba follows the baboon to a pond and looks to where the monkey is pointing. Unfortunately he only sees his own reflection but Rafiki tells Simba to look harder. He then sees his father in the water, realizing what the baboon meant. Mufassa is now in the dark clouds telling Simba that he’s forgotten who he was, therefore he’s forgotten him, and this triggers Simba’s emotions making feel disappointed in himself for not going home like he should have. His father then tells him that he needs to find his place back in the circle of life and says “remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are.” His voice is very deep and almost sounds like he is hurting. Then in an instant he is gone with the storm and Simba is chasing after him begging him not to go.

Simba’s heroic qualities don’t just stand out when he is found by Nala begging him to return to Pride Rock to save everyone and the community, but also when he meets Pumbaa and Timon. He is learning how to survive on his own and how to be a true friend. Simba shows all characteristics of a hero throughout his journey, it begins with his separation from his family, and his choice to runaway. Simba has to deal with guilt and is tested emotionally, he has been told that he killed his father and needs

Out of spite, both protagonists plan to take revenge on their evil uncles. Hamlet ponders on the idea of revenging his father’s death, but it wasn’t until Claudius’ guilty conscience was exposed during the play and also when the Ghost orders Hamlet to “Revenge his soul!” that Hamlets purpose was clear. In the end, Hamlet confronts Claudius but it is pointless ending in a blood battle. Simba on the other hand was told, “Run away and never return!” after believing it was himself who killed his father. Wanting to do what was right, Simba followed his uncle’s orders and it wasn’t until a chance encounter with Nala, that he realised the damage he had caused. Trying to take back what was rightfully his, Simba defeats Scar but instead of death as his revenge, he banishes Scar from The Pride Lands, telling his “to never return”. Both antagonists in the texts experience the heartbreak and misfortune of revenge but deal with it in ways their intended audiences will understand and learn from.

To be or not to be Mad When evaluating the actions and overall mental state of Hamlet we must try to understand the truth behind the story. It seems clear throughout the story that Prince Hamlet is undoubtedly a troubled man; but is this simply a crazy man or a is it someone coping and reacting to the tragedies in his life? Was Prince Hamlet Insane or was he faking to be insane as he claimed? What is insanity exactly? Webster defines Insanity to be “Such unsoundness of mind or lack of understanding as prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into” “civil responsibility”.

The Lion King has an underlying religious theme and it is positioned to speak on Christianity and contains a lot of theological references that can be acknowledged as important to understand the story. At one point, Simba believed that he killed his father and ran away from Pridelands to avoid humiliation. This notion can be compared to Moses ditching the desert after he had killed an Egyptian. After Mufasa’s death, the animal kingdom was quite lost and didn’t know

hroughout the play, Hamlet feigns insanity but also shows signs of enlightenment. The death of his father brought him great depression and mental harm. Hamlet’s main goal in this play is to kill his father’s murder. His mental acuity is an act to cover up his real plan: to avenge the death of his father without causing suspicion. Hamlet is distraught after his father’s death.

The battlements of Elsinore relinquish the ability of all the characters to act properly – they taint their minds. Hamlet by William Shakespeare tells the reader, from the beginning, that corruption and unmoral acts are prevalent in the Kingdom of Denmark. Characters, as part of the entirety of Hamlet, allow their minds to be tainted. This tainting hinders their ability to make cognizant thoughts, drives them all to madness, and reduces their ability to take action when action is needed most. Contagion is rampant through the Kingdom of Denmark.

Hamlet portrayed extreme madness that recurred throughout the book. It started off with simply acting to be crazy, but eventually leads to true madness. Hamlet tells the queen “a beast… would have mourned longer, married with my uncle my father’s brother, but no more like my father” (1.2). Hamlet refers to his mother as a beast implying she is not human. Problems with Hamlet’s mother are not a huge contributing factor to his madness, but still fuel the problem. It also leads readers to believe Claudius could be a problem later on. This turns out to be true as he is one of the main sources to Hamlet’s madness. Another tremendous source is the ghost driving Hamlet to get revenge on Claudius. When the Ghost of Hamlet’s father comes back, he tells Hamlet “so art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear”(1.5). The Ghost explains what really happened to try to convince Hamlet to avenge his death. This drives him to insanity with the stress and pressure of should he, or should he not kill