The Mental Illness Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare

His mother and his uncle have married after only 2 months of Hamlet’s father’s death. This has caused Hamlet to be in a heavy state of anger, mixed with his already deep state of mourning. According to Theodore Lidz, these two states can lead to one thinking back on all the negative wishes one may have had in the past. Considering Hamlet’s relatively young age, death wishes upon a parent are not serious but they are common among children. “…and as most, if not all, children have sometimes had death wishes toward a parent, guilt over such wishes can become intense when the parent dies.” (Lidz 48) All of these emotions mixed together so early in the play could lead to a sense of depression.

Throughout Shakespeare’s many works, mental illnesses have played an undeniable part in many of them, especially his tragedies. From Lady Macbeth hallucination of a bloody spot leading to her suicide, to Hamlet’s faked illness and Ophelia’s very real illness, afflictions of the mind are featured prominently in the Bard of Avalon’s many works. Still, in the Elizabethan era, understanding of mental illness was rudimentary at best, as were the methods of treating it. During the Middle Ages and Elizabethan Era, numerous theories about mental disorders and how to treat them abounded. Three plays of Shakespeare’s that feature mental illness most prominently are King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, while also managing to showcase the conception of

Throughout the play, Hamlet undergoes a painful split between head and heart, caused by numerous family problems. When the prince returns home to pay his final respects to his dear and beloved father, he discovers a most terrible fate. He learns that his noble father whom he had loved so, is not only deceased, but his own uncle is to blame. Hamlet's mother, whom he also loves dearly, is now sharing an "adulterous bed" with the very murderer of her once beloved husband. Initially, Hamlet is driven to a state of ruin by

Hamlet had a lot of things in his life gone wrong. For an example his father (the king at the time) was murdered by his own brother the new king. At the end of the book his mother and ophelia end up dead to. Hamlet was obsessed with his father being murdered and tried to seek revenge upon his murderer. At the end of the book hamlet ended up killing polonius because he thought it was Claudius (the new king). He was putting other people in harm's way too make claudius too confess. Hamlet has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of depression, self-destructive behavior, and unwanted memories of the trauma.

“My greatest fear is this brain of mine..The worst thing imaginable is to be terrified of one’s own mind, the very matter that controls all that we are and all that we do and feel”(Torrey). E. Fuller Torrey, M.D wrote a book to help the parents and families of people who suffer from schizophrenia disorders and those alike. According to many doctors who are specialist like Torrey, schizophrenia disorders are held on a spectrum and hold different subtypes of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia can take control over a person’s life and mind in some of the worst ways possible. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s biggest adversity is his own mind. Hamlet shows symptoms of Schizoaffective disorder, a subtype of schizophrenia that causes delusions and severe depression. Hamlet shows symptoms of schizoaffective disorder through his delusions of conversations with his dead father and his severe depression over his father’s death and mother’s remarriage throughout the play.

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,

To begin, the most important tragic flaw of Hamlet’s is his unwillingness to let go of his past, which in turn controls his fate. Hamlet’s father is killed by Claudius, his uncle, to marry his mother Gertrude, which drives Hamlet and his need to avenge his father’s death throughout the play. Hamlet is unable to let go of this desire which consumes his thoughts, which will not disappear until it is fulfilled. Hamlet returns to Denmark, prompted by the urge to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet continues to struggle with the death of his father when he

Insanity, a theme explored by multiple authors in countless classic selections, has instilled itself as one of the darkest and interesting themes in the literary world. In Shakespeare’s legendary Hamlet, the audience questions the sanity of Hamlet and Ophelia constantly, as well as that of the other characters. As the story progresses, this becomes more and more relevant, bringing the reader to consider the causes and effects of the characters’ mental states on the resolution of the literary work.

Hamlet is very distraught and grief stricken for the death of his father, the King of Denmark. As well, he is upset with his mother's quick marriage to his uncle Claudius, who is now King. Hamlet is emotional and melancholy, and he considers suicide because he wonders

Did you ever notice there are many characters in Hamlet that have mental disorders? Hamlet has a few characters that could possibly be diagnosed with a mental health disorder. At the beginning of the story, Hamlets dad is possibly murdered and Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, takes over the king spot. Hamlet's father's ghost arrives in the castle, it causes suspicions with the whole remarrying right after the death. He becomes very confused on how and why his father passed away. Due to the confusion and questions Hamlet wants answered, he could have developed a mental health disorder in the process of trying to figure things out.

His diminishing outlook on women is, in fact, not the only attribute that affects Hamlet throughout the play. There are various conclusions in academic journals regarding Hamlet's mental state, all of them agreeing or refuting the theory that Hamlet is mad throughout the play. Despite having sufficient evidence, the analyzation of this play is subjective and no definitive conclusion has been made. Nonetheless, one opinion remains to be the most popular: Hamlet is not mad, yet encounters various feelings regarding mental and emotional health.

Throughout Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, Hamlet’s emotions, actions, and thoughts cause much trouble during the play. Hamlet encounters stages of sarcasm, inanity, suicidal tendencies/self-deprecation, and procreation/indecision which develop not only his personality but the play itself. Hamlet uses sarcasm to express his emotions, pretends to be insane (ultimately leading him to become truly insane), self-deprecates throughout the play due to family events, and procrastinates because he is indecisive. Hamlet encounters many life-altering events throughout the play such as his uncle poisoning his father and quickly remarrying Hamlet’s mother, to accidentally killing Polonius thinking it was Claudius, all the way to debating upon: his own

The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about Hamlet going insane and reveals his madness through his actions and dialogue. Hamlet remains one of the most discussed literary characters of all time. This is most likely due to the complex nature of Hamlet as a character. In one scene, Hamlet appears happy, and then he is angry in another and melancholy in the next. Hamlet’s madness is a result of his father’s death which was supposedly by the hands of his uncle, Claudius. He has also discovered that this same uncle is marrying his mom. It is expected that Hamlet would be suffering from some emotional issues as result of these catastrophes. Shakespeare uses vivid language, metaphors, and imagery to highlight how Hamlet’s madness

Hamlet is arguably one of the greatest dramatic characters to be created. As he learns of his father’s death, he starts to over analyze ever little detail causing him to create scenarios in his mind that give me anxiety. His mother notices his anger, but Hamlet makes it known that the distress he is feeling over-powers his actions. He says, “Together with all the forms, moods, shapes of grief… for they are the actions that a man might play; but I have that within which passes show, these but the trappings and the suits of woe” (ACT I, ii). He is angry at his mother because she remarried that same man that killed his father. Hamlet starts to see his father’s ghost and she cannot. She then starts to tell Hamlet how he has offended his father, as in Claudius. When Hamlet is defending

The death of King Hamlet effected many individuals lives to the point where great changes were made. Especially in regards to his son, Hamlet, who took the death – murder- of his father personally in both mental and emotional ways. By doing so, Hamlet portrays and experiences the death and loss of his father by acting out in manners in which magnify his isolation and alienated actions. These would include excluding and distancing himself, turning on those closest, and taking on measures one would never do so when thinking rationally or clearly.