Theme of Madness and Causes: Hamlet and Ophelia Essay

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.

“Mood disorder: although Hamlet worries a lot, he doesn’t avoid situations that cause him to worry. He confronts the ghost of his father as it appears before him. Also, he presents two symptoms namely restlessness or feeling on the edge and irability.” (Character Analysis of Hamlet, Psychological Disorders, Sept. 22, 2012).

The character of Ophelia is an excellent element of drama used to develop interpretations of Shakespeare’s text. At the beginning of the play, she is happy and in love with Hamlet, who first notices her beauty and then falls in love with her. The development of Ophelia’s madness and the many factors that contributed to her suicide are significant parts of the plot. “Her madness was attributed to the extremity of her emotions, which in such a frail person led to melancholy and eventual breakdown” (Teker, par. 3). The character of Ophelia in Zieffirelli’s version is the personification of a young innocent girl. “Her innocence is mixed with intelligence, keen perception, and erotic awareness” (Teker, par. 13). This Ophelia is a victim

People have mostly seen women inferior to men because women have been thought of as simple-minded and could not take care of themselves. Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows how men treated and thought of women during the 1500s. There was an order most did not interfere with; however, some did. In the 1500s, women were supposed to conform to men’s wishes. Throughout the play, Ophelia first obeyed her father and brother’s wishes, ignored the social norms later, and then went mad, which caused her to never gain her own identity.

      When one refers to madness in Hamlet, most would think of Hamlet's madness, or at least that that he was pretending to possess. Although Ophelia does go insane and ultimately commits suicide, the central lunacy of the play revolves around Hamlet himself. Hamlet's plan to act mad is completely unexplained. It is safe to

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is one of Shakespeare’s most tragic plays. Most of the characters in this play suffered a heartbreaking death, although, all of the characters faced anger, regret, madness or distress. Madness was a reoccurring theme in this play, two characters portrayed this more than others. Ophelia and Hamlet faced similar fates, with similarities and differences along the way, all to do with their madness.

   Poor Ophelia, she lost her lover, her father, her mind, and, posthumously, her brother. Ophelia is the only truly innocent victim in Hamlet. This essay will examine Ophelia's downward spiral from a chaste maiden to nervous wreck.

Hamlet’s insanity can be thought of as a tragedy or misconception of reality. The death of his father had shaped the first few impressions of his own persona as well as a new experience with his new aunt. As  a result of his genius insanity prince Hamlet has devised a plan to make things more clear to the audience. “Hamlet’s behavior strikes the audience as abnormal on  several occasions. For example, Hamlet seems to be really mad when he is in front of Ophelia in disordered clothes. He behaves as if he had been loosed out of hell to speak of the horror”.  As the progress of the play foreshadows a significant end to his insanity that he acts upon.  As the play progresses throughout, Hamlet finds ways in order to give others the impression that he has lost his sanity from his “love” of Polonius’s daughter Ophelia. “(Ophelia)He grabbed me by the wrist and held me hard, then backed away an arm’s length and just looked at me, staring at me like an artist about to paint my

Shakespeare uses metaphor and tone to stress the development of mental illness in the character Hamlet throughout “Hamlet”. Mental illness is defined as a condition that affect mood, thinking, or behavior; furthermore, Hamlet presents himself as a character affected by mental illness. Hamlet, in his first lines, describes his pain and suffering, simulating signs of depression, a form of mental illness. Early in his introduction, Hamlet describes his feelings regarding the death of his father King Hamlet, and sudden marriage of his mother Gertrude to his uncle Claudius. Gertrude asks Hamlet to stop his mourning, and Hamlet responds by saying “I know not seems tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black nor windy suspiration of forced breath” (I, ii, 76-79). Shakespeare uses words like “black” and “inky cloak”, to develop a dark and solemn tone; furthermore, this tone allows the character of Hamlet to develop a dark and depressed attitude which reflects his internal depression. Shakespeare also uses metaphors to develop the idea of Hamlet’s depression. Hamlet conveys multiple symptoms of depression, like thoughts of suicide. Hamlet often debates about his death and what the effects his death would bring. Hamlet also debates life after death and questions religion. Hamlet describes death as “ this too too sallied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew” (I, ii, 129-130). Shakespeare compares flesh melting to the resolving of dew; this comparison reflects Hamlet’s thoughts on death. Hamlet believes that after death, life fades away into nothingness. Hamlet’s constant thoughts of death and life after

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, a kind of madness ultimately infects everyone, leading to an ending in which almost every major character is dead. Two of these maddened characters are Hamlet and Ophelia, who also share a love for each other. But though their irrational behavior is often similar and their fates alike, one is truly mad while the other is not.

In Hamlet, Hamlet slowly goes from feigning to becoming a victim of insanity. He says inexplicable things and acts in a strange way as he goes insane gradually. Most of the play is spent with Hamlet acting this way and those around him attempting to figure out why he has gone berserk. Polonius sees that it is partially farce as he says" Though this be madness, there is method in it" (Act 2, Lines 204-205) This is key as Hamlet’s madness appears around all characters except Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus. However, Denmark is such a nasty place that it only seems reasonable for anyone living there to be crazy.

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In it, a young, Danish prince struggles with the death of his father and the betrayal of his mother. This struggle is so profound; it shakes its main character Hamlet to the core and brings him to the brink of sanity. Shakespeare uses madness to convey important information throughout the play especially through Hamlet and his love interest, Ophelia. Hamlet does not always appear to be mad, in fact throughout the play his sanity is questioned by the reader and other characters. Whether real or faked, Hamlet and Ophelia’s madness reveal to us more about their characters, opinions and secrets than their regular discourse.

In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare madness is a prominent trait that many of the characters in the play come to possess. These characters go through a multitude of troubles throughout the play that makes this madness justifiable. This madness plays an immense role in the outcome of the play and events throughout it. Hamlet and Ophelia show this trait of madness in their actions throughout the play which ultimately have a detrimental effect on themselves and other characters in the play.

Through this method of freedom, her once restrictive lifestyles was gone. Previously, she was often denied of her own thoughts and beliefs, resulting in her submission to those around her. The condescending and often vulgar tone used in reference towards Ophelia is extremely prominent throughout the play. Despite this, she upholds herself with dignity and grace, allowing others to use her as they plead. At one point (During Act III, Scene II) Ophelia and Hamlet are speaking publicly. The lewd diction and actions presented during this act displays how others truly think of her; a pawn to simply mess around with. Hamlet often uses sexual innuendos towards Ophelia, stating comments such as “Lady, shall I lie in your lap?” Yet, everyone simply dismisses the actions. Although she does not purposely go mad, it did allow her freedom from these factors. No one expects anything from her due to her illness. Madness is an opportunity for the mind to relax and experience life for what it is. Shakespeare uses Ophelia as a way to convey this message to his audience.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet plays with the idea of madness throughout the story. Hamlet appears at times to be mad and at other times to be entirely sane, and then Ophelia begins sane and delves into madness by Hamlet’s actions. But Hamlet takes his actions most often through reason. He knows the ghost he saw is true because of the witnesses alongside him. He even takes precautions to confirm his uncle’s guilt by means of a play. While Hamlet may be prone to inaction, he is not truly mad. On the other hand Ophelia represents true madness after the death of her father by Hamlet’s hand. Hamlet presents two characters that contrast with each other on the play’s frequent mention of madness: Hamlet, who is filled with grief and is enraged by his situation to the point of seeming mad but truly being insightful though selfish in his actions, and Ophelia who begins hopeful and level-minded, but then loses herself to true madness as she is influenced by Hamlet’s behavior.