The debate of whether Hamlet, from the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare is mad or not has waged for centuries with great scholars such as Nietzsche and Goethe writing in-depth papers about their analysis of Hamlet’s sanity. Hamlet, like many, desire innocence and a world without knowledge. The unnatural death of his father, the King, causes an imbalance in nature and experience to spread. Hamlet must be the one to set things right and assume responsibly of the kingdom and experience. This knowledge of true experience of the world causes Hamlet to descend into madness.
The inability for Hamlet to cope with the fact that his father is dead leads Hamlet to debate suicide. In the quote, “ Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,/Thaw,
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The betrayal of his mother was the one that hurt him the most. “O most wicked speed, to post./With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (1.2 156-157) Hamlet believed that his mother’s and father’s relationship was perfect, but he sees that that was not the case because his mother remarried after only two months. This disturbs him and he loses his trust in women. He takes out his anger of his mother on the other woman in his life, Ophelia, his female friend. “I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God has given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance.” (3.1 144-148) His words speak that all women are deceitful and contaminated with experience. Ophelia feels the full brunt of the attack when the anger is more meant for his mother. Hamlet trusted few with his secrets and most who know these secrets betray his confidence. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were Hamlet’s former schoolmates, and Hamlet entrusted them with the secret that he indeed was not mad. Although they do not betray him at first, they end up agreeing to bring him to death in England. The trust in humanity is lost by the betrayals of close friends and
Hamlet’s sanity has made many people question him. “Hamlet certainly displays a high degree of mania and instability throughout much of the play, but his “madness” is perhaps too purposeful and pointed
Beginning from the creation of Hamlet there has been debates between what exactly fiction is and what is non-fiction. The line between the two can so easily be blurred that is sometimes hard to decipher which side of the line the character or individual may stand on. Throughout the play Hamlet many question whether or not Hamlet is indeed sane or insane. Sanity plays a significant role throughout the entire piece, demonstrated through the snappy retorts that characters make-especially Hamlet- and the development of the piece overall.
In this play, the way others interpret Hamlets behavior is that he is insane. With Hamlet acting this way, he is driving everyone else insane because they cant figure out what is wrong with him. The way his mother interprets his behavior, at first, is that he is holding a grudge against her for what he has done. As the play progresses, Polonius tells Gertrude “Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with…” which proves that Hamlet’s condition is worsening in the eyes of everyone. As she speaks to Hamlet, she feels that her life is in danger due to the way that Hamlet is speaking to her. “These words like daggers enter mind ears…” is what Gertrude says to Hamlet because of the utter disrespect and the manner in which he is acting. The way Ophelia views Hamlet is that he turned into a different person. In Act II, scene i, she believes that if he really loved her, he wouldn’t have grabbed her by the wrists, held her hard, stared at her,
Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.
Scene II). Here Hamlet is telling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he knows exactly what they're up to: spying on him. The other plan is to secretly spy on his conversation with Ophelia. Overall, Hamlet knows that they have all betrayed him because of their schemes. However, when Hamlet is around Horatio, Bernardo, Francisco, the players, and the gravediggers, he acts completely normal.
Throughout the play, Hamlet's questionable madness is explored through his apparant lunacy, his feigned actions and his and others’ perspectives of his
Shakespeare's tragic hero, Hamlet, and his sanity can be argued. Many parts of the play shows that he may be sane, or insane. There are indications from Hamlet throughout the play of his mind's well being including many quotes that support both sides. Hamlet has mood swings and his mood changes many times throughout the play. Hamlet seems to act mad when he found out about his father’s death by saying weird things that make him sound mad.
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.
Madness is defined as “mental delusion and the eccentric behavior arising from it.” In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the delusional state that Hamlet embodies has to be seen with a “discerning Eye.” While Hamlet claims his insanity is simply an antic disposition, his awareness of his deteriorating mental state is questionable. This state of madness can be judged reasonable as it allows him to investigate and avenge the unexpected death of his father. Consequently, Hamlet’s insanity results in a ripple effect, causing madness to become a central theme in the play through its effect on both Laertes and Ophelia.
A debated question of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet is whether or not Prince Hamlet has gone insane or he is acting. One of the many unanswered questions surrounding the play this question though not clearly and directly answered in the play itself can be answered. The answer to this question is no. Hamlet is not insane and cannot be insane because he is only insane around certain characters, and exhibits intelligence and clear thinking with others, and his change in personality can be accredited to recent trauma in his life rather than lack of clear thought
In Hamlet, by shakespeare, and intelligent scholar’s piecemeal development of insanity is portrayed during the undertaking of revenging his father’s killer. Hamlet’s tragic flaw, is being irresolute. He is always complaining in drawn out monologues, about his discontent with his father’s death, but delays taking action in revenging his father’s death, which ultimately resulted in his death, as well as every other significant member in his life, except Horatio and Fortinbras. Hamlet is an intelligent scholar and student of theology, but is also very sensitive and irresolute, which crates moral quandary for him to seek revenge on his father’s murderer. For example, when Hamlet is met by the ghost of his father, and confronted
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragedy that involves murder, deception, and vengeance. The storyline begins with Claudius killing the King of Denmark, Hamlet. When revealed to his son; young Hamlet, he vows to have revenge on Claudius. As the story goes on Hamlet began to act crazy with madness. While this holds true, many scholars and critics question whether or not he was truly mad.
Mental illnesses plague the minds of thousands of people all over the world. Recently, the topic of mental illness is brought to light more often as it is more prominent in modern day society. There is a significant increase of mentally ill characters in modern texts. Throughout history, critics have found characters that have mental disorders that affect the play primarily because characterizing a protagonist or antagonist as mentally ill brings depth to the character’s essence. Many acclaimed critics question the sanity of the protagonist in one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Hamlet. The question of Prince Hamlet’s sanity divides readers into two different opinions: one defending his plan of fake insanity and the other confirming his insanity. In his plan to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet disguises himself as mad. Unfortunately, Hamlet’s intricate plan backfires as his mental illnesses become more prominent. The death of loved ones seem to trigger the psychosis in Hamlet’s mind which is seen in the depressive state he is in after his father’s death. His relationship with Ophelia and his mother Queen Gertrude, his fluctuating emotions and lack of sympathy are also evidence of his insanity. Hamlet descends into true insanity as he displays characteristics of psychosis, which is evident in his depression and suicidal thoughts, his relationships with female characters, his temperamental moods, and his lack of empathy over the death of others.
Hamlet's surrounding are increasingly affected by his flaw. Hamlet begins to forget all important obligations in his life and neglects his responsibilities, causing other problems. One very important commitment Hamlet has which he lets go is his relationship with Ophelia. Ophelia becomes very confused and hurt. Hamlet hurts her in a couple of ways. First, he neglects her, and second, he insults her. "Ha, ha! Are you honest??Are you fair??That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. ?I loved you not? Get thee to a nunnery." Then Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia's father, which in turn makes her go mad and in her madness she commits suicide. Hamlet loses objectivity. He does not respect the King nor his mother's feelings. Hamlet meets with his mother and insults her. He calls her a whore and a sinner for marrying a murderer. Since he knows that the King is a murderer, he attempts
An incident that affects Hamlet is when his love, Ophelia, rejects him. In return, He insults Ophelia for being a woman; “Get thee to a nunnery. Why, wouldst thou be a breeder / of sinners.” (3, 1, 121-122) Hamlet believes that all women sin and that they cheat on men. Hamlet tells Ophelia to go to the nunnery, in order to protect her chastity and become more loyal to men. Another person that Hamlet cannot trust is his mother. When she marries her brother-in-law, he expresses his anger to her by stating: “She married – O most wicked speed! To post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! / It is not, nor cannot come to good.” (1, 2, 156-158). Hamlet is offended that the queen remarries the deceased king’s brother and does not feel any guilt for it. The reader is aware that the situation will not end up well and someone will be have to be killed for their crimes. Hamlet admits that he is angry with his mother when he confronts her about her actions. He finds it odd that his mother marries her dead husband’s brother and she mourns over the death for such a short period of time. Hamlet questions her nature by