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Struggles with mental health in the hamlet
Mental illness in hamlet
Struggles with mental health in the hamlet
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Throughout the course of Hamlet, Shakespeare strives to answer the question: when can one’s behavior be declared true insanity? Using key characters, Ophelia and Hamlet, Shakespeare discerns the fine line between madness and manipulation. To begin with, Hamlet’s so-called madness is not brought upon suddenly by the death of his father, like Ophelia’s is. Instead, his insanity is pinpointed on his love of Ophelia by Polonius. Yet, even Polonius, who acts so sure of himself declares “Though this be madness, yet there is / method in ‘t,” (2. 2. 223-224) after speaking with Hamlet. This “insane” behavior that Hamlet exhibits is in fact constructed by Hamlet himself after the ghost visits him. Hamlet tells Horatio, his closest confidant, not …show more content…
With Claudius and Polonius consumed with anxiety over Hamlets evident insanity, Hamlet is free to conspire and carry out his plan for revenge. And while those in the court becomes more convinced with Hamlet’s madness, he admits to his mother that his madness is feigned saying “That I essentially am not in madness / But mad in craft,” (3. 4. 209-210). Hamlet is filled with such anger towards his mother that this information comes out during his unfiltered, rage-fueled …show more content…
But it is her death that brings Hamlet out of his charade of madness. When Hamlet returns from his trip to England, and stumbles upon Ophelia’s funeral procession he finally takes responsibility for who he is, announcing “This is I, / Hamlet the Dane,” (5. 1. 270-271). And while he had been able to use his insanity as a disguise for himself in the past, this sudden and shocking death pulls him out of his scheming madness to finally accept who he is and what role he has. Concluding that his madness was just a tool he had been using all
Horatio's comment may be where Hamlet gets the idea to use a plea of insanity to work out his plan. The important fact is that the ghost does not change form, but rather remains as the King and speaks to Hamlet rationally.
Hamlet: Is He Insane? & nbsp; & nbsp ; The term insanity means a mental disorder, whether it is temporary or permanent. permanent, that is used to describe a person when they don't know the difference. between right or wrong. They don't consider the nature of their actions due to the mental defect of the person.
Hamlet runs into Ophelia and angrily Hamlet denies having given her anything; he laments the dishonesty of beauty, and claims both to have loved Ophelia once and never to have loved her at all. Then Hamlet spits out nasty comments including, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” (Shakespeare 3. 1. 131-132). He criticizes women for making men behave like monsters and for contributing to the world’s dishonesty by painting their faces to appear more beautiful than they are. This illustrates Hamlet shifting from sane to insane. During Hamlets talk between him and his mother he hears a noise behind the arras. Hamlet storms into the room and asks his mother why she has sent for him. She says that he has offended his stepfather. Hamlet accosts her with an almost violent intensity and declares his intention to make her fully aware of the profundity of her sin. Fearing for her life, Gertrude cries out. From behind the arras, Polonius calls out for help. Hamlet, realizing that someone is behind the arras and suspecting that it might be Claudius, cries, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead” (Shakespeare 3. 4. 29). He draws his sword and stabs it through the tapestry, killing the unseen Polonius. This begins the starts his complete transformation from sanity to insanity. . Therefore, while Hamlet argues with his mother in her room after the dumb show he makes insulting
Riddled with ambiguity by its very nature, the text of William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been a commonly debated subject in literary circles since its first performance. The character Hamlet undergoes intense physical and emotional hardship in his quest for revenge against his despicable uncle. This hardship, some argue, leads to an emotional breakdown and, ultimately, Hamlet's insanity. While this assessment may be suitable in some cases, it falls short in others. Since Hamlet is a play, the ultimate motivation of each of the characters borrows not only from the text, but also from the motivations of the actors playing the parts. In most respects, these motivations are more apt at discerning the emotional condition of a character than their dialogue ever could. Thus, the question is derived: In Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of Hamlet, does the character Hamlet suffer from insanity? Giving halt to the response, this paper will first endeavor to establish what insanity is and will then provide sufficient examples both from the text, film, and Branagh's own musings on his motivations as proof that Hamlet's character, at least in Branagh's version of the play, is not insane.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, must seek revenge for the murder of his father. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to murder Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet becomes more and more believable in his act, even convincing his mother that he is crazy. However, through his thoughts, and actions, the reader can see that he is in fact putting up an act, he is simply simulating insanity to help fulfil his fathers duty of revenge. Throughout the play, Hamlet shows that he understands real from fake, right from wrong and his enemies from his friends. Even in his madness, he retorts and is clever in his speech and has full understanding of what if going on around him. Most importantly, Hamlet does not think like that of a person who is mad. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to seek revenge for his fathers murder.
Hamlet only claims madness because it allows him to say and perform actions he otherwise would be prohibited from, while keeping people from taking his actions seriously. This seems to be part of his initial plan that is first mentioned when he asks Horatio and Marcellus not to make any remarks in relation to his ?antic disposition (1.5.192).? Hamlet?s madness allows him to talk to Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and Polonius in a manner unsuitable for a prince. He is often disrespectful and insulting in his remarks. Although his acting backfires during his speech to Gertrude, Hamlet is able to severely criticize her for her actions because she thinks he is insane. During the play he also makes many sexual innuendos and even blatantly sexual remarks towards Ophelia such as ?That?s a fair thought to lie between maids? legs (3.2.125).? His convincing insanity act gives him the chance to vent his anger towards Ophelia for her abandonment.
Hamlet is a play that leaves you with your mouth gaping open as you ask yourself, “what just happened?”. There are so many open ended questions that will never be officially answered, leaving readers to interpret the play on their own. Was Hamlet truly in love with Ophelia? Did Gertrude know Claudius’s secret the whole time? Who is Fortinbras? These are the thoughts that make you question every piece of the play; these open ended questions are what makes William Shakespeare a timeless genius. People all over the world debate these thoughts still today, four centuries later. I would like to share with you my stance on one of these common debates: was Hamlet insane? Some signs of insanity include: inability to think critically, loss of morals, and loss of interest. Hamlet struggled throughout the play with mental and emotional challenges, but insanity was never truly present.
...ever be truly known if it was an act or not, one can surmise from the information given that Hamlet never truly went insane and he remained clever throughout the entire story. Only certain people ever say a side of insanity in him, and those who witnessed it were his enemies. Whether it was to frighten them, make them believe his actions were not his own, hide his true intentions and plans, or something else is never disclosed, but one can assume that he was in his right mind the entire time. His fake insanity leads not only to his own and his enemies’ deaths, but also the deaths of those few remaining people that he truly loves and cares about. Horatio is the only survivor and Hamlet tells him to continue living so that Horatio can tell the true story of what happened without the bias of thinking Hamlet’s actions were nothing more than the insane acts of a madman.
Throughout the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, the unclear representation of the protagonist’s actions is present. The protagonist, Hamlet, conducts the idea that he is turning mad. Although, there are many indications which support that this so-called “madness” is part of an act that Hamlet portrays. The other characters within the play try to understand the reasoning behind Hamlet’s madness, but cannot figure out the truth behind it. The main cause of Hamlet’s madness is the realization of his father’s death and the numerous influences his father’s death has on his life. Hamlet can control his actions of madness and specifically acts differently around certain characters. The characters who are more concerned
At first, Hamlet is successful, and society is convinced Ophelia is the reason for his madness, thus granting Hamlet more time to plot Claudius’s murder. This is achieved in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be speech” [3,1,57] when Claudius and Polonius spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. During the Act, Ophelia displays traits of dishonesty and Hamlet uses this to his benefit and appears to go insane to convince Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius that Ophelia is responsible for his madness. Hamlet insists his madness is an “antic disposition” [1,5,179] and that “Thou this be madness, yet there is method in it”. [2,2,204] In the play, Hamlet uses his “antic disposition” [1,5,179] to refuse Ophelia’s affections, which is powerfully portrayed when he exclaims to her “get thee to a nunnery.” [3,1,138] By denying Ophelia’s love, Hamlet’s power in the relationship is effectively demonstrated, and it is shown he is in control of their relationship. In addition, this is reflected in Ophelia’s self-destruction, as she has no purpose to live a life without Hamlet or a man. Overall, Hamlet is successful in using his power over Ophelia for the sake of his
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.
Once Polonius informs Ophelia, his daughter, of Hamlet’s madness, Polonius directly goes to King Claudius and discloses that he has the reason for Hamlet 's madness. Gertrude answers, "I doubt it no other but the main,/ His father 's death and our o 'erhasty marriage" (Shakespeare 2.2 56-57). As Hamlet 's mother, Hamlet 's father 's wife, and Hamlet 's father 's brother 's wife, Gertrude is blind to all other reason that is not Hamlets father’s death and her quick remarriage. However, Polonius believes differently and tells Claudius how Ophelia obeyed his advice to "lock herself from his resort,/ Admit no messengers, receive no tokens...into the madness wherein now [Hamlet] raves" (Shakespeare 2.2. 142-149). Polonius presumes that Hamlet 's disillusioned love for Ophelia causes his madness. With not one person knowing Hamlet’s true inspiration, everybody’s opinion on his madness is biased. Gertrude bases her reason on Hamlet 's experience over his father 's death and her fault in her quick marriage with her son 's uncle. On the other hand, Polonius bases his reason on his knowledge of and interference in the relationship between his daughter and Hamlet. At first glance, Hamlet 's madness is regarded as innocent and thought to be from the problems that are already present. Nonetheless, with the assassination of Polonius by Hamlet, his madness interprets a different meaning. When Gertrude tells Claudius of this,
After Hamlet talks to the ghost of his father, he finds out that Claudius killed him to gain the throne of Denmark. Hamlet has to get revenge by killing Claudius. To do this, he must act insane to draw away suspicion from himself. Hamlet says to Hortaio "How strange or odd some’er I bear myslef as I perchanse hereafter shall think meet to put an antic dispostion on,"(I;v;170-172), this indicates that from this moment Hamlet will act insane. He believes this way he will be able to kill the king and get away with it. Polonius becomes aware of Hamlet’s madness and wants to uncover the reason behind it. He says "Mad let us grant him then, and now remains, that we find out the cause of this defect, for this effect defective comes by cause."(II;ii;100-103). Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia as they talk. After hearing their conversation Claudius says "And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose will be some danger; which for to prevent, I have in quick determination thus set it down: he shall with speed to England"(III;i;163-166). This means that Claudius is starting to believe Hamlet is dangerous and wants to send him to England. From this point Claudius is very suspicious of Hamlet, he suspects that Hamlet is plotting against him, he says, "Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.
In act 3 scene 4 Hamlet sees his father’s ghost in his mother 's bedroom after just having murdered Polonius. Gertrude however cannot see the ghost when Hamlet tries to point it out, and she takes this as proof of Hamlet’s madness “This is the very coinage of your brain…” (3.4.135-139). However this is debatable proof, as some of the soldiers, and Horatio had seen the ghost before that point. He then drags out Polonius’s body to hide it, and the castle guards are sent to look for him. He continues to act mad during this time, furthering the belief that he really was mad (4.3.18-25). In response to this event Claudius sends Hamlet to England to be killed. Hamlet however escapes this fate, and heads back to his homeland. During the time he was away Ophelia had gone mad and had committed suicide, and Laertes had come back and swore revenge on Hamlet for what he had done to his family. This is when Hamlet’s madness appears to fade a little bit. Hamlet is shown talking normally to Horatio throughout the last section of the play, and once he finds out about Ophelia’s death he seemingly snaps back to reality, revealing he did care about her. This act of sadness was one of the few times Hamlet broke his madness facade. He gets into a fight with Laertes, and they eventually decide to settle the feud properly with a
One example of Hamlet’s madness is how he mocks Polonius. He would not do so normally because Polonius is older than he is so he would normally treat him with a certain amount of respect which he does not do following the sighting of the ghost of Old Hamlet. The Ghost tells Hamlet of his murder, and to test the truth of what he is told, Hamlet puts on “an antic disposition”. Hamlet manages to convince Polonius that he is inconsiderate of others, knowing that with seeing this odd change i...