love and madness

In Hamlet both Hamlet and Ophelia are able to speak freely behind the mask of their madness. The reaction that Hamlet and Ophelia have regarding their fathers’ deaths is what drives them mad. Hamlet and Ophelia are also both children of controlling parents, and they are forced to do things they do not want to do. Their madness leads them both to their deaths. Although Hamlet and Ophelia are very different from one another, their madness serves a common purpose to mask and disguise their emotional agony but it ultimately leads to their tragic deaths.

The death of Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s fathers prompts their madness. The day Hamlet realizes that his father’s murderer is his stepfather and uncle overwhelms him. Therefore, he suggests to feign madness, “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on.” (I. V. 172-173) He pretends to be mad so that he can safely investigate his father’s murder without alarming others with his snooping. Ophelia’s madness begins when she realizes that her father is dead, “He is dead and gone, lady, / He is dead and gone, / At his head a grass-green turf, / At his heels a stone. / Oh, ho!” (IV. V. 26-30) She has a bad habit of constantly granting her father’s wishes without question, and heavily relies upon her father’s guidance. As a result, she loses her mind when he is gone. Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s loss of their fathers initiates their madness whether feigned or real.

Both Hamlet and Ophelia have parents who use controlling behaviours, which compel them to commit to acts they have no desire to do. Hamlet’s father, Elderly Hamlet, who is murdered by his brother Claudius, reappears in apparition, “But howsoever thou pursuest this act, / Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul c...

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...yal for the unrequited love Hamlet gave Ophelia. Due to her loss of a father, and a man with whom has lost interest in her, she has no one to confide to, so he commits suicide. Hamlet feigning madness and Ophelia’s true insanity ultimately lead to their tragic deaths.

Hamlet reveals the truth of the mask of madness allowing Hamlet and Ophelia to speak freely. Hamlet and Ophelia’s reaction regarding the executions of their fathers prompts their madness. Both Hamlet and Ophelia have controlling parents who compelled them to take jobs that they have no interest in doing. Hamlet feigning madness and Ophelia’s true insanity leads them to their tragic deaths. Despite the differences between Hamlet and Ophelia, their madness whether feigned or real serves a central purpose to hide and conceal their emotional agony, instead gives death an opportunity to ruin their lives.