Sanity, Insanity, Madness? - William Shakespeare's Hamlet is Sane
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the lead character, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, has been interpreted in numerous ways. Throughout the play Hamlet takes on different personas, making it hard define him as only one character type. Often when critics analyze the character of Hamlet, they question his sanity because of his ambiguity soon after he sees his father's ghost. What does it mean to be insane? The definition of the word "insane" says that the person must "exhibit serious and debilitating mental disorders." does Hamlet truly go insane, is his father's ghost just a figment of his tormented imagination, or is Hamlet a smart actor who meticulously planned to avenge his father's death? Hamlet had to be sane because he definitely does not exhibit serious and debilitating mental disorders. Though it seems Hamlet is insane, there is evidence showing he could not have fit the definition of an insane man. Hamlet can be proven sane with the evidence that three other men witnessed the ghost of Hamlet's father; he states a list of rules on how to be a good thespian; and he follows them while carrying out his plan to avenge his father's death. Finally, he makes witty and factual comments throughout the play that show his sanity and ability to read into the actions of other characters.
Can we say that Hamlet's encounter with his father's ghost is a sign of insanity? No, we cannot. Hamlet is informed of the ghost's existence by three other men who see it first. Kingdom guards, Mercellius and Bernardo sighted the ghost first. When they see it they tell Horatio, Hamlet's friend, who comes out to see for himself. When Horatio sees the ghost the three men went to see Hamle...
... middle of paper ...
...ow the other characters off, play them, confuse them so that he can use their stupidity against them and successfully incriminate Claudius and Gertrude so that his father can be saved from a hellish limbo. Hamlet's actions are clever and smart. He has an extraordinary ability to organize and plot. He is admirable. He keeps the actions of his performance within the walls of the castle and shows no signs of insanity when he is away from the people he does not trust. Everything he does is intricate and done with feeling and expression. Hamlet is grieving, but not to the point of insanity. He is grieving in the sense that he needs closure to the tragic events that torment his heart, and he uses the trait of insanity to try and gain this closure with an extravagant performance.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Norton Critical Ed. New York: Norton. 1992.
The question of Hamlet’s insanity is a question raised by many people, is Hamlet a great actor, or has he lost complete sense of what’s real? There is no right answer, there is no wrong answer, many readers have different perceptions on what really was going through Hamlet’s head. My perception is that hamlet comes full circle with his insanity, and at points lets it get the best of him, and brings him down to a extremely low point.
In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the main character Hamlet experiences many different and puzzling emotions. He toys with the idea of killing himself and then plays with the idea of murdering others. Many people ask themselves who or what is this man and what is going on inside his head. The most common question asked about him is whether or not he is sane or insane. Although the door seems to swing both ways many see him as a sane person with one thought on his mind, and that is revenge. The first point of his sanity is while speaking with Horatio in the beginning of the play, secondly is the fact of his wittiness with the other characters and finally, his soliloquy.
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.
Insanity rises in a person when something depressing happens to them because it destroys them mentally and physically. In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet’s insanity becomes known when he starts going through troublesome times. Hamlet’s father, which is known as Old Hamlet, was the previous king before he was unexpectedly murdered. Hamlet’s Uncle became king and also married his mother Gertrude which is what hamlet did not like. Also, in the book Hamlet was in the woods with two acquaintance and they came across the ghost of Old Hamlet to when he described to Hamlet that his brother Claudius killed him for power and also for his wife. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses word choice and symbolism to display hamlet as an insane character
Shakespeare 's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his
Throughout the novel, William Shakespeare takes his readers through many twists and turns and several of the characters exhibit odd or unnatural behavior, most noticeably Hamlet. However, it leaves readers questioning whether Hamlet’s “antic disposition” is genuine or if it is fabricated. Many may argue that Hamlet is truly mad since it eventually results in his downfall, but there are several reasons suggesting that Hamlet’s madness is feigned. While he appears to be a lunatic on the outside, Hamlet is sane, as seen through his ability to investigate his father’s murder, gain new information, plot against other characters in the novel, and discover the truth.
Nursing theories are critical for education and practice. The theories suppose to provide a foundation for general knowledge and assist in practice. Thus, healthcare professionals, managers, and patients recognize the unique healthcare service. However,
Hamlet shows many signs he has gone completely mad. Hamlets personality has changed many different times, from melancholy to playing in between the two roles of madness and sanity. His father’s sudden death and his mother’s rushed marriage to his uncle were major factors in Hamlet’s melancholy. His melancholy changed to madness when he first met with the ghost of his father. He transfers his personality between madness and sanity but madness took over. He lost his ability to be sane and created madness all around him as well. Hamlets pure madness is a pure act that turns into his identity.
Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his persona of seeming insane to the other characters. Hamlet comes up with the idea to fake madness in the beginning of the play in order to confuse his enemies. However, for Hamlet to fulfill his duty of getting revenge, he must be totally sane. Hamlet’s intellectual brilliance make it seem too impossible for him to actually be mad, for to be insane means that one is irrational and without any sense. When one is irrational, one is not governed by or according to reason. So, Hamlet is only acting mad in order to plan his revenge on Claudius.
Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare Hamlet is sane but acts insane to fulfill his destiny of getting vengeance on his father's murderer.
Virginia Henderson developed the nursing need theory, which focuses on increasing the patient’s independence to speed up the recovery process (Alligood and Tomey, 2009). This is where my theory begins to connect with hers. Our main duty as nurses is to provide care for the patient while they are unable to care for themselves and facilitate them to be the best individual they can be. For this reason nursing is both a science and an art. It is a science in that nurses must understand the disease processes that are affecting the patient’s health, they must also practice based on evidence that is defended by science, and know how to operate equipment and machines. However, it is an art because it requires unique care for each patient, and each nurse is going to provide care in a slightly different way. The nurse is responsible for following the health care providers plan of care, but the nurse provides the creativity that provides the individualized care. The ultimate goal of nursing is to provide care to facilitate the patient in retaining or maintaining their maximal level of
Malaria (also called biduoterian fever, blackwater fever, falciparum malaria, plasmodium, Quartan malaria, and tertian malaria) is one of the most infectious and most common diseases in the world. This serious, sometimes-fatal disease is caused by a parasite that is carried by a certain species of mosquito called the Anopheles. It claims more lives every year than any other transmissible disease except tuberculosis. Every year, five hundred million adults and children (around nine percent of the world’s population) contract the disease and of these, one hundred million people die. Children are more susceptible to the disease than adults, and in Africa, where ninety percent of the world’s cases occur and where eighty percent of the cases are treated at home, one in twenty children die of the disease before they reach the age of five. Pregnant women are also more vulnerable to disease and in certain parts of Africa, they are four times as likely to contract the disease and only half as likely to survive it.
M. Petrescu, e. a. (2010). Public Management: between the Traditional and New Model. Review of International Comparative 408 Management , 411.
United Nations, (2006). Unlocking the human potential for public sector performance world; public sector report 2005. United Nations: Academic foundation
Public Administration involves the development, implementation and management of policies for the attainment of set goals and objectives that will be to the benefit of the general public. Since Public Administration involves taking decisions that affect the use of public resources there is often the question of how to utilize public resources for maximum public good. The National Association of Public Administration has identified four pillars of public administration: economy, efficiency, effectiveness and social equity. These pillars are equally important in the practice of public administration and to its success. This paper seeks to explain the role of each of the pillars in the practice of public administration.