The question asked by Hamlet “To be, or not to be?” (III.i.57.) analyzes the deeper thoughts of the young prince of Denmark. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the battle between living life or dying runs repeatedly through Hamlet’s head. In this famous soliloquy, Hamlet ponders the feelings going through his head, during his monologue, on whether he should live with the disruptions in his life or end it all at once. Hamlet’s life, both fulfilling and depressing, made him act out more when it came to interacting with other people. With all the people who admired him, he still managed to push everyone away using his sarcastic antics to degrade them intentionally. Not only does he portray this type of personality to people, but the change in so …show more content…
Seemingly, Hamlet portrays a well put together man in the beginning of the play but soon changes emotions when circumstances arise. The emotional fiend acquires multiple traits of Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD, that affects his well-being causing unstable impulses that derive from his circumstances. Although Hamlet may suffer from co-occurring, BPD is the most visible disorder that he compares with throughout this book. BPD affects Hamlet so strongly due to his environmental stress, which comes from his mischievous parents, that gives him less control of his …show more content…
He was truly a victim of a fatal situation that led him to his insanity. People who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder are “considerably more likely to the victim of violence, including rape and other crimes,” (“What is BPD?”1). Although Hamlet is a casualty if the disorder, it is completely justified by the occurrences in his life. The traumatic event of losing his father really did affect the way he will live on throughout the play. In conclusion, Hamlet may not be completely psychotic, but he does suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, that he exhibits when interacting with other
He is mentally disturbed by the thought of his uncle killing his father to the point where he loses touch with sanity. Hamlet is a tragedy that will never have a straightforward answer as to if he faked being crazy or not. My belief is that Hamlet had in fact lost touch with reality. The slow decline of his mental health throughout lead me to believe he did go crazy, even if he might have been faking it at first. After seeing his father’s ghost, I believe he started acting like he had lost his mind to blame his future actions on the fact that he was crazy. I also believe he truly did lose his mind shortly after when he found out about Claudius murdering his
Mental illnesses and craziness are not always a bad thing, it is what mental illnesses and craziness can cause the people to do. Hamlet by William Shakespeare provides the readers with many different types of mental illness and madness. This play was written in the early 1600’s and times have changed a lot since then, but the examples of mental illnesses and craziness is still an issue in todays world. A majority of characters in this play have kind of mental illness and/or are crazy, insane, or mad. In William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet, mental illness and craziness and madness play an important role of the development of the characters and the story.
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.
Hamlet can be considered no worse than an eccentric, determined, and possibly single-minded man, who was made so by his father?s murder and his request for revenge. His feigned madness is maintained because it allows him to continue with his plans. This madness is not, however, sustained when guard is unnecessary. Maybe Hamlet thought too much, but he thought as a sane man would. He commits no actions without reason, and he is far too astute and organized to be proclaimed mentally unstable. Hamlet?s portrayal of a madman is also very complex because it allows not only his points to be made, but in a believably insane way, which contrasts greatly with the expected ramblings of a truly insane person.
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is an immature child who craves attention. Throughout the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, Hamlet creates difficulty for himself because of his inability to handle the situations life throws at him. There are many aspects of life that become easier with maturity. Hamlet’s lack of maturity makes his entire life that much more difficult and, in the end, his immaturity kills him.
Shakespeare shows Hamlet is going through many mood changes throughout the play. At times it seems he is depressed, hyper, excited and bad-tempered. People would just come to a conclusion that Hamlet simply just went mad during the play. Although, looking closer and during an examination, it is seen to be that Hamlet is showing clear symptoms to be diagnosed with bipolar I disorder.
Is Hamlet truly insane? While the play is not extremely clear on the matter and often contradicts itself, many of Hamlet’s wild ramblings and words of nonsense seem to be not the true words of a madman. Hamlet says himself that he is merely “putting on an antic disposition” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 181). He admits very early on in the play that his insanity will be nothing more than a ruse to fool those around him. This is further proven by the fact that when he is around Horatio he shows no signs of mental illness. He speaks calmly and everything he says makes sense.
It’s clear that the characters in Hamlet are suffering from some kind of mental illness. Some more serious than others, but given all of their backgrounds, it’s clear to see why. Having to deal with things like murder, your uncle becoming your father, and the girl you love killing herself becomes a lot to handle. The story begins with King Hamlet’s funeral where we later find out that Prince Hamlet’s uncle is marrying his mother and claiming the throne as his own. Months pass and Hamlet is still noticeably upset about his father’s passing and he’s been acting very strange. He’s then visited by the ghost of his late father, when he learns that his uncle killed his father. Prince Hamlet swears to his father that he will get revenge for his untimely
The young disturbed prince shows symptoms of suffering from both depression and bipolar disorder. Signs of depression arose early in this play, Hamlet was grieving the loss of his father, King Hamlet, when “[he had] wish[ed his] dirty flesh could melt away into a vapor, or that God had not made a law against suicide” (Shakespeare
During parts of the play one can argue, Hamlet is no longer feigning madness and has already crossed onto the side of insanity. For instance, during his meeting with his mother in her bedchamber, he begins to yell at her, scaring her in the process causing her to believe her own son is about to kill her (III, iv, 22). In that same scene he stabs and kills Polonius without the slightest hesitation (III, iv, 24-26), and then he essentially mocks Claudius and plays games with him when asked where he has taken the body. However, one can also conclude his erratic behavior only surfaces in the presence of these specific characters. When in the presence of other characters, specifically Horatio he is sane, calm, rational, and in complete control of his behavior. His word exchanges with Horatio are not from a madman, but rather
Hamlet is a man with an identity crisis because of the conflicting emotions he is feeling and expectations being thrust upon him. His eventual plunge into a state of insanity was a direct consequence of stress. The stress between worlds destroyed his moral base, the actions of his mother and his consequential treatment of Ophelia left him with no 'north point' to follow and his constant changing of moods either caused his crisis or were as a result of losing his way. Hamlet to this day remains a complex character in the centre of perhaps the finest play in the history of the English language.
If one wants to truly understand the psychological implications of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the primary focus should be on the character Hamlet, and how he develops and modifies throughout the play. Using the fundamentals of the psychoanalytic perspective of critical evaluation, one would be able to truly identify and explore the true nature of Hamlet, and the effects that his character has on the situation surrounding him. In order to gain a true understanding of most of the detail that is implied through Hamlet’s way of portraying himself to others, it is vital to look deep into the actions that are carried out, and analyze them psychoanalytically.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the poor treatment of Hamlet by Claudius in his feigning of madness leads to the deterioration of Hamlets true mental state. After hearing the news of the murder of his father, Hamlet devotes
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.