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Hamlet's mental state
Hamlet's mental state
Psychological disorder of Hamlet
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In Act I, Scene V, after hearing the ghost’s demand for revenge, Hamlet says in advance that he will consciously feign madness while seeking the opportune moment to kill Claudius. Therefore, it is hard to conclude that he coincidentally became insane after making such a vow. Hamlet’s supposed madness becomes his primary way of interacting with the other characters during most of the play, in addition to being a major device that Shakespeare uses to develop his character. Still, the question remains: Is Hamlet really crazy or just pretending? The major conflict which seems obscures the possibility of obtaining clarity on the answer to this question is Hamlet’s inability to find any certain moral truths as he works his way toward revenge. Even in his first encounter with the ghost, Hamlet questions the appearances of things around him and worries whether he can trust his perceptions, doubting the authenticity of his father’s ghost and its tragic claim. Since, he is contemplative to the point of obsession, Hamlet’s decision to feign madness will occasionally lead him perilously close to actual madness. Indeed, one might argue that because of this conflict, it is impossible to say for certain whether or not Hamlet actually does go mad, and, if so, when his feigning becomes reality. Conversely, Hamlet’s sharp and targeted observations lend significant credence to his feigning madness. Most notably, he declares, “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (II.ii.361–362). That is to say, he is only “mad” when he is oriented in a certain way, but that he is lucid the rest of the time. Nevertheless, Hamlet confusion translates into an extremely intense state of mind that is highly suggestiv... ... middle of paper ... ...mlet’s desire to attain Laertes’ pardon clearly represents an important shift in his mental state. Whereas Hamlet was previously self-obsessed and preoccupied with his family, he is now able to think sympathetically about others. He does not go quite so far as to take responsibility for Polonius’s death, but he does seem to be acting with a broader and more humane perspective after the shock of Ophelia’s death. In conclusion, perhaps it is worthwhile to ask this question: if a person in a rational state of mind decides to act as if he is crazy, in order to abuse the people around him regardless of whether he loves those people or hates them, and to give free expression to all of his most antisocial thoughts, when he starts to carry those actions out, will it even be possible to say at what point he stops pretending to be crazy and starts actually being crazy?
Moreover, Hamlet is mad or so he seems to be. By looking at Hamlet and all his actions everyone is convinced he has gone mad. His mood changes a lot throughout the play, he speaks "wild and whirling words" (I.v.127-134) when he found our about his father’s death, has violet outbursts towards his mothe...
They decided to invite some of his college friends to watch over him. The Queen offered many thanks for their decision to watch him. “For the supply and profit of our hope, / Your visitation shall receive such thanks / As fits a king’s remembrance.” (2.2.24-26). Claudius asked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get answers out of him, making them seem more like spies than helpful friends. When Hamlet shows up to Ophelia’s house, seemingly mentally disturbed, Ophelia tells her father. Polonius decides to tell the King of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship that he thinks that may be the source of his problems. The King and Polonius set up a meeting between the two. Seeming to know he is being watched, Hamlet acts very wildly, leading them to believe Ophelia was not the cause of his insanity. The King is not impressed at Polonius. “Love! His affections do not that way tend, / Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul” (3.1.170-72). At this point, Hamlet has started his drastic decline in his mental stability. When he is called by the Queen for a talk, he over hears something behind the draped curtains and stabs through it, killing Polonius. His reaction is not what one would expect, as he does not feel any remorse. Hamlet simply states it was for the best and his bad luck. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. / I took thee for thy
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, we, as readers, increasingly question the sanity of the protagonist, Hamlet, as the play continues. His seemingly psychotic banter with the other characters in the play begins to convince us that Hamlet is, indeed, insane. Hamlet, however, states, “How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself, as I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (1.5.171). He specifically tells Horatio and Marcellus that he will be acting mad, as a front. Hamlet has an exceptional grasp on mental philosophy and the uses and effects of logic, more so than the other characters in the play.
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, 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.
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.
Think about it, in today's world, if someone thinks you’re crazy, you can say anything and get away...
Hamlet endures a personal struggle following the death of his father, since he witnesses his mother’s remarriage and even the appearance of his father in the form of a ghost. Knowing all that Hamlet’s been through, people wonder if he still has his sanity or if he has lost it all. While these hardships could have driven him to the point where he became insane, they did not. Hamlet's plan to prove that the king killed his father, is far too intricate to be considered a mad man. If he was truly insane, then he would have just listened to the ghost, and without having any evidence, would have just killed Claudius.
He realized what he has done, yet failed to comprehend its significance. Rather than calling for help and attempting to save Polonius, Hamlet calls him a “wretched, rash, intruding fool (III. iv. 32-35).” In addition to this strange behavior, he takes him out his mother’s chamber by dragging him out when he leaves. A huge importance of this bit is that it is one of the two main causes that turn Ophelia mad. The full reasoning behind it is, “Having lost Hamlet 's affection, she herself goes mad when Hamlet kills her father (Ophelia).” If losing Hamlet’s love was not enough to push her over, the loss of her father definitely was. Ophelia ends up dead in Act IV because she fell out of a tree, into the water, and her madness blinded her from the danger she was in. If anything, her death put Hamlet into a more ruined state than he already
He also admits to his mother after he kills Polonius his lack of true insanity. While talking to his mother he says “I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft” (Act 3, Scene 4, Line 194-5). Others realize themselves that his madness may not be true, and that even if it is, he still has shred of sanity. Even Polonius catches on to his act and mentions “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Line 205-6) Polonius feels as though Hamlet’s insanity is nothing more than possibly rudeness and sarcasm, instead of genuine loss of mind.
Hamlet throughout the play seems insane but in reality it is only an act to achieve his goal of killing his father's murderer. Hamlet chooses to go mad so he has an advantage over his opponent and since he is the Prince of Denmark certain behavior is unacceptable, so by faking madness he is able to get away with inappropriate sayings and actions. We can see this when he talks to Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia and his mother. When Hamlet talks to Horatio in the first act he says how he is going to "feign madness" and that:
In conclusion, reading the play Hamlet by Shakespeare does make everyone wonder whether Hamlet is crazy or not. At first glance, I did start believing that Hamlet wasn’t pretending due to his irrational actions, but after taking a closer look and analyzing the play, I realized that Hamlet does indeed prove that he is just putting on an act of insanity as a way of being able to plan out his revenge against Claudius to the full extent. This is shown through Hamlet’s conscious awareness of his surroundings, thoughts, actions, and
When we first meet Hamlet, he is a sad, dark, loathsome figure; the loss of his father and the whoring of his mother have upset him indefinitely. Like a ticking time bomb, Hamlet’s noticeable temper reflects the storm of emotions and thoughts brewing in his head, and then like a catalyst, his meeting with the Ghost of King Hamlet brings his anger to a boil. With revenge in mind, Hamlet plans to fake his madness so that he may be free to pursue his father’s killer. Everyone, except his close friend Horatio, seems convinced that he is mad. Claudius however, fearful that someone will discover his evil deed, has also had his perceptions heightened by his guilt and he experiences chronic paranoia throughout the play as a result. He is doubtful as to whether Hamlet is really mad, as we find him telling Polonius, “...what he spake ...Was not like madness. There's something in his soul O'er which his melancholy sits on brood, And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose Will be some danger” (3, 1, 157-161). On the contrary, I believe that Hamlet, lost in his soliloquies and vengeful thoughts, actually becomes mad. Ironically, his form of madness is paranoia.
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.
Davis, Tenney L. “The Sanity of Hamlet.” The Journal of Philosophy 18.23 (1921): 629–634. JSTOR. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.