Insanity In Hamlet

The theme of madness is quite prevalent in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The play begins in Denmark with the death of King Hamlet. His son, prince Hamlet, is suspicious of the mysterious and unsolved murder and investigates the alleged murderer the new king Claudius. Throughout the play, many characters experienced some form of insanity, each for different reasons. Hamlet for example initially seeked revenge for his father’s death and over time became mad due to his vengeful desire. Claudius, on the other hand, was mad with desire for power and killed King Hamlet as a result. Finally, Ophelia developed madness after her father was murdered by her lover which ultimately led her to drowning herself. Through the depiction of these characters, Shakespeare effectively comments on the insanity in human nature using symbolic imagery and reflective diction. Beginning with Hamlet, Shakespeare’s diction in Hamlet’s quotes reveal his

For starters, both expressions are sad and contain violent imagery. Claudius’ soliloquy contains the phrase “What if this cursed hand/Were thicker than itself with brother's blood,/Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens/To wash it white as snow?” (3.3.43-46) This line has lots of imagery regarding cold-blooded murder. The words “cursed hand” and “brother’s blood” brings a feeling of sinfulness to the highest degree where he used his bare hands to brutally murder his brother. The phrase “to wash it white as snow” expresses how he washed the sin away from his hands and pretended he never did it, suggesting Claudius now has guilt for his violent deed. Hamlet’s soliloquy contains the phrase “A villain kills my father; and for that,/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/To heaven” (3.3.76-78). Using the phrase “a villain kills my father” expresses a demonizing image of Claudius with violent reference as well. He makes it seem like Claudius is a villain and deserves to