Chilean novelist, Roberto Bolano conveys a strong message, “People see what they want to see and what people want to see never has anything to do with the truth". Bolano’s assertion rings true in William Shakespeare’s notorious play Hamlet. In the play, Hamlet’s sanity is questioned by the characters as he attempts to avenge his father’s death. Some of Hamlet’s actions and words are perceived as foolish and irrational, which is why many declare him insane. However, no one considers the adversity he faces in life. From the demise of his father, King Hamlet, and lover, Ophelia, to his mother, Gertrude, remarrying his uncle, Claudius, he is full of grief and anguish. These events may have the power to turn him insane as believed by other
Renowned literary critic, Peter Wenzel, firmly states, “the ‘antic- disposition’ (I.5.180) affected by the protagonist has often been taken as another instance of real madness in the play. There is however, important historical and contextual evidence to be adduced against this view”. Wenzel creates an argument against popular belief. He argues that although Hamlet appears to be “crazy”, the reality is that he is sane, purposefully faking madness. He goes on to say that there is specific evidence from within the text that shows he is feigning madness to further his plot of revenge. Two nightly guards, Horatio and Marcellus, see an unusual sight, the ghost of deceased King Hamlet. They advise Hamlet of this, and he visits the ghost. When Hamlet returns from his visit with the ghost, he is astonished by the newly- found cause of his father’s death. He decides that he must avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius. To avenge his father’s death, Hamlet puts on “antic- disposition”, in which he feigns madness. Upon his return to the guards, Horatio and Marcellus, he exclaims, “How strange or odd some’er I bear myself/ As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put antic disposition on”( ). Hamlet reveals to the guards that when they see him, he may seem deranged, but that it is an act that
Peter Wenzel declares, “the most important evidence against the thesis of Hamlet’s insanity, however, is again to be found in the comments of other character’s and in this case of Hamlet himself”. Wenzel suggests through his declaration that the reader should look scrupulously at the lines of each character, especially Hamlet, to verify his sanity. When Wenzel says “in this case of Hamlet himself”, he is implying that one should focus on Hamlet’s soliloquies to understand his real thoughts and emotions. Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be” speech, truly explains all that Hamlet is feeling throughout the play. Hamlet frantically expresses, “To be or not to be; that is the question: / whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep” ( ). These famous lines are the most important lines in the entire play because there is much debate on Hamlet’s sanity during his confession. In these lines, Hamlet is contemplating suicide. One could argue that he is insane for wanting to kill himself, however understanding his past helps show he is sane. Up to this point in the play, Hamlet has dealt with family problems. His father dies, and his mother remarries his uncle. He still grieves the loss of his father, and he cannot believe his mother has moved on
The Tragedy of Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare about a young prince trying to avenge his father’s death. In the beginning of the play, young Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, killed him. Meanwhile Hamlets mother, Gertrude, has gotten married to said uncle. Now it is Hamlet’s job to kill his Uncle-father to avenge his dead father, a task that may prove to daunting for Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Hamlet, the author uses diction and syntax to make Hamlet portray himself as mentally insane when in reality, he is sane thorough the duration of the play, tricking the other characters into giving up their darkest secrets.
People all around the world are familiar with the “To be or not to be” speech. Although some might not realize it is a speech by Hamlet, they do realize how powerful those lines are. Those lines show the mark of a great philosopher, and this is precisely what Hamlet is. Because Hamlet is such a fantastic philosopher at the start of the play, it leads him to what some believe is his downfall. The fact that perhaps he thinks too much on the people and incidents surrounding him is really what pulls him down. He spends an excessive amount of his day thinking about every aspect of every event.
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 of 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 of the play. Because of this, Hamlet appears insane to others, but in fact remains true to his original statement of simply using an “antic disposition.”
After the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet proclaims that he saw his father’s ghost when he, Horatio and Bernardo were in the forest. The ghost spoke to the trio and apparently told them that Lord Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, now the King, was behind the murder of his father. This troubled Hamlet and at that point he came up with a plan to see whether the ghost’s prophecy was true. A huge part of his plan included him acting insane. “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put on an antic disposition on” (I,I,191). This statement is significant as Hamlet himself ...
Riddled with ambiguity by its very nature, the text of William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been a commonly debated subject in literary circles since its first performance. The character Hamlet undergoes intense physical and emotional hardship in his quest for revenge against his despicable uncle. This hardship, some argue, leads to an emotional breakdown and, ultimately, Hamlet's insanity. While this assessment may be suitable in some cases, it falls short in others. Since Hamlet is a play, the ultimate motivation of each of the characters borrows not only from the text, but also from the motivations of the actors playing the parts. In most respects, these motivations are more apt at discerning the emotional condition of a character than their dialogue ever could. Thus, the question is derived: In Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of Hamlet, does the character Hamlet suffer from insanity? Giving halt to the response, this paper will first endeavor to establish what insanity is and will then provide sufficient examples both from the text, film, and Branagh's own musings on his motivations as proof that Hamlet's character, at least in Branagh's version of the play, is not insane.
Displaying an 'antic disposition', Hamlet first attempts to side step his trepidation by feigning madness. After meeting with his fathers proposed ghost, Hamlet attempts to distance himself from the thought or evidence of death. Hamlet notifies his friends, Marcellus and Horatio, of his plan to distract the kingdom from his real intentions. Although Hamlet proposes this as a way to fool those in Denmark, in the last lines of his meeting with Horatio and Marcellus, he curses that this revenge be placed upon him. This is the first indication of Hamlets reluctance to perform murder. Hamlet then returns to Claudius and Gertrude, at the castle, and acts out his madness for them and for the visitor, Polonius. Upon speaking to Polonius, Polonius picks up upon Hamlets 'madness', yet decides that this unnatural nature is because if Ophelia's behavior toward Hamlet. Indication of Hamlets fear is presented when Polonius asks leave of the prince. Hamlet then states that Polonius can take anything from him, anything but his life. Hamlet repeats thrice this idea of taking anything 'except [his] life.' Not only does this indicate how compulsive Hamlets fake insanity is becoming, but how afraid he is of dying. During the 'To be or not to be' soliloquy, Hamlet contemplates his view of death. As he go...
In the tragic play, Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, many people consider the main character to be insane. They believe this because Hamlet himself, pretends to be a mad man throughout the tragedies he endures. What one must do is study how he thinks and the rationality he shows during these disasters, all the while fooling everyone he is going mad just to get revenge on the new King. “Hamlet is never insane. He may approach the brink of insanity but he backs away and instead chooses to act insane in order to achieve his ends and eventually victory over Claudius,” it is all just part of the bigger plan.
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.
Logan Gaertner Mrs. Amon English IV 1 March 2014 Is Hamlet’s Insanity Real? 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 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.
Hamlet’s plan of faking insanity to avenge his father’s death eventually backfires and he winds up hurting those closest to him. What began as feigned madness slowly becomes reality. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet could be characterized as a respectful, well-mannered son who is mourning the death of his father and shows signs of depression. In the end of the play, Hamlet turns into an irrational, unforgiving maniac who is unaware of the complete and utter chaos that he inflicts on himself and everyone he loves. Instead of controlling his “antic disposition”, Hamlet's antic disposition controls him, resulting in tragedy and death.
After Hamlet talks to the ghost of his father, he finds out that Claudius killed him to gain the throne of Denmark. Hamlet has to get revenge by killing Claudius. To do this, he must act insane to draw away suspicion from himself. Hamlet says to Hortaio "How strange or odd some’er I bear myslef as I perchanse hereafter shall think meet to put an antic dispostion on,"(I;v;170-172), this indicates that from this moment Hamlet will act insane. He believes this way he will be able to kill the king and get away with it. Polonius becomes aware of Hamlet’s madness and wants to uncover the reason behind it. He says "Mad let us grant him then, and now remains, that we find out the cause of this defect, for this effect defective comes by cause."(II;ii;100-103). Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia as they talk. After hearing their conversation Claudius says "And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose will be some danger; which for to prevent, I have in quick determination thus set it down: he shall with speed to England"(III;i;163-166). This means that Claudius is starting to believe Hamlet is dangerous and wants to send him to England. From this point Claudius is very suspicious of Hamlet, he suspects that Hamlet is plotting against him, he says, "Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.
One of the most analyzed plays in existence today is the tragedy Hamlet, with its recurring question: "Is Hamlet's 'antic disposition' feigned or real?" This question can only be answered by observing the thoughts of the main characters in relation to the cause of Hamlet's real or feigned madness. In the tragedy Hamlet, each of the main characters explains Hamlets madness in their own unique way. To discover the cause behind the madness of Hamlet, each character used their own ambitions, emotions and interpretations of past events. Initially one of the most accepted causes for Hamlets instability is that of denied love, conjured by the self fulfilling Polonius.
Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” Soliloquy in act 3, scene 1, reveals that Hamlet is a thoughtful and calculating character attempting to be cautious. Hamlet is looking at the prospect of killing himself from all viewpoints. In Hamlet’s soliloquy shakespeare strikes home with a pivotal human conc...
One example of Hamlet’s madness is how he mocks Polonius. He would not do so normally because Polonius is older than he is so he would normally treat him with a certain amount of respect which he does not do following the sighting of the ghost of Old Hamlet. The Ghost tells Hamlet of his murder, and to test the truth of what he is told, Hamlet puts on “an antic disposition”. Hamlet manages to convince Polonius that he is inconsiderate of others, knowing that with seeing this odd change i...
“To be or not to be” (3.1.56) the famous lines known far and wide from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The play, Hamlet, is about how King Hamlet of Denmark has died and his son Prince Hamlet returns for his funeral only to hear that the guards have seen the ghost of his father. This mysterious appearance intrigues the young Hamlet and so he goes to see the ghost and when he does, the ghost tells him that he is the spirit of his late father and that he did not die naturally. Continuing on the ghost tells Hamlet that he was actually murdered by his brother and Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius. Vowing to avenge his father’s death Hamlet sets out upon elaborate schemes to confirm that Claudius did indeed kill his father. As the play progresses Hamlet slowly seems to become insane, during one of his rampages while he was with his mother, he stabbed Polonius through a curtain killing him. Polonius’ death set Laertes, Polonius’ son, on revenge on the murderer and in doing so Claudius and Laertes joined in arms to make Hamlet disappear from the world. To ensure Hamlet would die Laertes poisoned his fencing sword and Claudius poisoned a chalice. In the end they all died from poisoning from the sword or from the chalice. Shakespeare provided dimension upon dimension for Hamlet, he created a character as real as could be. His character was an educated witty, indecisive, suicidal, and insane gentleman.