Chaos, Revenge, Pain and Suffering in Hamlet
Life is full of chaos, often resulting from the actions of others. This is one of the main themes in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. Characters seeking revenge create chaos which leads both those around them, and themselves, to suffer emotionally and physically and in the end, die. To illustrate this, Hamlet causes pain and suffering to those around him, Hamlet causes pain and suffering to himself, and Laertes causes pain and suffering to himself and others.
Hamlet’s revenge plot causes a lot of chaos as the other characters struggle to learn what is causing Hamlet’s insanity, in their struggle they are hurt both emotionally and physically. To begin, Hamlet causes Ophelia so much pain that
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In addition to Ophelia, Hamlet also has his two friends, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, executed. This is learned when Hamlet recounts this to Horatio, “He should the bearers put to sudden death. / Not shriving-time allow’d” (5,2,46-47) Hamlet had exchanged the letter requesting his execution with one that orders the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not wish to die, therefore Hamlet has caused them suffering. To finish, in accordance with his intentions, Hamlet torments and kills Claudius. The anger and pain Hamlet’s madness has caused Claudius can be observed when he admits “ For like a hectic in my blood he rages, / And …show more content…
As a result of this madness, Hamlet, akin to all tragic heroes, causes his own suffering and death. Starting with Hamlet’s death, it can be determined that his own actions led to his end. Hamlet killed Polonius, which in turn led to Ophelia’s insanity, both of which compounded to have Laertes begin seeking revenge. He promises this when he states “And so have I a noble father lost; / A sister driven into desperate terms, … but my revenge will come.” (4,7,25-29) In the end, Laertes gets his revenge when he poisons Hamlet. Through this chain of events, it is evident that Hamlet caused his own death. What’s more is Hamlet loses Ophelia and her love. In a monologue, Ophelia admits “And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, / That suck’d the honey of his music vows, / Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, / Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; / That unmatch’d form and feature of blown youth / Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me,” (3,1,157-162) Contrary to his actions, Hamlet still loves Ophelia, which he admits at her funeral, “ I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers / Could not, with all their quantity of love, / Make up my sum.” (5,1,263-265) On the subject of Ophelia’s death, in her madness caused by the loss of her father, she drowns, which again, is caused by Hamlet’s actions. With his revenge plot, comes another agony Hamlet
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is the dramatic story of a son who felt betrayed by both his mother, and the woman that he loved. Written in the Elizabethan era, around 1600, “Shakespeare's focus on Hamlet's intellectual conflicts was a significant departure from contemporary revenge tragedies… which tended to dramatize violent acts graphically on stage” (Hamlet). The play depicts Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who it visited by the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. The ghost reveals how he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who then claimed the title of King, and married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s untimely death. Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but her brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius, warn her that Hamlet can never really love her. Ophelia, following her father’s wishes, is unwittingly enlisted to spy on Hamlet, which leaves him feeling betrayed. Hamlet rejects Ophelia, accidently stabs and kills Polonius, and then hides the body. Ophelia becomes so distraught over her father’s death, that she ultimately drowns herself. Hamlet is devastated when he learns of Ophelia’s death. The play culminates with a sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes. Hamlet’s mother dies from inadvertently drinking poisoned wine that was intended to kill Hamlet. Laertes and Hamlet are both stabbed with a poison-tipped sword, but before dying, Laertes confesses that Claudius was the mastermind behind everything. Hamlet forces Claudius to also drink the wine and the irony is that everyone dies in the end. One of the most controversial topics in history is the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet’s letters express his sincere feelings, and reveal that he was very much in love with Ophe...
Hamlet in the beginning of the play finds out about how his father truly died and begins to devise a plan to avenge his father. Just so happen his plan is to be crazy. Hamlet first begins acting crazy when he goes into Ophelia’s sewing rooms and starts sniffing her, this little act of crazy has Polonius thinking hamlet is mad with love for Ophelia and began occasionally spying on Hamlet. Hamlets friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent so spy on him by the king but hamlet sees through the cleaver plan and just continues to act mad around his school friends, and tells them that he is "I am but mad north-north-west" (BOOK). Polonius, the Queen, and the king come up with a plan to try and see how hamlet feels about Ophelia. They all watch while Ophelia waits for hamlet to pass by Hamlet and Ophelia speak about their relationship but hamlet say he never loved Ophelia because he knows someone is listening so he must act mad. Hamlets has rewritten a scene in a play that was being preformed in the castle to match the way King Hamlet tells hamlet he was killed. While watching the play hamlet sees that the kings reactions is just what he wants it to be. Guilt. But its at this moment in the play hamlet tries to warn someone about all the things happening. Hamlet goes up to Ophelia after the play and says "believe none of this"(BOOK). While a lot of things could have been
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.
In (Doc D) Hamlet begins to go after Ophelia to make his old friends that are spying on him believe that he is love sick and that they shouldn’t worry about him trying to kill Claudis. Doc D Hamlet is yelling and screaming at her and this is how Hamlet’s actions aren’t justified. Ophelia is also mad at Hamlet for killing her father and because of that she ends up killing herself by drowning. So Hamlet instead of just killing his father, he kills Ophelia and Polonius.
Hamlet's behavior throughout the play, especially towards Ophelia is inconsistent. He jumps into Ophelia's grave, and fights with Laertes in her grave. He professes I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum [Act V, scene I, lines 250-253], during the fight with Laertes in Ophelia's grave, but he tells her that he never loved her, when she returns his letters and gifts, while she was still alive. Hamlet subtly hints his awareness of his dissolving sanity as he tells Laertes that he killed Polonius in a fit of madness [Act V, scene II, lines 236-250]
This, of course, causes a landslide of tragedy in the play. Claudius exiles Hamlet to England and sends sealed letters to the King of England telling him to kill Hamlet upon his arrival. Ophelia goes insane. Laertes, Hamlet's brother, returns from France with an army, demanding to know why Polonius was killed. Claudius enlists Laertes to kill Hamlet. Ophelia commits suicide. Hamlet and Laertes duel at her funeral; both of them are mortally wounded, Gertrude kills herself and Hamlet kills Claudius.
Hamlet, Ophelia’s lover, accidentally kills her father and “confesses” he never loved her, Hamlet toys with Ophelia's emotions intentionally and unintentionally to solidify his madness. Even though she was the who initiated the “breakup”, her sorrows of the relationship are much more public than Hamlets. Hamlet’s madness scares Ophelia away which he used as a defense mechanism to not be hurt anymore. His madness looks as though he had been "loosed out of hell to speak of horrors" (2.1.83-84) and she "truly [did] fear it"(2.1. 86). His insanity and rudeness suffocated any love she had for him. She admits that their "their perfume [has been] lost" (3.1. 99). This helped Hamlet solidify his insanity by cutting ties with the ones he loves, and having them tell others he is mad. This comes with the cost of discontinuing his relationships: especially with Ophelia. Both have hinted around in the text of an intimate affair. This makes the emotions and breakup even more difficult for both of them. Their relationship was a love, not an innocent crush or courtship. Poor Ophelia initially thought she caused Hamlet's madness due to the abrupt ending of their affair. But because of her naivety, she lacks to see his other internal struggles. Ophelia’s trust in Hamlet left her heartbroken. Hamlet’s agenda of or getting justice for his father occupied his mind more than Ophelia did. Which left her feeling
After Polonius dies, Ophelia loses her mind. Because Hamlet has broken her heart, she unknowingly kills herself. In outrage, Laertes ends up dying avenging his father’s death. However, Laertes realizes that he did not understand the circumstances of Hamlet’s situation and asks for forgiveness. Because of his selfishness, Polonius not only brought death upon himself, but also upon his family. A hypocrite and two-faced servant, Polonius portrays many of the ignorant citizens of Denmark at the time. They quickly accepted Claudius as their new king and abandoned the noble King Hamlet. Prince Hamlet, one of the few characters that knew the truth, dies for a noble cause while Polonius died for an ignoble one.
Ophelia is a perfect example of how the poison of revenge of the kingdom of Elsinore does not only affect the person committing these acts, and as the victim, but the innocent bystanders as well. Originally Ophelia had nothing to do with King Hamlet’s unjust death, but her relationship and involvement with Hamlet, her father, and Claudius and Gertrude is enough to make her a lunatic and at last her deplorable death. Shakespeare shows Ophelia’s heartbreaking downfall in her speeches after her father’s passing “There’s/ rue for you, and here’s some for me.../Oh, you must wear your rue with a difference.—There’s a daisy. I would/ give you some violets, but they withered all when/ my father died. They say he made a good end” (Hamlet: IV.v.51). It is clear that the corruption in the kingdom causes Ophelia to become insane. She cannot cope with or overcome her father’s unfortunate death because it was committed by her love, Hamlet. As Ophelia becomes insane due to her father’s death, she is also affected by Hamlet’s treatment of her. Ophelia wants to trust Hamlet and does not understand his antic disposition, but still tries to be loyal to him. However, the way Hamlet treats Ophelias contributes to her insanity and is arguably the most recognizable cause of her misfortune “Get thee to a nunnery,/...Or, if thou wilt needs marry,/ marry a fool,
Ophelia ignored him when he would’ve really needed some one to talk to about his future actions on a personal level; she later committed suicide which made him feel more emotional. Claudius was really the reason for everything happening; he killed his brother, King Hamlet Sr. in a plot to marry Gertrude quickly enough that he could steal the throne from Hamlet and become king. When Hamlet finds this out it causes him to become more emotionally distressed and many people are killed in the end. Although his mother and father were mostly the reason why he became emotional and a vengeful killer, there were other people that play a smaller part in his actions as well.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
Hamlet’s obsession with taking revenge destroys the relationships in his life. His furiousness with his mother’s marriage causes him to lose respect for her and wish for no more marriages in Denmark (III. i. 144-152). Hamlet’s loss of respect for women affects his relationship with his girlfriend, Ophelia. He slowly begins to drive her away. Hamlet becomes impetuous and consequently kills Ophelia’s father, which permanently destroys their relationship. Another instance of obsession to revenge is Laertes. He becomes so bent upon avenging his family, that he does not think clearly. Claudius deceives Laertes by persuading him into killing Hamlet so that he remains out of harm’s way. However, their obsession to revenge becomes the foundation of their
In Hamlet Shakespeare is able to use revenge in an extremely skillful way that gives us such deep insight into the characters. It is an excellent play that truly shows the complexity of humans. You can see in Hamlet how the characters are willing to sacrifice t...
The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about Hamlet going insane and reveals his madness through his actions and dialogue. Hamlet remains one of the most discussed literary characters of all time. This is most likely due to the complex nature of Hamlet as a character. In one scene, Hamlet appears happy, and then he is angry in another and melancholy in the next. Hamlet’s madness is a result of his father’s death which was supposedly by the hands of his uncle, Claudius. He has also discovered that this same uncle is marrying his mom. It is expected that Hamlet would be suffering from some emotional issues as result of these catastrophes. Shakespeare uses vivid language, metaphors, and imagery to highlight how Hamlet’s madness influences several important aspects of his life including his relationships and the way he presents himself.
Like all Shakespearean tragedies, Hamlet’s ending is no different in end-result. Hamlet’s separation from society and his self-imposed confusion caused by over-thinking results in the unnecessary deaths of most of the major characters. In turn, Hamlet’s pre-occupation with factors inessential to his mission of revenge slows down his action. It is this internal struggle that illustrates the intensity and complexity of Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, something that is often looked at from a psychological perspective.