Madness and Insanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet - Madness and Hamlet

The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is primarily a tragedy of revenge as the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all seek vengeance for their fathers' deaths, which leads to chaos. At the beginning of Hamlet, the audience is already aware of a tragedy when the king of Denmark dies. The death of prince Hamlet’s father, king Hamlet, is the source of his thirst for revenge throughout the entire play. As the play progresses, Hamlet has an encounter with his father's ghost, leading Hamlet to believe that his uncle Claudius is responsible for his father's death, "And so I am revenged. That would be scann’d:/ A villain kills my father; and, for that,/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ To heaven."

The son (also named Hamlet) has been depressed, lately, about the death of his father and is aggravated at his mother for marrying Claudius (his uncle) less than two months since his father’s death. Many characters in the book (especially Hamlet) use sarcasm, which gives insight to what they truly think about the other characters of the book. In line 179-180, Hamlet states, "Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables" (I.ii.179-180). Hamlet uses sarcasm to suggest that his mother has gotten married so quickly after the death of his father and how much he disapproves of this matter.

Hamlet wants to insure that the ghost really was his dead father before he kills Claudius. To do this Hamlet has people act out the death of his father in front of Claudius and declares him guilty by his reaction to the play. " O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a thousand pound." Hamlet declares Claudius' guilt to Horatio and now realizes that he must continue on with his revenge plot. The conflict between Hamlet and Claudius is delayed by Hamlet but does eventually occur in the last scene.

The start of the unfortunate event is when the king is brutally murder. Cluadius seemed to bring curse a pawn everyone around him. By the murder of Hamlet's father he was determined to avenge his death. Hamlet now had to avenge the death of his father and end the incestuous acts between a twisted uncle and mother. "He kills Polonius by accident, hoping that in a blind thrust through ther arras he might turn out at last to have dispatched the King..."(Murray pg131) Some may think that Hamlet let his emotions take over his actions in avenging his fathers' death , but Ophelia and Laertes also lots a father and they too acted like out of control.

Prior to the opening of the drama, Gertrude was having an incestuous affair with her husbands brother, Claudius. Claudius then killed his brother (King Hamlet), and shortly after married Gertrude. Prince Hamlet could not handle this and was disgusted by the entire situation. He then decided to put on an "Antic Disposition," meaning that he will pretend to be crazy in order to find out the details of what is going on. Gertrude observes that Hamlet is not his usual self, and she feels responsible because her remarriage is so soon after her old husbands death.

After all these horrific events, to go crazy would be an understatement. When Hamlet received the news of his father 's murder, he did what anyone would do in his situation. He puts on the antic disposition to find out if Claudius did kill his father and plan his revenge. On the other hand, when Laertes found out about the death of his father he suspected Claudius and immediately confronted him without much thought. He

In Elizabethan times, when Hamlet was writte... ... middle of paper ... ...enges his father’s death, the consequences are harsh. He has to watch his mother die and realises he has used Laertes own weapon to kill him. His death is, of course, the saddest consequence of his revenge. Hamlet’s murder of Claudius improves the reader’s appreciation of the text as they understand that although Hamlet is moribund, he has avenged his father’s murder, which is what he set out to do in the first place. I think that “Hamlet,” is a thought provoking play.

Is this the reason he turned to suicide? One struggle in this tragedy that Prince Hamlet faced was the death of his father, King Hamlet. Hamlet did not like the fact that his mom, Queen Gertrude, married his uncle,

If thou didst ever thy dear father love —” (I.v.21-23). At this point, the ghost is saying to Hamlet if he has any love for his father he will avenge his death. The ghost states, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v.25). Hamlet’s father is telling him to get revenge for his death. Hamlet ‘s initial reaction is to avenge his father, a reaction that is brought on by a sudden shock of the ghost’s confession.To prove that Hamlet has love for his father he is going to avenge his father’s death.

Hamlet's opinion of his mother worsens as the play progresses because his father, who appears as a ghost, tells him of his mother's adulterous behavior and his uncle's shrewd and unconscionable murder. Although Hamlet promises to seek revenge on King Claudius for murdering his father, he is initially more concerned with the ghost's revelations regarding his mother. King Hamlet tells Hamlet not to be concerned with his mother but after the apparition leaves, it is the first thing Hamlet speaks of. Before vowing to avenge his father's death, he comments on the sins his mother committed. Although Hamlet decides to pretend to be insane in order to plot against the King, it is clear, he really does go mad.