Characteristics of an individual strongly depend on their behavior and actions they take in certain situations. Many people use logical reasons when pursing a goal or working towards an achievement. On the other hand, some individuals possess a strict passion towards something that provides them the drive to fight through any obstacles to reach their goal. The difference is what shapes these character’s behavior and decision-making abilities. The young boys in “The Giraffe”, by Mauro Senesi, and Prince Hamlet in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, are characters that face the struggle between reason and passion thus shape their decision-making abilities and their behavior. To begin, the young boys present in “The Giraffe”, all were mesmerized …show more content…
After encountering his father’s ghost, Hamlet finds out Claudius has murdered his father thus, sets a goal to kill Claudius. Although he has one goal, Hamlet makes harmful decisions that strongly affects other around him. The author describes the situation shortly after Polonius dies to Hamlet and says, “Hamlet says, ‘Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. Thou find’st to be too busy is some danger’” (3.4.32-34). This quote displays Hamlet’s character as foolish and hasty. To explain, Hamlet does not use logical reasoning to figure out who is behind the curtain but rather makes the decision quickly to stab the unknown figure. His strong passion to kill Claudius causes this event to occur. Not only does Hamlet commit harsh actions but also speaks harsh words. The author describes Ophelia and Hamlet conversing and says, “Hamlet says, “I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp; and nickname God's creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance’” (3.1.144-148). This quote displays how Hamlet speaks without using logical reasoning such as how Ophelia might love him and how she believes he loves her. He is strictly focused on killing Claudius and has no care for what he does to others. To add on, this also
In William Shakespeare 's Hamlet, there are many characters that allow themselves to be manipulated and be consumed by their own emotions. The way that this type of irrational behavior occurs is when Claudius killed Hamlet Sr, this causes a chain reaction of unfortunate events. Gertrude and Claudius plan to immediately marry after the death of the king. On going with the repercussions of the event; Hamlet is later visited by the dead spirit of his father. This happening caused Hamlet to realize that he needed to avenge his dead father by killing Claudius and rightfully taking the throne back after the ghost of his father told him to do so. Along with all the supernatural things that occur Hamlet is faced with technicalities in the Kingdom of Denmark. His love for Ophelia is rebuffed do to Polonius and Laertes insisting to her that Hamlet only wants to be with her for her only for lust. Claudius hires people to spy on Hamlet and report his every move to him. Hamlet attempts to
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
He struggles with indecision and hesitation as well as brash and impulsive decisions. This causes him to not get much of anything done. He desired to avenge his father 's death and kill King Claudius, but he never got revenge over Claudius because he became consumed with proving his uncle 's guilt before acting upon it. This caused Hamlet to be unable to murder Claudius before he died. The standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" is simply intolerable to Hamlet. He is obsessed with questions about the perception of suicide, about what happens to bodies after they die, and about afterlife. He is almost paralyzed by these issues, which causes him to not act and further avoid conflict in his life. The only thing he actually manages to do is go crazy. Hamlet avoiding conflict causes his girlfriend to stop talking to him. It also causes his "friends," Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to deceive him. Even though Hamlet is pensive to the point of obsession, he acts rashly too. An example of this is when he stabs Polonius through the drape, without even checking to see who he is. Is it acts like these make him seem absolutely mad, because he behaves so erratically. He also upsets people around him with his unruly speech and sexual innuendos, and neither of these things help his case. This is yet another example of how avoiding conflict breeds
When Polonius discovers that Hamlet was acting in a terribly strange manner towards Ophelia by tearing his clothes and screaming at her, his response is that “this is the very ecstasy of love” (2.1.114). Without having access to Hamlet’s mind, Polonius has no idea what the circumstances surrounding Hamlet’s behavior are, but he assumes that the prince has gone mad because Ophelia will not sleep with him. Though this is not the case, it seems to be the most reasonable explanation to Polonius, so it is easier for him to believe. When Hamlet comes across Claudius praying in the church, he decides to kill Claudius at “a more horrid hent” (3.3.93). Hamlet imagines that Claudius is repenting for killing King Hamlet, and he refuses to kill Claudius when he might go to heaven. However, once Hamlet exits the scene, Claudius admits that his “words without thoughts never to heaven go” (3.3.98-99). Claudius realizes that he has no feelings of guilt for murdering his brother and that his prayer is meaningless. Hamlet’s impression that Claudius is presently innocent is the result of his expectation of the words spoken in prayer to be true. These characters often think they know the motives of others, and that keeps them from finding out what is
Hamlet runs into Ophelia and angrily Hamlet denies having given her anything; he laments the dishonesty of beauty, and claims both to have loved Ophelia once and never to have loved her at all. Then Hamlet spits out nasty comments including, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” (Shakespeare 3. 1. 131-132). He criticizes women for making men behave like monsters and for contributing to the world’s dishonesty by painting their faces to appear more beautiful than they are. This illustrates Hamlet shifting from sane to insane. During Hamlets talk between him and his mother he hears a noise behind the arras. Hamlet storms into the room and asks his mother why she has sent for him. She says that he has offended his stepfather. Hamlet accosts her with an almost violent intensity and declares his intention to make her fully aware of the profundity of her sin. Fearing for her life, Gertrude cries out. From behind the arras, Polonius calls out for help. Hamlet, realizing that someone is behind the arras and suspecting that it might be Claudius, cries, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead” (Shakespeare 3. 4. 29). He draws his sword and stabs it through the tapestry, killing the unseen Polonius. This begins the starts his complete transformation from sanity to insanity. . Therefore, while Hamlet argues with his mother in her room after the dumb show he makes insulting
In the first scene of Act II, Polonius and Ophelia discuss the meaning of Hamlet's odd behavior. Though the two characters agree his actions arise out of the torment of spurned love, they arrive at that point through very different means. At the beginning of the dialogue, Ophelia says that she has been "affrighted" by Hamlet in her bed chamber. (II,i 75) Her encounter with the Prince left her scared about his real intentions. She says that he looks like he has been,"loosed out of hell/To speak of horrors". (II,i 83-4) The very fact that Hamlet does not speak one word to Ophelia makes him look even more intimidating. By not speaking anything, Hamlet at once strengthens his image as a madman, as well as shrouding his real intentions towards those around him. Just following this passage comes a place in the text where we can see how the character of Ophelia has been manipulated by Polonius. After his "hint" that he might be doing this out of frustrated love, Ophelia says that that is what she truly does fear. (87) Her feelings of pity and concern are shaped by her father in order to fit his case of madness against Hamlet.
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...
Claudius’ investigations into Hamlet’s unusual behavior involved Ophelia. He wishes to unveil the nature of Hamlet’s apparent madness. Throughout the beginning of the play the reader is aware of Hamlet’s anger towards his mother which he releases upon Ophelia after she is instructed to meet with him in the lobby. Claudius and Polonius direct Ophelia towards Hamlet and urges her to tell him that she wishes to return the affection that she had refuted from Hamlet. Hamlet’s inner conflict with his mother manifests itself in his actions as he suggests that Ophelia becomes a nun instead of a “breeder of sinners” (III. i. 123). This statement appears to be directed towards Gertrude as he wishes that she does not breed children with Claudius; who he claims is a sinner. Hamlet follows this by denouncing women and marriages as he states: “I say, we will have no more marriages. Those that are married already, all but one, shall live” (III. i. 149). Hamlet speaks of Gertrude and Claudius. As he leaves, Claudius and Polonius unveil themselves and discuss Hamlet’s conversation. They appear to not be convinced that he speaks because of love for Ophelia. Infact, Claudius states that Hamlet’s sadness is dangerous – “and I do doubt the hatch and the disclose will be some danger” (III. i. 169). During this segment of the play, the reader is shown that Hamlet’s actions are causing Claudius to further investigate the problem which will lead to Claudius’ order of killing Hamlet.
At first, Hamlet is successful, and society is convinced Ophelia is the reason for his madness, thus granting Hamlet more time to plot Claudius’s murder. This is achieved in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be speech” [3,1,57] when Claudius and Polonius spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. During the Act, Ophelia displays traits of dishonesty and Hamlet uses this to his benefit and appears to go insane to convince Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius that Ophelia is responsible for his madness. Hamlet insists his madness is an “antic disposition” [1,5,179] and that “Thou this be madness, yet there is method in it”. [2,2,204] In the play, Hamlet uses his “antic disposition” [1,5,179] to refuse Ophelia’s affections, which is powerfully portrayed when he exclaims to her “get thee to a nunnery.” [3,1,138] By denying Ophelia’s love, Hamlet’s power in the relationship is effectively demonstrated, and it is shown he is in control of their relationship. In addition, this is reflected in Ophelia’s self-destruction, as she has no purpose to live a life without Hamlet or a man. Overall, Hamlet is successful in using his power over Ophelia for the sake of his
In the beginning of the story, Hamlet’s character was struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius, a month after his father is death. For a young man, it’s hard to believe that he understood why his mother quickly married Claudius especially since, Claudius is his uncle. Later he learned that his father’s ghost was sighted. Intuitively, he knew there had to be some kind of “foul play.” At this point, Hamlet is a university student; his morals and way of thinking are defined by books and what was taught to him. This is seen when he speaks about the flaws of men, setting a bad reputation for all, and the man’s flaws causing their “downfall.”(a.1, sc.4, l.)
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.
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
Before the conflict between passion and reason in Hamlet can be truly understood, it is important that it is understood what these two things are, as well as how this type of clash may arise. Passion can be defined
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a play that presents the tragic story of Hamlet, prince of Denmark, who is wounded by both his father’s death and the rushed remarriage of his mother to Claudius, his uncle. Hamlet’s father’s ghost reveals that Claudius murdered him and that he wants Hamlet to avenge his death. Shortly after Hamlet finds out that his uncle has murdered his father, he puts on an antic disposition and pretends to be mad. Hamlet mistakenly kills Ophelia’s father instead of Claudius. However, in the end, Hamlet manages to kill Claudius but his mother also gets poisoned. Ophelia is the girl who Hamlet is in love with, and after her father’s death and rejection