Throughout Shakespeare’s many works, mental illnesses have played an undeniable part in many of them, especially his tragedies. From Lady Macbeth hallucination of a bloody spot leading to her suicide, to Hamlet’s faked illness and Ophelia’s very real illness, afflictions of the mind are featured prominently in the Bard of Avalon’s many works. Still, in the Elizabethan era, understanding of mental illness was rudimentary at best, as were the methods of treating it. During the Middle Ages and Elizabethan Era, numerous theories about mental disorders and how to treat them abounded. Three plays of Shakespeare’s that feature mental illness most prominently are King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, while also managing to showcase the conception of mental illness at the time.
Of the three plays, King Lear is the one that examines mental illness the most. King Lear is the story of the titular king, Lear, his decision to exclude his third daughter, Cordelia, from her inheritance, the abuse he suffers at the hands of his other two daughters, Goneril and Regan, and his descent into insanity, before dying. Possibly the first indication of Lear’s madness is when he declares, “Since now we will divest us both of rule,/Interest of territory, cares of state,/--Which of you shall we say doth love us most? That we our largest bounty may extend.”(King Lear 1.1.49). What Lear is saying here is, to his daughters, that the one who declares she loves him the most will acquire the most land and property. This scene is the setup for the entire play, and so could be viewed as the beginning of Lear’s descent into madness. It is at this point that Lear’s sanity begins rapidly decaying. It begins with him recognizing his madness, crying, “O, let me not be mad, not ...
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A popular topic of discussion for Shakespearian critics is whether or not Hamlet is sane at various points in the play. Usually, this digresses into a question of at what point Hamlet crosses the fine line which marks the bounds of sanity into the realm of insanity. This is a confusing matter to sort out, due to the fact that it is hard to tell when the prince is acting, and when he is really and truly out of his mind. The matter of determining the time of crossing over is further complicated by the fact that everyone around him is constantly speaking of madness. At the end we must either conclude that Hamlet is an extremely talented actor capable of staying in character under the most trying circumstances, or that he is human and as a result his sanity gives way to the many external emotional barrages coming his way. The more likely conclusion is that Hamlet is at some point insane. What is left to discover is at what point does this crossover occur, and second, what are the main contributing factors in his mental collapse. I will ignore the issue of the point of crossover, and let another paper consider that point. Rather, I propose that Hamlet's religious beliefs, acquired at the University of Wittenberg, heavily contributed to the loss of his sanity.
Shakespeare's tragic hero, Hamlet, and his sanity can arguably be discussed. Many portions of the play supports his loss of control in his actions, while other parts uphold his ability of dramatic art. The issue can be discussed both ways and altogether provide significant support to either theory. There are indications from Hamlet throughout the play of his mind's well being.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centring around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a nobel and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very naïve, gullible, and vulnerable. He is vulnerable and willing to be persuaded by many characters throughout the play, his wife, the witches to name a few, this is the first sign that his mental state is not as sharp as others. One will see the deterioration of Macbeth and his mental state as the play progresses, from level headedness and undisturbed to hallucinogenic, psychopathic and narcissistic. The triggering event for his mental deterioration is caused by the greed created from the witches first prophecy, that Macbeth will become King of Scotland (I.iii.53). Because of the greed causing his mental deterioration, Macbeth’s psychosis is what caused his own demise by the end of the play. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the tragic hero Macbeth’s demise is provoked by his hallucinogenic episodes, psychopathic actions and narcissistic behaviours.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, various mental illnesses are displayed. The mental illnesses are frequently discussed by various critics. Some believe Hamlet is simply love sick, while others argue he has no disease at all. Poet and Shakespeare contemporary, Ben Jonson says, “If you be sick, your own thoughts make you sick.” Ben connects mind with body to imply that a person’s mental state can relate directly to their physical state. This quote relates directly with Hamlet’s mentality. Hamlet has driven himself to madness and, in his own mind, has made himself sick. Hamlet shows clear signs of clinical depression, and because no one is there to help and support him it only gets worse. A person with depression needs
Today there is more awareness about mentally ill people, and for a good reason: not because new disorders are being supposedly invented to excuse behavior, but because new disorders are being discovered. Modern psychology started in 1897 (Myers 3), and from there on, the human race slowly progressed to understanding the workings of the mind. Not everything is known, and some aspects will surely remain mysteries, but with knowledge comes the ability to be able to help people correctly, not send them off to England to their death “The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England” (IV-III-67). Therefore, through Hamlet’s actions, we can find out if Hamlet truly is insane, or whether he is really just an amazing actor.
The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare depicts the story of young Hamlet trying to avenge his deceased father who was killed by his uncle Claudius, who went on to claim the throne as his own and marry Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. This situation supposedly causes young Hamlet to succumb to madness and insanity. With this insanity, Hamlet and the rest of the royal family goes through a journey that causes Denmark to go into chaos. The play ends with the death of all the royal family and the prince of Norway, Fortinbras, taking over the throne and ruling Denmark. Madness is one of the central theme in the play and appears in many of the characters throughout the play: Ophelia mad with love, Laertes mad with revenge etc. But one character’s madness
William Shakespeare’s creation of the character of Hamlet within the tragedy of that name left open the question of whether the madness of the protagonist is entirely feigned or not. This essay will treat this aspect of the drama.
Madness. Though to most it seems like a simple betrayal of the mind, the use of madness throughout Hamlet, by William Shakespeare creates a sense of not only the breakdown of the mind, but a breakdown of society. In the play, two main characters give into madness, one is a faked, and one is all too real. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, chose to act mad in order to confuse Claudius. Ophelia on the other hand, goes insane due to an accumulation of many factors, such as isolation, distrust, and grief.
1-William Shakespeare. King Lear edited by Russle Fraser.(New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1982). All future references will come from this text.
Hamlet is considered a classic play that tells the story of revenge, written by, William Shakespeare. Before My Eyes is a novel, by Caroline Bock, that shows the truth behind believing what we want, not what we see. These two works have psychological illness in common. Hamlet and Barkley are both mentally ill; the Prince of Denmark is depressed and bipolar while the lonely and obsessive 21 year-old is schizophrenic.
Throughout the history of English literature, William Shakespeare delved into the mental component of humanity, and the disputed consequences that arise from this human mentality. The most famous revenge tragedy play, Hamlet, is an excellent illustration of Shakespeare’s study of human nature. In Hamlet, the arguable issue of Prince Hamlet’s mental health makes the readers to have two conflicting beliefs: one that shows support for a feigned madness, and the other one that stands up for an unfeigned madness. Madness is defined as an “Extreme anger, excitement, or foolishness.” (“Madness”), and “Ideas or actions that show a lack of good judgment and careful thought.” ("madness"). At the start of the play, Prince Hamlet’s plan is to pretend to be mentally ill, so that he is able to cover up his true intentions to inflict vengeance on his father’s killer. It seems clear from the theater piece that Prince Hamlet has indeed turned to true madness by believing in his own performance in the end.
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Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Eric A., McCann, ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovick, Canada Inc., Canada. 1998
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997