Gaby Mosseri Ms. Cohen Hamlet Essay- scene with the play William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is filled with many schemes and situations that are a challenge to interpret. The play centers around Hamlet, whose uncle murdered his father and married his mother. Certainly no one could blame Hamlet for appearing a little bit crazy after having to deal with that type of trauma. There are several times during Hamlet when Prince Hamlet appears to be crazy. What makes assessing the prince’s mental state more challenging is the fact that Prince Hamlet sets up a play within the play to expose his uncle for killing his father. Hundreds of years after Shakespeare first wrote Hamlet in 1603, scholars still disagree over whether Prince Hamlet is actually …show more content…
In reality Hamlet is not actually mad he is just acting for various reasons. One main reason is to prove that Claudius actually killed his father. In an earlier scene the ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius killed his father and Hamlet has trouble believing him. He stages this play for the sole purpose of getting a reaction from Claudius. If Claudius is indeed guilty he will react in a way that reveals the truth. Hamlet is convinced that “The play is the thing Wherin I 'll catch the conscience of the King” (pg 119). He is certain the actors will bring out the truth. During rehearsal, Hamlet repeatedly looks over at Claudius to see if he reveals any signs that he is guilty. Normally Hamlet would be perceived as crazy for believing what the ghost said about Claudius or even just believing he could be speaking to a ghost. There is a possibility that Hamlet 's subconscious is being mistaken for a ghost. In the back of his mind Hamlet truly believes that Claudius is a murderer and that the ghost is his way of explaining it. He does not tell anyone about the ghost because that would add onto his insanity to an extreme level (idk if i want to put this in). This could be one main reason as to why Hamlet feels he needs to prove Claudius guilty before acting on it. He wanted to put on this play to validate his suspicions about Claudius 's guilt. Another possibility for Hamlet to put on this play is to show to the public …show more content…
While Hamlet is speaking to Gertrude she tells him “O Hamlet, speak no more!” (pg 175) and “These words like daggers enter in my ear” (pg 177). They both really stress just how powerful speech is. When Gertrude says these things to Hamlet it is like telling him not to be who he is because speech is like everything for Hamlet. Speech is the way Hamlet expresses himself and it also is a huge part of why people see him as crazy. These words are making Gertrude feel a little crazy just as it happened to Ophelia after the news of Polonius ' death and Hamlet supposedly “acting” crazy. No one knows for sure if Hamlet is actually insane but the way he phrases his sentences cause people to believe he is insane. At times when Hamlet is speaking about his belief that Claudius killed his father Gertrude may want to believe that he is crazy. She has convinced herself that Hamlet is crazy in order to make herself feel better. She may feel like a terrible person for marrying Claudius if this was true and so she does not want to believe it. Although Gertrude does not show much grief when she heard about Hamlet’s opinion on Claudius it may be because she is having a hard time accepting
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, “insanity” is exposed by the main character, Hamlet. Although it is depicted, Hamlet’s intelligence allows him to mask his true sanity. Prince Hamlet falls into a state of emotional turmoil due to his father’s death and his lost love for Gertrude and Ophelia, but he is never insane. To avoid separation from his family and friends, Hamlet appears to waver between sanity and madness. He also plans on revenging his father’s death under the guise of madness. Hamlet feigns insanity, and he does so to state his emotions towards the two closest women in his life, to influence the opinions of those around him, and to avenge his father’s death.
The reasoning behind Hamlet’s madness is the investigation that occurs with the cause of his father’s death. As Hamlet recognizes the truth associated with his father’s death, he realizes the death was committed by murder. This is revealed in act one, scene five, as his father’s ghost explains that Claudius poisoned him (1.5.64-80). In addition, the circumstances concerning the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude enhances Halmet’s urge to act mad. When Hamlet encounters his father through the figure of a ghost, Hamlet reveals his sanity: “Here, as before, never, so help you mercy/ How strange or off so ever I bear myself/ As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on” (1.5.187-190). Hamlet describes his madness to be an act, to put on a show. This madness allows for Hamlet to advance his intention of finding out the truth behind his father's death. As Hamlet presents this form of madness, it allows him to advance his plan on killing his stepfather, Claudius. Claudius believes that Hamlet is mad, although he does not know the reason for why he is mad. This allows for Hamlet to create a plan to kill Clausius without many questions being asked. In act two, Hamlet admits that he can alter his madness: “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from handsaw” (2.2.390-391). With this information, the suggestion is that Hamlet is clever in the way he acts. During the beginning of the play, some of the characteristics of Hamlet are identified. The explanation of Hamlet being a student and attending university provides the audience with information that as a character, Hamlet has an abundance of knowledge. As Hamlet conducts his form of madness and the plan for the death of Claudius, his intelligence characteristics are displayed. The act of a madman creates successful opportunities for Hamlet as other characters reveal
-The four bicker about the presence of the ghost; Barnardo, Francisco, and Marcellus believe there is a ghost, however, Horatio brushes it off
Another reason why Hamlet is not mad is in the way he escaped his awaited execution in England. Hamlet knew that he was to be sent to England to be killed on the orders of Claudius. But once he saw a chance of escape on the pirate ship, he took this opportunity to board the ship, which made him escape death, thus prolonging his life a little longer. If Hamlet were actually mad, it would be doubtful that he would know of Claudius’ plans,...
"Hamlet" is a revenge tragedy written by William Shakespeare. The setting of the story is in the middle ages around the 14th or 15th century. The play is mainly set in the royal palace in Elsinore, a city in Denmark. The story features plenty of deaths and a grueling revenge plot set by our main protagonist, Hamlet. What made "Hamlet" famous was not only it 's classic murderous story line, but also the way that Shakespeare puts together complex scenes. Act III, scene ii was a particular scene in "Hamlet" that captured Shakespeare 's literary genius because he used this scene to advance the play even further. What made this scene stand out are a couple of reasons. First, in this scene, hamlet appears to be more in control of his behavior than other scenes which proves that his sanity is still intact and showing that his insanity is just a decoy for his true plans. Second, this is the scene where Shakespeare revealed to the audience that the ghost
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, must seek revenge for the murder of his father. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to murder Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet becomes more and more believable in his act, even convincing his mother that he is crazy. However, through his thoughts, and actions, the reader can see that he is in fact putting up an act, he is simply simulating insanity to help fulfil his fathers duty of revenge. Throughout the play, Hamlet shows that he understands real from fake, right from wrong and his enemies from his friends. Even in his madness, he retorts and is clever in his speech and has full understanding of what if going on around him. Most importantly, Hamlet does not think like that of a person who is mad. Hamlet decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to seek revenge for his fathers murder.
The second scene of Act 2 of Hamlet is a good example of how a simple scene, which at first glance seems to be trivial, could rather significantly affect the plot development. I will try to analyze the given excerpt and prove that its themes bear a rather unexpected significance for the play as a whole. First I will analyze the meaning of this scene and the possible reasons for Polonius to speak in such manner. Then I will try to present evidences that the themes present in this scene indirectly affect the development of the plot and serve as a kind of a “catalyst” for the ensuing tragedy.
Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad and harmful. After this scene she becomes aware that Hamlet isn't mad and starts trusting him as opposed to Claudius. This is exactly how Shakespeare has presented women throughout the play: they are easy to convince, very meek and become submissive to the men (as we can see Ophelia and her response to her father and brother). They are depicted as weak and inferior in comparison to the male figures, who control their lives. After the closet scene Gertrude keeps faith to her son and lies to her husband Claudius for Hamlet saying he killed Polonius in his madness:
Presentation of main themes can alter the audience’s perspective on characters. In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and Franco Zeffirelli’s movie version of Hamlet there are apparent differences between the presentation of the theme death. A key difference between the play and the movie is how each medium showcased the character’s deaths. In turn, this changes the audience 's point of view of the characters and their traits. The differences between the execution of the deaths in the well known play Hamlet and Franco Zeffirelli’s cinematic interpretation of Hamlet are through the portrayal of Hamlet (I)’s death and funeral, the hysterical grieving of the Queen and Ophelia, as well as the perspective on the death of the royal couple which reconstructs the understanding of the characters and their personalities.
William Shakespeare was a very famous English poet, playwright, and actor. One of the famous plays that he wrote was “Hamlet”. Hamlet is a very famous play and many play writers or directors interpret Shakespeare’s play differently. A Great scene to compares is Act5 scene 2. The two films that will be compared are “Hamlet” from 1996 directed by Kenneth Branagh and “Hamlet” from 2009 directed by Gregory Doran. The two different directors took the same play and made it reflect their own interpretation. The films are very different, but similar in many ways. “Hamlet” from 1996 directed by Kenneth Branagh and “Hamlet” from 2009 directed by Gregory Doran both use the theme guilt. The theme of guilt will be explain through the comparison of how Gertrude
If one truly analyzes the play one will notice that Hamlet’s madness only manifests itself when he is around certain characters. Hamlet’s behavior differs when he is around people he trusts versus people he does not trust. His behavior is irrational when he is around Polonius, Claudius, Ophelia, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, and Gertrude. However, when Hamlet is around Horatio, Bernardo, The ...
Hamlet plans out what the performers are going to perform, which was called the “Mousetrap.” The mousetrap was a play that was performed in front of King Claudius and in this play it reenacts a scene, of an actor pouring poison into a sleeping actor’s ear, which was how Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father. Hamlet expects that if that ghost was telling the truth about how Hamlet’s father died, then Claudius will react to the scene. This is important because it displays Hamlet’s sanity and that he knows what’s going on. While Hamlet was talking to Horatio, he states it by saying in Act 1, Scene 2, line 69, “One scene of it comes near the circumstance, which I have told thee of my father’s death. I prithee, when thou seest that that act afoot, even with the very comment of thy soul, Observe mine uncle.” The quote displays his sanity because anyone who is able to plot this and be able to think that far in advance has to have control over his mind. With the quote being said you can tell he still has a concept of what emotions are and uses it to his advantage, which is something an insane person would be to foolish to comprehend. Later in that scene Hamlet does what he told Horatio and observes King Claudius while he is watching the play. The book then says while the play in being performed and one of the performers pours the poison into the player King’s ear “Claudius stands up” line 248. This shows Hamlet is indeed
I was walking towards the King’s garden because that is where we usually meet for our afternoon chats when I heard a ruckus behind a rather large tree. As I approached it, I saw the Queen and Claudius move from behind it. They looked around cautiously before she planted a kiss on his cheek and said “I love you”. They then parted ways and she made her way towards where we usually meet. I was so shocked I could not even comprehend what had happened before my eyes. Gertrude was my dearest friend and I thought we told each other everything. Clearly she did not feel the same way about me, I felt betrayed. I obviously did not give her any hints that I knew what she had been doing behind the King’s back but I knew I needed to do something about this. I did what I thought was the right thing and I told your father, and that was the mistake that killed me. When I told him, he did not seemed as surprised as I was, in fact, he looked more worried if anything. He began spewing out excuses and rapidly became horribly furious. He threw his wine glass on the floor and stormed away angrily. I was so confused. I did not know what I could have possible said to offend him in such a way, all I did was tell him what I saw. He began distancing himself from me more and more every day, who knew it was because that bloody fool was plotting my
Act 1 Scene 1 The scene is the Castle at Elsinore. Bernardo relieved Francisco, at about midnight. Marcellus, who joins Bernardo in the watch, along with Horatio, who was told of the appearance the previous night. Horatio believes it to be an illusion until it appears.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all of the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy which include plotting, ghosts, and madness, but its complexity as a story far transcends its functionality as a revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedies are often closely tied to the real or feigned madness in the play. Hamlet is such a complex revenge tragedy because there truly is a question about the sanity of the main character Prince Hamlet. Interestingly enough, this deepens the psychology of his character and affects the way that the revenge tragedy takes place. An evaluation of Hamlet’s actions and words over the course of the play can be determined to see that his ‘outsider’ outlook on society, coupled with his innate tendency to over-think his actions, leads to an unfocused mission of vengeance that brings about not only his own death, but also the unnecessary deaths of nearly all of the other main characters in the revenge tragedy.