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The psychological approach in the play Hamlet
The psychological approach in the play Hamlet
The psychological approach in the play Hamlet
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Are sociopaths born or are they created? Did they go insane because they are mourning the loss of their loved ones or are they hell bent on vengeance? In this tragic tale, Hamlet, prince of Denmark, is visited by a ghost that appears to be Hamlet’s dead father, the old king. The ghost tells him, he was murdered by his brother, Claudius to claim his throne and encourages hamlet to take revenge. This task causes Hamlet to take on the personality of another and is constantly trying to wreak havoc upon his uncle. This new personality formed from the trauma of his father’s death has emerged a shadow that has consumed Hamlet and taken control, playing him like a puppet in its sick game. As suggested by Carrasquillo, “Our light side, our conscience, …show more content…
Sociopaths ideas are usually very disorganized and not planned out well. Since sociopaths have a lack of regret, then tend to do the things that are unexpected and make more rash decisions. One of the rash decisions that Hamlet makes is when he first kills Polonius behind the curtain in his mother’s room. He didn’t even bother to see who it was, it could have been anyone but he immediately thought it was Claudius trying to spy on his conversation with his mother. As if the two were plotting against him and he’d be dead like his father. As Shakespeare describes in his play, Hamlet yells “A bloody deed! Almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king, and marry with his brother.” (3.4.27-28). He is still rather upset by the fact that his mother has moved on and does not see the consequences of his actions and he compares the murder of his father to how he killed Polonius. He believes that everyone is against him and begins to act rashly about how to resolve it. Sociopaths feel the need to be the winner of the “game” called life and in order to win, you have to take risks that no one else will take to be on top. Another one example of Hamlet acting impulsively is when he jumped into Ophelia’s grave to show that he loved her more than Laertes even though it was disrespecting her dead body by fighting over her while she’s dead. As Shakespeare explained, Hamlet “loved …show more content…
These traits that are compared to sociopath shed some light to Hamlet’s situation and proved how he was able to produce a play that was filled with such tragedy. Things such as manipulation, impulsiveness, and even showing no remorse are all factors in become a sociopath and how his mind was affected by it due to his father’s death. Some may say he’s just joking around others an insane man trapped within those castle walls. I believe he was sociopathic genius waiting to take his revenge, but that’s just me. No one really knows the people who surround them or what they do. Maybe the person next to you is a killer
A reporter asked John Wayne Gacy why he killed over five young boys, he kindly responded, "I forget my logic when I'm asked this question… The only thing I can remember is… the overriding impulse" (Sheperdson 32). Hamlet always thought things through. He never acted on impulse. He never had time to use impulse, he was always thinking. Hurbage suggest that Hamlet suffer from "lymphatic temperament". Apparently this type of person lacks the "energizing temperament to act". It is easier to think then act. Thus the body clogs the aspirations of the mind. He is very intuitive throughout the play. He thinks logically. Witness this in act two with his "What a piece of work…"(Shakespeare 2.2. 327) and the play that he logically plans. Polonius even believes that Hamlet is sane in act two, "…there is method in 't." (Shakespeare 2.2. 223-24). Hamlet treats Polonius like the fool that he is. Never does Hamlet's impulse to kill Polonius come up. He logically plays mind games with Polonius instead. In the famous closet scene with Gertrude, Hamlet asks his mother to keep his act of lunacy a secret. He tells her he is only putting on an "antic disposition" (Shakespeare 3.4. 64-104). She truly believes that he is sane because she decides not to sleep with Claudius. If she had really believed Hamlet was insane she would have thought nothing of Claudius's guilt and slept with him. Lastly, when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive to greet Hamlet (Act 2.2) he is totally normal. But, once he finds out they've come to spy on him he puts on his disguise of "antic disposition" so he won't give himself away. "I am but mad, north, north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (Shakespeare 2.
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
The Tragedy of Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare about a young prince trying to avenge his father’s death. In the beginning of the play, young Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, killed him. Meanwhile Hamlets mother, Gertrude, has gotten married to said uncle. Now it is Hamlet’s job to kill his Uncle-father to avenge his dead father, a task that may prove to daunting for Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Hamlet, the author uses diction and syntax to make Hamlet portray himself as mentally insane when in reality, he is sane thorough the duration of the play, tricking the other characters into giving up their darkest secrets.
In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the main character Hamlet experiences many different and puzzling emotions. He toys with the idea of killing himself and then plays with the idea of murdering others. Many people ask themselves who or what is this man and what is going on inside his head. The most common question asked about him is whether or not he is sane or insane. Although the door seems to swing both ways many see him as a sane person with one thought on his mind, and that is revenge. The first point of his sanity is while speaking with Horatio in the beginning of the play, secondly is the fact of his wittiness with the other characters and finally, his soliloquy.
Hamlet displays aggressive behavior towards others because he had no remorse for murdering his girlfriend’s father, and forcefully attacks all women in his life with words. The moment Hamlet realized that it was Polonius he killed, he reacted with “ 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.” This quote proves that Hamlet did not care about murdering Polonius, even though Polonius was his girlfriend’s father. He did not know who he murdered, which meant he was okay with murdering anybody. Also, Hamlet did not think twice about his actions which proves that he is impulsive and doesn’t know what he is doing. Another instance when Hamlet aggressively
Hamlet: Hamlet's Sanity & nbsp; & nbsp; “Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do. their bounds divide.” Though John Dryden's quote was not made in regard to William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it relates very well to the argument of whether or not Hamlet went insane. When a character such as Hamlet is under scrutiny, it can sometimes be difficult to determine what state he is in at. particular moments in the play.
Why Hamlet is Too Smart for Himself Hamlet only kills Claudius when he has also murdered the queen, Laertes, and has also poisoned himself. It takes a threat of death to do what his own dead father orders him to do. A largely held opinion is that he is too emotional to do it, but it is when his emotions all come together that he murders Polonius. Another opinion is that he is too full of morals to kill, but how then can he alter a note and literally sentence two old friends who were just following orders to death. It is also believed that he is too cowardly to go through with it, but if a man is bold enough to face a ghost, confront a queen and kill an eavesdropper, than what should stop him from avenging his father and ridding Denmark of the disease that infests its royal line.
Shakespeare 's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his
In addition to that, his accidental murder of polonious and his decision to have his friends Rozencrantz and Guildenstern murdered for conspiring against him also contributed to Hamlet's mental instability. Moreover, the death of his beloved Ophelia and his mother Gertrude lead to Hamlet's decision to commit suicide.. Each of these events had some psychological impact on Hamlet and ultimately contributed to Hamlet's insanity and his death. Therefore, even though Hamlet had not been insane at the beginning of the play, he gradually became insane due to the dramatic events that occurred to him and how he dealth with them. Works Cited Shakespeare, William.
Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare Hamlet is sane but acts insane to fulfill his destiny of getting vengeance on his father's murderer.
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.)
In the play Hamlet, Hamlet has many different personality traits. Three of these characteristics are that Hamlet is depressed, clever, and hesitant. Throughout the play you can see these characteristics in Hamlet many times.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the influence of Hamlet’s psychological and social states display his dread of death as well as his need to avenge his father’s death. In turn, these influences illuminate the meaning of the play by revealing Hamlet’s innermost thoughts on life, death and the effect of religion. Despite the fact that Hamlet’s first instincts were reluctance and hesitation, he knows that he must avenge his father’s death. While Hamlet is conscious of avenging his father’s death, he is contemplating all the aspects of death itself. Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father is affected by social, psychological and religious influences.
The Complex Character of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Upon examining Shakespeare's characters in this play, Hamlet proves to be a very complex character, and functions as the key element to the development of the play. Throughout the play we see the many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction.
In writing Hamlet, William Shakespeare plumbed the depths of the mind of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, to such an extent that this play can rightfully be considered a psychological drama.