“Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged;/ His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy.” In the William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Hamlet struggles internally throughout. After his father, Hamlet, is killed by his uncle, Claudius, Hamlet looks to seek revenge. Claudius is now king, and married to young Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude and now holds power over the kingdom. In his plot to kill Claudius to avenge his father, Hamlet takes on insanity as part of the act. While pretending his insanity, he mistakenly kills Polonius, councillor to the king, and also drives his lover, Ophelia, to suicide. In addition, Hamlet abandons all those he once called friends except for his one confidant, Horatio. Eventually, the insanity, once feigned by Hamlet, morphed into reality and became his enemy.
The insanity Hamlet adopted led to ruthlessness and errors of judgement as Hamlet was blinded by the revenge of his father. As Christina Autiero asserts in a paper given at a conference held in Westchester - Putnam School, “Blinded by [his] passions,...Hamlet indirectly causes the death of Ophelia and his mother...revenge and Hamlet’s method of madness primarily cause his death and actions. Unfortunately, the only approach [he] felt would vindicate [his] honorable name essentially destroyed [him]” (Autiero 53). Young Hamlet believed that the only choice to redeem his father was to murdering the murderer. In doing so, however, Hamlet became mad, and struck out at any and all who crossed his path. At one point in the play, Hamlet stabs Polonius, believing him to be King Claudius. And yet, no remorse is felt. In addition, Hamlet drives Ophelia, his lover, over the edge and leads her to suicide. Throughout the play, young Hamlet toys with her emotions, trying t...
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...w this, though, his insanity tricks everyone, including himself. The consequences due to this are great, including the death of Hamlet, himself.
As the play progressed, young Hamlet became victim to the insanity he first feigned. Not only did it bring the death of others, but it eventually killed Hamlet, too. Often, what people set out feigning at first, will, in the end, become them. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this could never be more true.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1997. Print.
Thiher, Allen. "The Modernity of Madness." Revels in Madness: Insanity in Medicine and Literature.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1999. 162. Print.
Autiero, Christina. "Shakespeare's Paradox of Honor: Prince Hamlet and Othello the Moor." A
Conference for Student Scholars at Two-year Colleges Funded by a Coalition of
Two-year Colleges.
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
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet undergoes a transformation from sane to insane while fighting madness to avenge his father’s death. The material that Shakespeare appropriated in writing Hamlet is the story of a Danish prince whose uncle murders the prince’s father, marries his mother, and claims the throne. The prince pretends to be feeble-minded to throw his uncle off guard, then manages to kill his uncle in revenge. Shakespeare changed the emphasis of this story entirely, making Hamlet a philosophically minded prince who delays taking action because his knowledge of his uncle’s crime is so uncertain. To begin with, Hamlet portrays himself as sane.
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.
William Shakespeare was a Stratford Grammar School boy, who was a member of the Church of England, similar to just about everyone else in Stratford. However, due to some events that occurred in the Shakespeare family home, there is some evidence that could prove that the family may have had some Roman Catholic connections. When William Shakespeare was 10 years old, legal issues and debt took a toll on his family’s life. Shakespeare’s father’s stopped attending alderman meetings which resulted in the removal of his name to become an alderman, and he was also forced to sell his beautiful home. The cause of this crisis is unknown, however the records can be used to throw together the idea that there were peculiar religious events going on (Fox). Due to these mishaps, William Shakespeare’s religion is a bit of a mystery. The play, Hamlet, was written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan era, which happened to be a time when religious conflicts were a big deal (Alsaif). The protagonist in the story, Hamlet, is a character who seems to make his choices through his religious beliefs. Hamlet is a very indecisive person, but his thoughts on religion tend to persuade him. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the character of Hamlet to show the flaws in all religions. Hamlet does his best to follow the rules of Christianity, but he often questions the morality involved. Although Shakespeare belonged to the Church of England, he didn’t find any particular religion to be perfect.
Logan Gaertner Mrs. Amon English IV 1 March 2014 Is Hamlet’s Insanity Real? Is Hamlet truly insane? While the play is not extremely clear on the matter and often contradicts itself, many of Hamlet’s wild ramblings and words of nonsense seem to be not the true words of a madman. Hamlet says that he is merely “putting on an antic disposition” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 181). He admits very early on in the play that his insanity will be nothing more than a ruse to fool those around him.
Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.
Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his persona of seeming insane to the other characters. Hamlet comes up with the idea to fake madness in the beginning of the play in order to confuse his enemies. However, for Hamlet to fulfill his duty of getting revenge, he must be totally sane. Hamlet’s intellectual brilliance make it seem too impossible for him to actually be mad, for to be insane means that one is irrational and without any sense. When one is irrational, one is not governed by or according to reason. So, Hamlet is only acting mad in order to plan his revenge on Claudius.
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.
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
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
The reason being, that the demise of Hamlet came down to the fact that he was never able to draw the line between sanity and insanity. Early in the play Hamlet made the following comment to Horatio, “How strange or odd soe 'er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on).” (Act 1 Scene 5) This highlights the point in the drama in which Hamlet decided to act as if he was mad. However, thereafter this “act,” proved to have dire consequences. Initially Hamlet decided to put on such an act to disrupt the investigation of Queen Gertrude and King Claudius, who sought to find out the reason behind his erratic behavior. one of the first displays of his newfound insanity occurred when he went up to Ophelia and declared that he never loved her. During this misogynistic diatribe, his words asserted themselves into the heart of Ophelia, who later committed suicide in the play and one of the factors of said death lied in the fact that the men in her life had either died, went mad, or were absent (Laertes who was in France). Thus, his madness contributed to the state of women in the play. This is further asserted by the fact that Hamlet’s perceived madness led Gertrude to believe that she was the cause of his erratic behavior. Thus, she was consumed by guilt and once again Hamlet’s inability to draw the line between sanity and insanity affected his mother’s feelings. Further, in regard to the other potential theme, revenge, Hamlet’s insanity lead him to turn a simple plan of revenge into one that lead to the death of many people. For instance, his act of insanity gave way to the death of Polonius, as he acted as if he was mad amidst his talk with Queen Gertrude and went after Polonius under the misguided notion that Polonius was King Claudius. Additionally, Hamlet never expressed any feelings of guilt thereafter as he dragged Polonius’ body and states that Polonius’ body is being consumed by
As Hamlet transforms from a motivated intellectual to an obsessed griever, Shakespeare evaluates the fluidity of sanity.The juxtaposition of Hamlet’s desire to act and inability to do so unveils Hamlet’s inner turmoil, for as Hamlet disconnects from family, distrusts his environment, and forms an obsession with perfection, the audience realizes his fatal flaw and watches him tumble into the grasps of insanity. This degeneration forces the audience to consider how equilibrium between thought and action influences the conservation of sanity, not only for Hamlet, but also for all of humanity.
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.
Hamlet’s revenge mission begins when he is visited by his father’s ghost who commands “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Shakespeare 1.5.31) after his father recounts the cause of his murder. From this point on, Hamlet begins to act mad in order to put his revenge mission into action. In fact, pretending that he has gone mental is all part of Hamlet’s plan to ultimately murder King Claudius. Furthermore, “Hamlet 's madness is an act of deception, concocted to draw attention away from his suspicious activities as he tries to gather evidence against Claudius…” (Mabillard). Therefore, Hamlet feigns a mental disorder so that he can prove that King Claudius is guilty and can therefore murder King Claudius. Hamlet seeks his revenge on the behalf of someone else, unlike Laertes who seeks revenge for himself. Nevertheless, Hamlet’s act of madness causes everyone around him to see him as having gone insane. Hamlet’s false insanity successfully convinces everyone that they should not worry about him because of his mental state and they are not concerned about him. Although few people concern themselves with Hamlet, King Claudius does after what King Claudius had observed in Act 3, Scene 2. Hamlet instructs the actors in a play that everyone is going to see to reenact the murder of King Hamlet. While that play is taking place, he is watching
Hamlet’s plan of faking insanity to avenge his father’s death eventually backfires and he winds up hurting those closest to him. What began as feigned madness slowly becomes reality. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet could be characterized as a respectful, well-mannered son who is mourning the death of his father and shows signs of depression. In the end of the play, Hamlet turns into an irrational, unforgiving maniac who is unaware of the complete and utter chaos that he inflicts on himself and everyone he loves. Instead of controlling his “antic disposition”, Hamlet's antic disposition controls him, resulting in tragedy and death.