"Alas he's mad" (3:4:108) How far do you agree with the statement that Hamlet is mad?
A great controversial talking point of the play Hamlet is whether he was mad or in fact making people think he was mad.
I disagree with Gertrude's statement that Hamlet is mad. I ask you what the definition of madness, the relatively permanent disorder of the mind, a state of mind characterized by the inability to distinguish right from wrong. Indeed Hamlet only acts mad in front of certain people such as his mother, Polonius, Ophelia, Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who he knows are spying on him.
I think Hamlet by using his mad façade hides his real intentions and motivations from his enemies and people that will give away information, thus driving them to madness instead. Causing Ophelia to drown, Polonius stand behind that curtain, Gertrude to drink from the poisoned cup and Laertes to put poison on his blade. Shakespeare uses Hamlets fake madness as a catalyst for the surrounding characters demise. As Gertrude says when hamlet confronts her, about marrying his uncle. ?Oh Hamlet thou hast left my heart in twain.? (3:4:154) Ophelia certainly is driven mad, partly by her father?s emotional manipulation on her, but also I believe by hamlets, denying of their love, and taunting after he finds out she is used to spy on him. Claudius I believe does, have reluctance and sometimes portrays the characteristics of a mad man, when he finds out he has been tricked by Hamlet, after the Mousetrap he shows the manic tendencies. This could be equated to anyone in the same situation.
Even Claudius and Polonius believe Hamlet is not insane,-
?Love? His affections do not that way. Nor what he spake, through it lacked a form a little. W...
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...the end of the play Hamlet does being to become unstable, maybe like many characters in other Shakespearian plays (Macbeth) they become enwrapped in their plan and thus become what the have pretended to be, this is shown maybe in the way in how at the end Hamlet delays no more, he has had enough. Hamlet is such a complex character originally in the play its hard to determine his exact motives, even the audience in his monologues feel there are motives and emotions deep inside that he holds back. I think Hamlet is a character that Shakespeare had many emotional feelings about. The idea that his son was called Hamlet and whether there alone is a connection. In this play I think Hamlet is trying to get the message across of how the Elizabethans poorly treated mental illness patients by treating it as something more demonic and locking them up in poor professional care.
Moreover, Hamlet is mad or so he seems to be. By looking at Hamlet and all his actions everyone is convinced he has gone mad. His mood changes a lot throughout the play, he speaks "wild and whirling words" (I.v.127-134) when he found our about his father’s death, has violet outbursts towards his mothe...
takes a major part in the thought and action of murder. This is why he delays so long to commit the murder. An insane person would not wait. They would be more apt to act on impulse. & nbsp; Hamlet's madness only existed when he was in the presence of certain characters. When Hamlet is around Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia. Rosencrantz, and Gildenstern, he behaves irrationally. For example in Act II. section II, Polonius asks Hamlet,” Do you know me, my Lord?” Hamlet replies,” Excellent. Well, you are a fischmonger”. Hamlet pretends not to know who. Polonius is, even though he is Ophelia's father. When Hamlet is around Horatio.
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.
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 himself 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. This is further proven by the fact that when he is around Horatio he shows no signs of mental illness. He speaks calmly and everything he says makes sense.
Hamlet only claims madness because it allows him to say and perform actions he otherwise would be prohibited from, while keeping people from taking his actions seriously. This seems to be part of his initial plan that is first mentioned when he asks Horatio and Marcellus not to make any remarks in relation to his ?antic disposition (1.5.192).? Hamlet?s madness allows him to talk to Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and Polonius in a manner unsuitable for a prince. He is often disrespectful and insulting in his remarks. Although his acting backfires during his speech to Gertrude, Hamlet is able to severely criticize her for her actions because she thinks he is insane. During the play he also makes many sexual innuendos and even blatantly sexual remarks towards Ophelia such as ?That?s a fair thought to lie between maids? legs (3.2.125).? His convincing insanity act gives him the chance to vent his anger towards Ophelia for her abandonment.
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.
After this scene Hamlet acts insane and he often criticizes his mother for remarrying and even insults her, but gets away with his actions because at this point those around him are starting to believe there is something wrong with Hamlet. He is not crazy but if he were truly crazy then he would not internally realize that he is mad, a crazy person usually doesn 't realize they are going crazy, but it is others who realize because of his or her actions. In Hamlet 's case, Hamlet knows he is "crazy" and his acting is beneficial for him because he is able to talk freely without having to hold anything back. If Hamlet were truly insane it would have caused him his own death, because usually when an individual is insane they are unaware of what they are saying and their actions are usually always made hastily, a quality that Hamlet does not seem to
The quickest take over of madness is exhibited in Hamlet’s love interest, Ophelia. The most important example of madness is shown in Hamlet after his meeting with the Ghost and his plot for revenge upon his uncle. The most unexpected example of madness is in Laertes who in a fit of rage loses all gentleman like qualities and almost upsets the kingdom. All of these characters add up to the idea that to lose someone a person cares about dearly, ultimately ends in losing one’s composure and going mad. If we take away anything from Shakespeare’s play, it should be that each of us should think over our decisions prior to making them to insure we don’t have the same fate as the characters stated
Conversely, Hamlet’s sharp and targeted observations lend significant credence to his feigning madness. Most notably, he declares, “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (II.ii.361–362). That is to say, he is only “mad” when he is oriented in a certain way, but that he is lucid the rest of the time. Nevertheless, Hamlet confusion translates into an extremely intense state of mind that is highly suggestiv...
At the start of the play, Hamlet is depressed and feels lost over the death of his father. He no longer has trust or respect for his mother and contemplates suicide. Through Claudius killing Hamlet’s father, Hamlet is already affected negatively. It is arguable that Hamlet already began to go crazy as soon as the death of his father occurred. When Hamlet finally meets his father’s ghost he discovers the truth and immediately decides to seek vengeance on his uncle. While the ghost tells Hamlet “Taint not thy mind” (Hamlet: I.v.92). It is arguable that Hamlet’s antic disposition is actually a reflection on is lunacy. While Hamlet pretends to be mentally unstable he harrasses Ophelia in her private closet with “...his knees knocking each other;/ And with a look so piteous in purport/ As if he had been loosèd out of hell/ To speak of horrors” (Hamlet: II.i.81). Hamlet’s father’s murder has sent him into shock, and he is realizing that he must take action and seek revenge on his poisonous and evil uncle. The poison of revenge starts to plague its royalty, and Hamlet’s attitude is changed from being depressed and suicidal, to angry and insane “Oh, from this/ time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” (Hamlet: IV.iv.65). Hamlet decides to only
...ind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles...With this regard, their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action (Act III, Scene I, 58-89)." The difficulty and the amount of issues addressed within this soliloquy give us a good look within his mind. This shows that Hamlet is sane in his thinking. He measures the good and bad of his situation, and although at this point he appears mad to most everyone, he is most definitely sane in thought.
Hamlet is without a doubt one of the most complex pieces to interpret for many different scholars and people. The question of the truth behind his madness has become a debate among anyone who lays eyes on the play. In fact, madness becomes a large role within the play that will cause many situations as well as effect them. I believe Hamlet unintentionally went mad attempting to act as a mad man.
Hamlet throughout the play seems insane but in reality it is only an act to achieve his goal of killing his father's murderer. Hamlet chooses to go mad so he has an advantage over his opponent and since he is the Prince of Denmark certain behavior is unacceptable, so by faking madness he is able to get away with inappropriate sayings and actions. We can see this when he talks to Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia and his mother. When Hamlet talks to Horatio in the first act he says how he is going to "feign madness" and that:
The madness of each individual is not realistic, but the idea that death, grievance, and revenge can drive someone to do things that seem to be mad or make them do things out of their nature. Overall, we see that the theme of madness has a significant impact on the conflicts and overall development of the play as well as the characters themselves and is successfully conveyed. Shakespeare developed a theme that tied the many important emotions and ideas together to make the play what it is. He used Ophelia’s grief and love, Hamlet’s wit and ruminative nature to convey a theme that could be related to more than the one character, and tie all of the conflicts and complications down to one cause.
Throughout the whole play, Hamlet manipulates his words to insult others and convince them that his is mad. In fact, as soon as Hamlet is introduced in beginning,