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Recommended: Hamlet and madness
Hamlet's Madness
Is Hamlet Mad? Not Likely. Madness is a condition of the mind which eliminates all rational thought leaving an individual with no proper conception of what is happening around him/her. Madness typically occurs in the minds of individuals that have experienced an event or series of events that their mind simply cannot cope with and, thus, to avoid their harsh reality, they fall into a state of madness. In William Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet, there is much debate around the protagonist, Hamlet, and whether or not his madness in the play was real or feigned. It was a disastrous time in the prince, Hamlet’s life as his father had just passed away, his uncle then took the kingship and wed Hamlet’s mother, then the ghost of his deceased father appeared to him with instructions for revenge and, finally, the love of his life was no longer permitted to see the prince by order of the lady’s father. This would seem to many to be reason enough for an individual to lose touch with reality and fall into madness, but this was not the case with the brilliant strong-minded Hamlet. Though the prince displayed numerous signs of madness during the play, Hamlet never lost touch with reality as he continued acting rational both in his thoughts as well as while speaking with certain individuals. If Hamlet were truthfully insane, he would not have been able to suddenly stop displaying his insanity as he did in the play after his altercation with Laertes in the graveyard. He also had motive for putting on the contrivance as it would disguise his investigation of his father’s strange death and his plans for revenge against his uncle Claudius if he found him to be guilty. After Hamlet witnessed the appearance of his dead father’s ghost and heard what the spirit had to say, Hamlet’s sole mission in life was to uncover the truth behind his Williams 2 father’s death and avenge it accordingly. By putting on this scheme it would serve him better on his quest as opposed to going about his business in a sane and rational manner. Firstly, it allowed Hamlet to confuse those around him about what the cause of his troubled mind was and, also, about what his true intentions are behind any of his actions. This thought is portrayed through Hamlet deceiving Polonius into believing that his love for Ophelia was the root of his madness. Consequently, Polonius went immediately...
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...o keep his investigation hidden for as long as possible, to drive away all other aspects of his life that might interfere with his task and to absolve himself of all guilt he may acquire while on his quest. There is proof in his actions that his madness was feigned as he continued thinking rationally and speaking logically to characters like Horatio and Gertrude. A madman’s thought are not composed of logical rationale and he does not speak sanely to some, while at the same time, insanely to others. Hamlet then suddenly drops his antic disposition right after his dispute with Laertes in the graveyard as he began speaking and acting completely normal at all times which was illustrated while he mocked the courtier, Osric. The absence of hamlet’s madness was exemplified further as he confessed feelings of remorse towards Laertes for killing Polonius and Hamlet also performs extremely noble acts as his life was waning. True madness is an illness that inhibits the mind of an individual and assumes total control of thought and action within that person. It is not a condition that flourishes only when called upon or that can be completely disregarded if the host wishes to ignore it.
There is a great controversy amongst those who have read and studied Hamlet by Shakespeare. People argue whether or not Hamlet had gone mad or not. Many people believe that Hamlet had actually lost his mind, while others believe that it was all just an act. Since Hamlet is the most widely published book in the world, besides the Bible, this question has been asked and analyzed many times to little avail. The answer is open to whatever one wants to believe, which may intrigue some and bother others. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s personality changed after certain events. The play starts with him very upset over his father’s death. Then, after he saw his father’s ghost, he became full of vengeance. He seemed to have completely
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 decides to portray an act of insanity, as part of his plan to seek revenge for his father's murder. As the play progresses, the reader may start to believe Hamlet’s “insane” act, but throughout the scenes, Hamlet shows that he knows right from wrong, good from bad, and his friends from his enemies. Hamlet shows that he still has power and control over his actions. As Elliot says “Hamlet madness is less than madness and more feigned”. Hamlet portrays a mad man, in order to be free from questioning, thus allowing him to have an easier path towards revenge.
What drives Hamlet to his madness? How does it relate to Ophelia’s madness? Are Hamlet and Ophelia both truly mad? These are some questions that I contemplated as I read Hamlet. The main character, Hamlet feigns madness after learning of his father’s murder; however, he becomes mad later on in the play. Is it possible that Hamlet became so wrapped up in his father’s murder that he was unable to distinguish fantasy from reality?
Many argue that Hamlet was truly mad, but was he really? There are many scenes throughout Hamlet that push more toward the idea that Hamlet himself, is in fact mad, but the more in depth you read into Hamlet, the more you come to notice that it is all just an act. A good way to decipher this is to compare his counterfeit madness to Ophelia’s potential genuine madness. When doing this, it becomes crystal clear whether or not Hamlet is truly mad.
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:
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.
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. He also admits to his mother after he kills Polonius his lack of true insanity. While talking to his mother, he says “I am not in madness, but mad in craft” (Act 3, Scene 4, Line 194-5). Others realize themselves that his madness may not be true, and that even if it is, he still has a shred of sanity.
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:
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.
Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, is one of the most analyzed plays in existence due to its vivid dramatization of melancholy and insanity. There is sufficient evidence displayed in the play that Hamlet deliberately feigns his fits of madness. He puts on this act to deceive people such as the King and his following attendants into thinking he was no threat. Hamlet needed to distract attention from the investigation concerning his father’s death so he could baffle those who intend on preventing him in his quest for revenge. In light of the fact that Hamlet had claimed to “put an antic disposition on” (1.5.180) his choice to do so actually lead to his downfall. Thus I claim, that on account of feigning his madness, Hamlet did not only fool
Throughout Shakespeare’s play: Hamlet, it is clear as a summer’s day, that Hamlet himself acts quite mad in some situations. Madness can come from many causes in a person’s life, Hamlet’s directly coming from his father’s, King Hamlet’s, death. He seems to go insane over whether or not his father was murdered, who did it, and how to get revenge upon this person. Whether or not he has actually gone insane is the big question. It is easy to assume that he is just playing a game, to gain attention to him and his plot against Claudius to confess over King Hamlet’s death, but without realizing it, Hamlet seems to actually go mad over this without realizing it.
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.
...ing madness to sanity are reminiscent of a bi-polar disorder such as manic depression. It is possible that Hamlet put on his antic disposition to allow himself freedom from the usual constraints and etiquette of the court so that he could use different means to discover Claudius' guilt without being discovered himself. Or his feigned madness may have been a reaction to the stress of his predicament, because in doing so he frees himself from having to make decisions on courses of action and he effectively becomes a spectator in the running of his own life.
After Hamlet talks to the ghost of his father, he finds out that Claudius killed him to gain the throne of Denmark. Hamlet has to get revenge by killing Claudius. To do this, he must act insane to draw away suspicion from himself. Hamlet says to Hortaio "How strange or odd some’er I bear myslef as I perchanse hereafter shall think meet to put an antic dispostion on,"(I;v;170-172), this indicates that from this moment Hamlet will act insane. He believes this way he will be able to kill the king and get away with it. Polonius becomes aware of Hamlet’s madness and wants to uncover the reason behind it. He says "Mad let us grant him then, and now remains, that we find out the cause of this defect, for this effect defective comes by cause."(II;ii;100-103). Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia as they talk. After hearing their conversation Claudius says "And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose will be some danger; which for to prevent, I have in quick determination thus set it down: he shall with speed to England"(III;i;163-166). This means that Claudius is starting to believe Hamlet is dangerous and wants to send him to England. From this point Claudius is very suspicious of Hamlet, he suspects that Hamlet is plotting against him, he says, "Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.