Strange Behavior and Ghosts in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Throughout the play ‘Hamlet‘, we see that the protagonist seems troubled and quite isolated. The Shakespearean play is believed to have been first performed between 1600 and 1601 but not published until 1603. Hamlet is the young prince of Denmark, his mother Gertrude married her brother-in-law shortly after her husband (Hamlet’s father) died. In the Elizabethan era many people believed in supernatural forces and this is displayed within the play when Hamlet’s father returns as a ghost. Many people would argue that Hamlet is possessed and his madness and strange behaviour is partly due to his father’s death and his reoccurrence as a ghost.

From the beginning of the play Hamlet seems as if he is emotionally unstable and unable to cope well with his emotions. The audience see this through Hamlet’s sadness over his father’s death. For example ‘I have of late…lost all my mirth’ (2,2,280). Hamlet says here that he has lost all of his happiness; this shows us as an audience that he feels empty and has nothing to feel happy or joyful about.

Moreover we see that Hamlet is unable to communicate well with others and this backs up the point that he feels isolated and lonely. Shakespeare uses short sharp sentences to show that the character doesn’t want to converse, ‘Words, words, words’ (2,2,189). This is the response Hamlet gives when Polonius asks what book he reads. The reply shows that he doesn’t want to talk and is being quite dismissive when asked questions.

Hamlet’s behaviour is obsessive at times in different ways. He is very focused as he is concentrating on fulfilling his late father’s task, which is to kill his Claudius (Hamlet‘s uncle) for betraying him. For instance, ‘A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his son, do ...

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...ortant quote that could show that he is pretending is ‘, “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (2,2,361–362). Here Hamlet basically says he knows what is what in which case he knows when he is seen to be mad.

Finally, the way that Hamlet is perceived by the audience is different for everyone and is interpreted in many different ways. The other characters all believe that Hamlet is truly ill or mad, however most critics feel that this was a cover up plan so Hamlet could organise his plan to murder Claudius and the other characters would find it hard to believe Hamlet could murder somebody if he was truly insane.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print