But, after suppressing his emotions for too long, Hamlet eventually loses his mind to the depths of insanity causing an emotional overload.
Hamlet is in a drastic need of feminism, because instead of allowing himself to be vulnerable, “he allows emotion to provoke him to unthinkably violent action” (Levy 83). This is shown in his violent attitude and actions towards Ophelia (3.1.163), Gertrude (3.3.73-117), Polonius (3.4.28-30), and Laertes (5.1.267-271). The longer Hamlet muffles his emotions, he becomes more wild and barbaric in his actions and thoughts. It has been scientifically proven that the “effort required to suppress emotions, [can result] in a reduction of self-control…” (Chow, Howard 762). Feminism shows that men can be emotionally
One of the most emotional and moving scenes in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is in Act III, Scene I lines 90-155 in which the title character becomes somewhat abusive toward his once loved girlfriend Ophelia. It is interesting to examine the possible motives behind Hamlet's blatant harshness in this "Get the to a nunnery" scene toward the easily manipulated and mild mannered girl. While watching Kenneth Branagh and Mel Gibson's film adaptations of the play, the audience may recognize two possibilities of the many that may exist which may explain the Prince's contemptible behavior; Kenneth Branaugh seems to suggest that this display of animosity will help the troubled man convince his enemies that he is in fact demented, whereas the Mel Gibson work may infer that Hamlet's repressed anger toward his mother causes him to "vent" his frustrations upon Ophelia, the other female of importance in his life.
Hamlet’s madness whether actual or simulated, shows through his actions toward other main characters who threaten his revenge against Claudius. In proof of his diminished state Hamlet says, “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt / that and resolve itself into a dew! / Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d / his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God! / How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, / seem to me all the uses of this world!” (1.2. 129–158). From the very beginning Hamlet is already reacting to the deaths of his father and his parents’ marriage. Hamlet registers some clear suicidal and or mental (emotional) depression. Hamlet’s madness starts out inconspicuous, with the soiling of his parents’ marriage apparent and the death of his father, he continues throughout the whole story to grief.
Riddled with ambiguity by its very nature, the text of William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been a commonly debated subject in literary circles since its first performance. The character Hamlet undergoes intense physical and emotional hardship in his quest for revenge against his despicable uncle. This hardship, some argue, leads to an emotional breakdown and, ultimately, Hamlet's insanity. While this assessment may be suitable in some cases, it falls short in others. Since Hamlet is a play, the ultimate motivation of each of the characters borrows not only from the text, but also from the motivations of the actors playing the parts. In most respects, these motivations are more apt at discerning the emotional condition of a character than their dialogue ever could. Thus, the question is derived: In Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of Hamlet, does the character Hamlet suffer from insanity? Giving halt to the response, this paper will first endeavor to establish what insanity is and will then provide sufficient examples both from the text, film, and Branagh's own musings on his motivations as proof that Hamlet's character, at least in Branagh's version of the play, is not insane.
Much of the dramatic action of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet is within the head of the main character, Hamlet. His wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking, nature of his mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also polite badinage.
King and Queen that he has "lost all mirth," in this world so "foul and
While Hamlet may still be feeling depressed Hamlet moves into the stage of denial and isolation. Hamlet feels the effects of denial and isolation mostly due to his love, Ophelia. Both Hamlet’s grief and his task constrain him from realizing this love, but Ophelia’s own behavior clearly intensifies his frustration and anguish. By keeping the worldly and disbelieving advice of her brother and father as “watchmen” to her “heart” (I.iii.46), she denies the heart’s affection not only in Hamlet, but in herself; and both denials add immeasurably to Hamlet’s sense of loneliness and loss—and anger. Her rejection of him echoes his mother’s inconstancy and denies him the possibility even of imagining the experience of loving an...
man who has come of age nevertheless he tends to identify with the likes of
Leverenz, David. 1980. 'The Woman in Hamlet: An Interpersonal View.' In Representing Shakespeare: New Psychoanalytic Essays, edited by Coppelia Kahn and Murray M. Schwarz. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 110-128.
On the journey through the path of life, there are encounters with many different incidents and situations where we must act accordingly. Depending on what type of personality is possessed, there are numerous ways that we can deal with these encounters. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the main character is confronted with a cluster of dilemmas and is in emotional distress. The ghost that encounters Hamlet, the monarchs’ incest, and the contemplation of murder, are the major conflicts which he must deal with one way or another. As a result of these three issues, as well as Hamlet’s particular character, he handles these issues internally which causes internal struggle and a passive response.
In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” there are many different events throughout the play that affect and shape the main character Hamlet. The biggest event being when Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, the king, who then proceeds to tell him that his uncle murdered him. This event will lead Hamlet to madness with sanity while plotting his revenge on his uncle which will ultimately end in his, his uncle and several other’s deaths at the end of the play.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare focuses strongly on the characters loss of innocence. According to Oxford Dictionaries, Innocence is defined as “the state of being clean or unsullied from sin or moral wrong lacking in knowledge of evil” (Oxford 1). Shakespeare focuses on this thematic element by suggesting Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes are all innocent and resulting in their loss of innocence. In the play, there is a presence of this literary archetype, through the characters actions, thoughts and naivety.
According to Webster’s Desk Dictionary, grief is defined as “keen mental suffering over affection or loss” (397). Various characters in Hamlet choose to deal with grief in different ways, with many of their methods harmful in the end. Ophelia is dealt two setbacks during the course of the play, one being her father’s death and the other being Hamlet’s disrespectful treatment. Her brother Laertes must also deal with Polonius’s death, as well as Ophelia’s. From the beginning of the play, Hamlet grieves over his father’s murder. His grief is what sparks his quest for revengeand his battle to kill Claudius.
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a complex and ambiguous public exploration of key human experiences surrounding the aspects of revenge, betrayal and corruption. The Elizabethan play is focused centrally on the ghost’s reoccurring appearance as a symbol of death and disruption to the chain of being in the state of Denmark. The imagery of death and uncertainty has a direct impact on Hamlet’s state of mind as he struggles to search for the truth on his quest for revenge as he switches between his two incompatible values of his Christian codes of honour and humanist beliefs which come into direct conflict. The deterioration of the diseased state is aligned with his detached relationship with all women as a result of Gertrude’s betrayal to King Hamlet which makes Hamlet question his very existence and the need to restore the natural order of kings. Hamlet has endured the test of time as it still identifies with a modern audience through the dramatized issues concerning every human’s critical self and is a representation of their own experience of the bewildering human condition, as Hamlet struggles to pursuit justice as a result of an unwise desire for revenge.
One of the major difficulties humans face is the conflict between reason and passion and risking the destructive effects that could occur when deciding how to act upon certain situations. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince Hamlet demonstrates the best example of how damaging the effects of the internal conflict between the two thoughts when he decides how to act on certain situations. Prince Hamlet overwhelmed by death, showing envy, and deciding how to act eventually leads to his self-destruction, developing the theme of the moral dilemma of the actions of people.
The psychological aspect of Hamlet which is most prominently displayed is his melancholy. This condition is rooted in the psyche and the emotions, the former causing the latter to go awry. Lily B. Campbell in “Grief That Leads to Tragedy” emphasizes ...