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Recommended: Theme of madness in Shakespeare
The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, looks at the issue of madness and how it effects the characters of the play. Madness can be looked at from very different perspectives, such as strong and uncontrollable emotions, a person’s desires, and also a persons mental stability. Throughout the play, the audience is questioning the sanity of the main character, Hamlet, as he goes on his quest for revenge. The people around him also show signs of madness, such as Ophelia and Claudius, but in different forms. Existentialist philosopher Friedrich Nietzche says, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in madness.” What Nietzche is saying is that when you are in love with someone or something, there is always a little bit of madness or crazy to it, but there is also some reason, some explanation, to madness. This essay will prove Nietzche’s statement by looking at Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship, Hamlet’s plot to fool everyone, and Hamlet’s true sanity.
The relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet in the play Hamlet is unknown and is views as constantly changing to the audience. It is known early in the play that there is some sort of relationship. At first it seems that Hamlet does not really care about Ophelia and is just using her for sexual pleasure. However, as the play goes on the views of the relationship changes, as Hamlet appears to have gone mad over his inability to be with Ophelia. The relationship is again put into question when Hamlet forcibly grabs onto Ophelia is a mad fit, showing anger. This raises the question again of if he truly cares for her The audience does not know if this madness is real or if its fake because of Hamlet’s planned madness to fool everyone. It is known to the audience...
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...is some reason behind madness. The Ghost may have appeared at this time to help fool Gertrude into thinking that Hamlet is mad, seeing that only Hamlet can see the Ghost. The audience continues to question Hamlet’s sanity as the play goes on.
Existentialist philosopher Friedrich Nietzche states, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in madness.” This statement can be proven by looking at the characters in the play Hamlet. Both Ophelia and Hamlet show madness over the love they have for each other, and Hamlet uses the appearance of madness to hide is plot for revenge. Hamlet’s sanity is also questioned by the audience to figure out if he is truly crazy. These examples from the play Hamlet help prove the concept of madness in Nietzche’s statement.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, and Roma Gill. Hamlet. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992. Print.
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the audience finds a docile, manipulated, scolded, victimized young lady named Ophelia. Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet. Plays have foils to help the audience better understand the more important characters in the play. The character of Ophelia is necessary so that the audience will give Hamlet a chance to get over his madness and follow his heart.
Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” is full of intrigue. Is there really a ghost? Does Hamlet truly go mad? And where in the world did the pirates come from? Yet, even with all these questions, the most compelling is whether Hamlet truly loves Ophelia. One of the most iconic romantic relationship ever to be penned, and the love is still questionable. Does he really love her? Before the argument can be continued, the definition of romantic love which is used throughout must first be defined. It is a simple beauty— Love is caring for someone more than yourself. If held to this standard, Hamlet does not truly love Ophelia by the end of the play, though he may have loved her a some point. By the end of the play, where once existed some form of love for
Throughout the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, the unclear representation of the protagonist’s actions is present. The protagonist, Hamlet, conducts the idea that he is turning mad. Although, there are many indications which support that this so-called “madness” is part of an act that Hamlet portrays. The other characters within the play try to understand the reasoning behind Hamlet’s madness, but cannot figure out the truth behind it. The main cause of Hamlet’s madness is the realization of his father’s death and the numerous influences his father’s death has on his life. Hamlet can control his actions of madness and specifically acts differently around certain characters. The characters who are more concerned
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 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.
It is key to grasp the meaning of madness in order to understand Hamlet’s audacity to utilize it as well as to why he unconsciously fell into his own act. Madness is a condition of the mind that abolishes all rational thought leaving an individual with no accurate compreh...
The story of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, is considered to be a perplexing play as the many subplots twist, turn, and unfold. The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is conceivably the most widely discussed topic as countless theories are developed throughout the story. It is a tragedy, of many sorts, that Hamlet and Ophelia are not able to display their love for each other,
One of the most analyzed plays in existence today is the tragedy Hamlet, with its recurring question: "Is Hamlet's 'antic disposition' feigned or real?" This question can only be answered by observing the thoughts of the main characters in relation to the cause of Hamlet's real or feigned madness. In the tragedy Hamlet, each of the main characters explains Hamlets madness in their own unique way. To discover the cause behind the madness of Hamlet, each character used their own ambitions, emotions and interpretations of past events. Initially one of the most accepted causes for Hamlets instability is that of denied love, conjured by the self fulfilling Polonius.
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
Sweet and innocent, faithful and obedient, Ophelia is the truly tragic figure in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. "Her nature invites us to pity her misfortune caused not by any of her own self-initiated deeds or strategies"(Lidz 138). Laertes tells us convincingly how young and vulnerable Ophelia is, (act I. iii.10) likening her budding womanhood's destruction from Hamlet to a process as "the canker galls the infants of the spring,/ Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, /And in the morn and liquid dew of youth / Contagious blastments are most imminent". "He advises her to stay away and she lovingly banters back, typically like a young teen, reminding him to act as he advises" (Campbell 104). We then learn more of how pure and innocent she is as her father counsels her (Act I.iii.90). Telling her that she is a "green girl" and to think of herself as "a baby" in this matter, he insists that she must stop seeing him.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static character in the play. Instead of changing through the course of the play, she remains suffering in the misfortunes perpetrated upon her. She falls into insanity and dies a tragic death. Ophelia has issues surviving without a male influence, and her downfall is when all the men in her life abandon her. Hamlet’s Ophelia, is a tragic, insane character that cannot exist on her own.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one of the most evident and important themes is the theme of madness. The theme is apparent throughout the play, mainly through the actions and thoughts of Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes. Madness is defined as the quality or condition of mental illness or derangement (being insane). Madness is at the center of the conflicts and problems of the play and is conveyed through Shakespeare’s elaborate use of manipulation and parallels between Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes to contribute to Hamlet’s tragic character. All examples of madness begin and end with death.
Gunnar Boklund in “Hamlet” performs a partial-analysis on the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet:
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
In Act I Scene IV, Ophelia starts to talk to her father about the growing relationship between herself and Hamlet. Although she believes it is real, her father does not think so since he is a prince and tells her she is not allowed to see him anymore. She is unable to express herself or her feelings for others if it does not follow her father’s standards. In Act III Scene I, after Hamlet started becoming distracted and no one knew what was wrong with him, Ophelia was sent to find out information from him. No matter how much she loves Hamlet she will betray him to follow her father’s orders. In Act III Scene II, there is a play put on for the royal family and guests. Hamlet teases her and asks her if he should lay in her lap and then continues to tell her to go to a nunnery she cannot do anything about it. The only way she can keep her reputation and her father’s honor intact is by ignoring it and acting like it means nothing to