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Compare and contrast hamlet and ophelia
Hamlet and the theme of madness
Theme of madness in shakespear hamlet
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The Theme of Madness Characterized by Ophelia and Hamlet in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
In Hamlet, Shakespeare incorporates a theme of madness with two characters: one truly mad, and one only acting mad to serve a motive. The madness of Hamlet is frequently disputed. This paper argues that the contrapuntal character in the play, namely Ophelia, acts as a balancing argument to Hamlet's madness or sanity. Ophelia's breakdown and Hamlet's "north-north-west" brand of insanity argue for Hamlet having a method to his seeming insanity.
The play offers a character on each side of sanity. While Shakespeare does not directly put Ophelia's insanity, or breakdown, against Hamlet's own madness, there is indeed a clear definitiveness in Ophelia's condition and a clear uncertainty in Hamlet's madness. Obviously, Hamlet's character offers more evidence, while Ophelia's breakdown is quick, but more conclusive in its precision.
Shakespeare offers clear evidence pointing to Hamlet's sanity beginning with the first scene of the play. Hamlet begins with guards whose main importance in the play is to give credibility to the ghost. If Hamlet were to see his father's ghost in private, the argument for his madness would greatly improve. Yet, not one, but three men together witness the ghost before even thinking to notify Hamlet. As Hamlet says, "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt…" we can see that he is depressed and appalled, but it does not mean he is insane. As Horatio says, being the only one of the guards to play a significant role in the rest of the play, "Before my God, I might not this believe/ Without the sensible and true avouch/ Of mine own eyes." Horatio, who appears frequently throughout the play, acts as an unquestionably sane alibi to Hamlet again when framing the King with his reaction to the play.
That Hamlet speaks to the ghost alone detracts somewhat from its credibility, but all the men were witness to the ghost demanding they speak alone. Horatio offers an insightful warning, "What if it tempts you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his base into the sea, And there assume some other horrible form. Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason, And draw you into madness? Think of it." Horatio's comment may be where Hamlet gets the idea to use a plea of insanity to work out his plan.
Hamlet grants himself the opportunity to momentarily direct himself, yet it remains unknown as to whether he directs a representation of truth or a falsity. He exemplifies madness so well, as the sight of "a damned ghost" (77) insanely induces his imagination and comfortably transforms his identity to one of lunacy. This role he acquires is one he portrays so explicitly well as an actor that he easily utilizes it as the foundation for his players. He instructs the players:
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, we, as readers, increasingly question the sanity of the protagonist, Hamlet, as the play continues. His seemingly psychotic banter with the other characters in the play begins to convince us that Hamlet is, indeed, insane. Hamlet, however, states, “How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself, as I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (1.5.171). He specifically tells Horatio and Marcellus that he will be acting mad, as a front. Hamlet has an exceptional grasp on mental philosophy and the uses and effects of logic, more so than the other characters in the play.
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.
...ever be truly known if it was an act or not, one can surmise from the information given that Hamlet never truly went insane and he remained clever throughout the entire story. Only certain people ever say a side of insanity in him, and those who witnessed it were his enemies. Whether it was to frighten them, make them believe his actions were not his own, hide his true intentions and plans, or something else is never disclosed, but one can assume that he was in his right mind the entire time. His fake insanity leads not only to his own and his enemies’ deaths, but also the deaths of those few remaining people that he truly loves and cares about. Horatio is the only survivor and Hamlet tells him to continue living so that Horatio can tell the true story of what happened without the bias of thinking Hamlet’s actions were nothing more than the insane acts of a madman.
People have mostly seen women inferior to men because women have been thought of as simple-minded and could not take care of themselves. Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows how men treated and thought of women during the 1500s. There was an order most did not interfere with; however, some did. In the 1500s, women were supposed to conform to men’s wishes. Throughout the play, Ophelia first obeyed her father and brother’s wishes, ignored the social norms later, and then went mad, which caused her to never gain her own identity.
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?
Throughout the play Horatio constantly tries to bring Hamlet back to reality by advising him to follow his mind instead of his heart. When Hamlet decides to follow the ghost, Horatio strongly opposes by saying, “What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, or to the dreadful summit of the cliff that beetles o’er his base into the sea, and there assume some other horrible form, which might deprive your sovereignty of reason and draw you into madness?” (Shakespeare 1, 4, 69-74). Horatio’s warning to Hamlet suggests the idea that he views the unknown more cautiously than the reckless prince. Additionally Horatio’s inference about how the ghost might “drive [Hamlet] into madness”(1, 4, 74) displays a foreshadowing of Hamlet’s fate, emphasizing the idea that the warnings from the spokesman of common sense goes unheeded by the tragic hero. In addition to giving advice against the ghost, Horatio advises Hamlet in the matter of the match with Laertes saying, “If your mind dislike anything, obey it” (5, 2, 18). By this advice Horatio implies that he as well holds a suspicion against the King and Laertes and has doubts towards the match as Hamlet does, however, Hamlet ignores this sensible advice and leaves his life into the hands of
While Hamlet was being in his "antic disposition" stage it allowed him to do several things that he otherwise would not be able to do if everyone thought he was in a normal state. The purpose of Hamlet feigning madness is in order to be undercover and see for certain if what has been told to him by the ghost is true. By not revealing the fact that he is not insane, he is able to get more information about the death of his father. Did his uncle kill his father and how can he get his mother away from his uncle are what Hamlet is set out to find.
People think Hamlet is insane but he is really only acting. After Hamlet has spoken to the ghost, and Horatio and Marcellus find him, emotionally disturbed he says, "As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on... to note that you know aught of me--this do swear". (Act 1, scene 5, line 191-192, 201) This means if I (Hamlet) act crazy in the future, don't take it seriously, I am just acting. Hamlet acting crazy will help him prove that his uncle indeed killed his father.
Hamlet starts with the King dead and Hamlet is already in a miserable mood. The first step that pushes him over the border into madness is his meeting with the ghost and even Horatio can see it as
As Hamlet transforms from a motivated intellectual to an obsessed griever, Shakespeare evaluates the fluidity of sanity.The juxtaposition of Hamlet’s desire to act and inability to do so unveils Hamlet’s inner turmoil, for as Hamlet disconnects from family, distrusts his environment, and forms an obsession with perfection, the audience realizes his fatal flaw and watches him tumble into the grasps of insanity. This degeneration forces the audience to consider how equilibrium between thought and action influences the conservation of sanity, not only for Hamlet, but also for all of humanity.
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.
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 3 scene 4 Hamlet sees his father’s ghost in his mother 's bedroom after just having murdered Polonius. Gertrude however cannot see the ghost when Hamlet tries to point it out, and she takes this as proof of Hamlet’s madness “This is the very coinage of your brain…” (3.4.135-139). However this is debatable proof, as some of the soldiers, and Horatio had seen the ghost before that point. He then drags out Polonius’s body to hide it, and the castle guards are sent to look for him. He continues to act mad during this time, furthering the belief that he really was mad (4.3.18-25). In response to this event Claudius sends Hamlet to England to be killed. Hamlet however escapes this fate, and heads back to his homeland. During the time he was away Ophelia had gone mad and had committed suicide, and Laertes had come back and swore revenge on Hamlet for what he had done to his family. This is when Hamlet’s madness appears to fade a little bit. Hamlet is shown talking normally to Horatio throughout the last section of the play, and once he finds out about Ophelia’s death he seemingly snaps back to reality, revealing he did care about her. This act of sadness was one of the few times Hamlet broke his madness facade. He gets into a fight with Laertes, and they eventually decide to settle the feud properly with a
When he is having his discussion with his mother, he can sense her view of his sanity decreasing and cries, “Ecstasy?My pulse as yours doth temperately keep time and makes as healthful music. It is not madness that I have uttered” in a desperate attempt to get her to accept his words about Claudius as the truth. What causes her to lose her faith in him is when he describes how he can see the ghost of his father when she cannot. Schizophrenia is associated with having hallucinations, “things a person sees, hears,...that no one else can” (“What is Schizophrenia?, 2). However, the audience knows that Hamlet is not the only one to have seen the Ghost because Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo saw it first and were the ones who told Hamlet about it in the first place. Also, schizophrenia is known to also create delusions, “beliefs that are not true or logical” (“What is Schizophrenia?, 2). This also does not relate to Hamlet as Claudius admits to feeling guilty for his “cursed hand...thicker than itself with his brother’s blood” (III.iii.44-45). The audience is given proof that both what the Ghost told Hamlet was the truth, and that the Ghost is not simply a figure of Hamlet’s imagination, as he would not have known about his father’s death being a murder had it been. Therefore, his beliefs are sane and his vengeance is