The scariest feeling is watching your son go insane. Within William Shakespeare's famous play, Hamlet, there are numerous events that prove Hamlet is truly insane. Throughout this play, Hamlet has been apart of various crazy situations that demonstrate his illness. After close evaluation of his actions, it becomes evident that something is clearly wrong with this boy. Hamlet’s severe emotional change and intense obsession to get revenge for his father’s death proves that he is insane.
Hamlet’s insanity is further expressed throughout the book by his continual emotional changes. At the start of the play, Gertrude is talking to Hamlet about his father’s life. Gertrude has accepted the loss of her husband; however, Hamlet is still struggling and begins yelling at his mother, “Tis not alone my inky cloak, mother, nor, customary suits of solemn black” (1.2.80-81). Hamlet begins to blame Gertrude for the death of his father. He is aggravated about his mother’s marriage to Claudius, which causes an additional spark of anger. Claudius is rude to Hamlet and says he is acting towards womanly towards the loss of his father. Later in the scene, Hamlet’s insanity is more prevalent. Hamlet begins to feel suicidal and says, “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt” (1.2.133). Hamlet’s mental instability is causing him to
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Additionally, he contemplates killing multiple people. Later, Hamlet informs his mother that Claudius murdered his father. Gertrude becomes fearful and asks Hamlet what should they do. Hamlet says that Claudius deserves death, “I will bestow him and will answer well the death I gave him” (3.4.197-198). Hamlet’s willingness to murder Claudius as revenges supports the idea that he is going insane. Afterwards, Hamlet forces Claudius to drink poisoned wine and says, “Here thou incentuous damned Dane, drink off this potion” (5.2.356-357). Multiple people have now died due to Hamlet’s
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
What makes a person truly crazy? Is it the way that they dress or is it the way they they they talk? It even may be their actions that cause you to believe that a person has truly gone crazy. Although Hamlet appears to have gone crazy to other characters in this book, the reader can see Hamlet is actually sane throughout the whole entire book. The explanations to why Hamlet is sane are as follows: his change in character is just an effect of his father, any crazy actions of Hamlet were to justify him after he killed Claudius to avenge his father’s death, he shows intelligence and is able to plan for events throughout the story.
The Tragedy of Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare about a young prince trying to avenge his father’s death. In the beginning of the play, young Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, killed him. Meanwhile Hamlets mother, Gertrude, has gotten married to said uncle. Now it is Hamlet’s job to kill his Uncle-father to avenge his dead father, a task that may prove to daunting for Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Hamlet, the author uses diction and syntax to make Hamlet portray himself as mentally insane when in reality, he is sane thorough the duration of the play, tricking the other characters into giving up their darkest secrets.
Hamlet runs into Ophelia and angrily Hamlet denies having given her anything; he laments the dishonesty of beauty, and claims both to have loved Ophelia once and never to have loved her at all. Then Hamlet spits out nasty comments including, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” (Shakespeare 3. 1. 131-132). He criticizes women for making men behave like monsters and for contributing to the world’s dishonesty by painting their faces to appear more beautiful than they are. This illustrates Hamlet shifting from sane to insane. During Hamlets talk between him and his mother he hears a noise behind the arras. Hamlet storms into the room and asks his mother why she has sent for him. She says that he has offended his stepfather. Hamlet accosts her with an almost violent intensity and declares his intention to make her fully aware of the profundity of her sin. Fearing for her life, Gertrude cries out. From behind the arras, Polonius calls out for help. Hamlet, realizing that someone is behind the arras and suspecting that it might be Claudius, cries, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead” (Shakespeare 3. 4. 29). He draws his sword and stabs it through the tapestry, killing the unseen Polonius. This begins the starts his complete transformation from sanity to insanity. . Therefore, while Hamlet argues with his mother in her room after the dumb show he makes insulting
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.
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.
Hamlet is first tormented by the death of his father, the king of Denmark. Then he is cast into utter agony when Gertrude, the mother he loves dearly is hastily married to his uncle, Claudius. Through a ghostly revelation, Hamlet learns that his suspicions that Claudius murdered his father are true. He becomes incensed and wants to enact revenge upon the guilty party. From this point on, Hamlet struggles with his plan for revenge that conflicts with his opposite contemplative nature.
It’s been a month since Hamlet started mourning his fathers unfortunate passing, not only is the death of his father hard to bare but his throne is taken right from beneath him by none other than Hamlets Uncle Claudius. Gertrude (Hamlets mother) just so happens to marry Claudius within one month after his death. Even though Hamlet appears to be suicidal, he shows his madness seems to be perfectly under control, wanting a relief more than actual death. Whether it’s speaking to himself in a hallway or having a conversation with himself in front of a mirror wielding a knife by his throat suicide isn’t what’s really on his mind.
After this scene Hamlet acts insane and he often criticizes his mother for remarrying and even insults her, but gets away with his actions because at this point those around him are starting to believe there is something wrong with Hamlet. He is not crazy but if he were truly crazy then he would not internally realize that he is mad, a crazy person usually doesn 't realize they are going crazy, but it is others who realize because of his or her actions. In Hamlet 's case, Hamlet knows he is "crazy" and his acting is beneficial for him because he is able to talk freely without having to hold anything back. If Hamlet were truly insane it would have caused him his own death, because usually when an individual is insane they are unaware of what they are saying and their actions are usually always made hastily, a quality that Hamlet does not seem to
King Hamlet's "foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare I.v.31) tops Claudius' list of egregious sins. Using his mastery of manipulation, Claudius, the “incestuous” and “adulterate beast” managed to win the honorable queen Gertrude by using the “shameful lust [of her] will” (I.v.49…52-53). Claudius had to use verbal trickery to influence Gertrude into switching husbands that quickly after her husband’s death, which shows his true skill: lying convincingly. Claudius manages to validate his ascent to the throne by diverting attention away from him and to the attack by the young Fortinbras of Norway (I.ii.1-38). The most horrible of Claudius’ crimes is his lack of emotion over his traitorous fratricide. Claudius does not even give his late brother a word of respect; instead the focus is upon the future of Denmark. Claudius goes so far as to chastise Hamlet for his “unmanly grief” (I.ii.98), emphasizing that for the benefit of Denmark; all those affected by the death of King Hamlet should keep a strong façade. Later in Hamlet, Claudius begins to openly express his remorse and recognizes the immorality of his actions when he says himself: “O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven;/ It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, / A brother’s murder. Pray cannot I” (III.iii.40-42). He expresses his grief and sin in private but keeps a façade in front of the rest of the kingdom. Claudius is
After several attempts to kill Hamlet fail, Claudius teams up with Laertes and tries to murder Hamlet once and for all. Each of these plans directly or indirectly caused Hamlet’s death. 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 myself as I perchanse hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on,"(I;v;170-172).
Hamlet was told by the ghost of king hamlet to get back at Claudius for his death, or his soul will travel on earth forever. Even before hamlet knew about Claudius killing his father he had problems. It made hamlet mad that his mother would marry so fast and with his uncle. What Claudius did was an outrageous, back stabbing, and unbelievable thing. It was clearly an act of jealousy for his brother's throne and the wife. Claudius did pay back for his actions. Claudius lost his wife, his messenger, and died and even after his death kept loosing because he lost his castle to Fortinbras.
The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about Hamlet going insane and reveals his madness through his actions and dialogue. Hamlet remains one of the most discussed literary characters of all time. This is most likely due to the complex nature of Hamlet as a character. In one scene, Hamlet appears happy, and then he is angry in another and melancholy in the next. Hamlet’s madness is a result of his father’s death which was supposedly by the hands of his uncle, Claudius. He has also discovered that this same uncle is marrying his mom. It is expected that Hamlet would be suffering from some emotional issues as result of these catastrophes. Shakespeare uses vivid language, metaphors, and imagery to highlight how Hamlet’s madness influences several important aspects of his life including his relationships and the way he presents himself.
Claudius killed Hamlet’s dad and then married his mom to become the leader of Denmark. Later in the play, Hamlet sees his dad’s ghost and is informed of the horrific act committed by his uncle. Hamlets’ dad’s ghost says, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I. V. 25). Hamlets’ dad says this to Hamlet so that his uncle could get retribution for his actions. Hamlet has many opportunities to kill Claudius, but is unable because of the wrong timing.
Old Hamlet is killed by his brother Claudius. Only two months after her husband’s death a vulnerable Gertrude marries her husband’s brother Claudius. Gertrude’s weakness opens the door for Claudius to take the throne as the king of Denmark. Hamlet is outraged by this, he loses respect for his mother as he feels that she has rejected him and has taken no time to mourn her own husband’s death. One night old Hamlets ghost appears to prince Hamlet and tells him how he was poisoned by his own brother. Up until this point the kingdom of Denmark believed that old Hamlet had died of natural causes. As it was custom, prince Hamlet sought to avenge his father’s death. This leads Hamlet, the main character into a state of internal conflict as he agonises over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Shakespeare’s play presents the reader with various forms of conflict which plague his characters. He explores these conflicts through the use of soliloquies, recurring motifs, structure and mirror plotting.