It is or is it not true that Hamlet was faking his insanity? I’m not saying Hamlet was faking the whole thing. The meaning for insanity on Dictionary.com is “a permanent disorder of the mind.” I don 't think Hamlet had a permanent disorder of the mind he knew what he was doing and even planned the majority of the events that happened. Most of the time anyway. Having your father die is bad enough, but to have your mother marry your uncle, within a few weeks of your father’s death? Then to see the ghost of your dead father. That would drive anyone a little insane, but maybe not to the extent that everyone thought Hamlet was acting. Hamlet is torn between acting sane and letting everyone else see him as insane. Hamlet is so grieved by his father …show more content…
Polonius explains Hamlet 's madness to Claudius and Gertrude, “Mad call I it, for, to define true madness. What it 't but to be nothing else but mad? But let that go (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 93-94). Polonius then goes on to describe his ides of the stages of Hamlet 's madness and his inability to sleep, “And he, repelled-a short tale to make- Fell into a sadness, then into a fast, Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness, Thence to a lightness, and by this declension Into the madness wherein now he raves, And all we mourn for” (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 146-151). Throughout the play Hamlet continues to act insane and even dies with the act continuing. Even after Hamlet gathers all the evidence that proves Claudius is the murder, Hamlet continues to behave in a strange way. When he mistakenly murders Polonius he does not react as a sane person would. This act enrages Laertes, who then wants to avenge his father’s death. Driven to madness by the murder of his father, Laertes, with the help of Claudius conspires to kill Hamlet. His insane actions upset other characters and set the up for other …show more content…
Ophelia’s madness is caused by the actions of others in the story. “Madness becomes Ophelia’s last resort, her unconscious revolt. Indeed what else is left for her to do? Offering her an escape, madness provides her with the ability to finally speak her anger and desire” (Dane,412).Her father tells her to stay away from Hamlet, who she has fallen in love with. Hamlet has warned her earlier that whatever he tells her in the future will not be true but, when he tells her he does not intent to be with her it starts the beginning of her madness. When Ophelia returns all his letters and gifts he tells her that he has never loved her and that she should “get thyself to a nunnery.” This is one example how his mood changes throughout the play. Then after all this her father, Polinous, is murdered by Hamlet. The Hamlet is sent away to England All of these actions result in her feeling such stress that she becomes insane in the end. In the final scene Hamlet dies, but before he does he leaves some important words, “As thou 'rt a man, Give me the cup! Let go! By heaven, I 'll ha 't. Things standin thus unknow, shall I leave behind me! If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, Absent thee from
One definition of madness is “mental delusion of the eccentric behavior arising from it.” However, as Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Much madness is divinest Sense/ To a discerning Eye.” In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Prince Hamlet, shows apparent madness which proves to serve an important role throughout the story. This erratic behavior consists of his seemingly senseless dialogues, his loss of care for Ophelia, and his increasingly aggressive nature. Such behavior often proves justified by the play’s audience due to its convincing nature despite Hamlet’s predisposition towards insanity.
The most apparent form of sanity exists in the relationships between Hamlet and the other characters. When Hamlet is conversing with his close friend Horatio, he never behaves inappropriately, and he never voices anything that would offend his friend; therefore, the audience is forced to believe that Hamlet is able to control his madness which leads the audience to believe that his mental instability is crafty rather than insane (Bali 4). On the other hand, when he is with someone who is opposing his plan, such as Polonius, he tends to act in a peculiar way by saying and doing things that easily offend him; although most of what he is saying during these encounters makes sense, he phrases it in a way that causes the audience to believe that he has lost his mind. An example of this arises during the scene where Hamlet converses with Polonius in the hallway and calls him a fishmonger (Shakespeare
He went through a tragedy. Hamlet is just traumatized from his father's death but he is not insane. Hamlet was the prince of Denmark. He was very intelligent and wealthy. You could tell by the way he spoke.
Madness is often a symptom, and in the case of Hamlet this may be the reason behind his actions. The death of Hamlet’s father is the catalyst for Hamlet, causing him to see the ghost and ultimately become obsessed with the idea of revenge. A common theme for shakespeare is to explore a character’s mind and reasonings, and Hamlet’s character being mad was a perfect opportunity to continue this theme. Hamlet’s debatable madness, Ophelia being truly mad and the death of every character involved with Hamlet or his father is a prime example of tragedy, which Shakespeare is known for. While Hamlet’s madness is not certain, it is indisputable that the play Hamlet was built off of the idea of what is madness, and how does it affect one’s
In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses many references to sanity and insanity. Throughout the play, Hamlet goes back and forth between sanity and insanity, whether pretending to be insane just to mess with those he does not like or to save himself from getting in trouble. Hamlet is actually one of the smartest characters in the play, which is why he can pull off acting crazy so well. Shakespeare uses this idea of sanity and insanity to help the plot change and take a different directions. One of the most discussed topics of the Hamlet is whether Hamlet is insane or if he was just pretending the whole time.
Hamlet does not believe that he is actually insane when he really is. He truly believes that his insanity is an act to gather evidence against Claudius. This insanity leads him to take Polonious’s life which he justifies by saying that Polonius was dishonestly spying. This self-deception leads Hamlet to believe that he is self-righteous and better than his uncle however he is hypocritical in this way as he leaves Ophelia and Laertes without a father in the same way that Claudius did to Hamlet. Hamlets obsession with proving Claudius guilty and killing him in the name of justice eventually leads to Hamlets own murder.
The differences in their madness strongly support the assertion that Hamlet is, in fact, not truly mad. "The mad role that Hamlet plays to perfection is certainly a proof of Shakespeare's genius, but by no means a surety of the insanity of the prince, unless we be prepared to maintain that no one saves a madman can simulate dementia" (Blackmore). As Blackmore points out, his crazy behavior is such that only someone who is not mad could play the part so well. Again, a truly mad person would not have so much control over his actions and
Ophelia is grieving the loss of her father after Hamlet kills him. Ophelia doesn't know that Hamlet killed her father. But Ophelia has gone mad from learning about her father's death. Also, after Hamlet telling Ophelia that she needs to go to a nunnery, Ophelia is a little bit discouraged. She is discouraged because Hamlet had told her before that if Ophelia would sleep with him that they would get married.
Hamlet has come to see his mother, Queen Gertrude, and ends up stabbing Lord Polonius, which ultimately leads to his death. Lord Polonius’ final words include “O, I am slain!” Even though this provides a slight amount of comic relief to the reader, it has a reverse effect on Ophelia’s mental state. Her father’s death seems to be the potent punch in this fight because she officially goes mad after this final event. This is apparent in Scene IV Act I, when Laertes has come back to visit his sister and check on her well being.
Insanity is an idea that has been examined for a long time in numerous mediums such as films, music, plays, and even works of literature. William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is no exception to that rule. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex characters, and many scholars have been debating for centuries whether or not Hamlet is truly insane, or whether there is a particular reason for his odd behavior. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet merely pretends to be mad but in reality is sane.
Hamlet before his duel with Laertes begins to tell Laertes that at the time when he insulted Laertes and fought him it was due to his own mental illness which Hamlet proclaims was “madness” (V.ii.217-219). Hamlet 's mental state is sane because he tells Laertes that the reason for is actions back then was because he had become temporarily insane. Hamlet must be sane in order to identify whether he had gone insane because if someone was insane they would not care about the actions they had done. Hamlet’s actions are not those of sane person when he murders Claudius. When Hamlet realizes it was Claudius, who was at fault for his mother’s death, he becomes enraged and stabs him with the sword that had been poisoned at the tip.
What would one expect the personality of a man whose father was murdered by his uncle, who becomes his step-father? The personality in question points to Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark—who William Shakespeare depicts in his play “Hamlet.” A character analysis of Hamlet reveals that through his internal dialogue, his interpretation of his father 's murder, and his actions, his traits—bitterness, depression, and anger—emerge. Scholars have studied Hamlet for decades, and most have concluded that Hamlet 's personality indicated insanity. However, after observing Hamlet 's actions, his actions throughout the play do not resemble those of an insane person.
He did not want anyone knowing about his encounter with his father’s ghost. This shows that Hamlet can not be acting mad. Consequently, he believes that one should not perform a role, but actually become the person they 're pretending to be. This shows in his stunt when instead of pretending to be mad, he becomes mad in all
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, there are a series of events that causes Hamlet to act abnormally. He has to deal with his father’s death, mother’s remarriage, and his lover Ophelia. However, it is often argued whether Hamlet’s madness is real or fake. Throughout the tragedy, he is over-exaggerating his madness for his plan of revenge.
He felt betrayed by his mother who married his uncle, shortly after King Hamlet’s death. Prince Hamlet promised revenge to avenge his death thus he looked for a plan. He decided to feign madness as he spoke with Polonius so that Claudius questions him. The rest of the play questions Hamlet’s motives and whether he is, indeed, mad or acting. He’s convinced Claudius of his madness, although he knows not of his fate he delays the King’s murder.