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Depression In Hamlet Essay

1004 Words5 Pages

Hamlets manic-depressive state displayed throughout the play would be the trigger of the series of events that concludes with the death of the principal cast of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hamlet's depression strums from the untimely death of his father, King Hamlet. The death sends Hamlet into a manic state which would create a domino effect on each character in the play. This domino effect lingers for the entirety of the play which concludes in tragedy for multiple characters in Hamlet.
The death of King Hamlet is the main cause that leads Hamlet into spiraling depression. In Act I, Hamlet meets The Ghost, which is the apparition of his deceased father, this apparition tells Hamlet he had been murdered by Claudius, the new king. This one …show more content…

The character that is affected by Hamlet's madness is Claudius. This behavior causes Claudius to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old friends of Hamlet, to spy on him and report back to the King. Through this ordeal, Gertrude, Hamlet's mother stays on King Claudius' side rather than her son Hamlets. King Claudius explains Hamlet's behavior to Polonius in act three, "madness in great ones must not unwatched go" (Shakespeare, 3.1.196). This proves that Hamlet's behavior is not going unnoticed to him and he shouldn't go farther. Polonius is also greatly affected by Hamlet's behavior because of his daughter Ophelia's relationship with him, and like the king, he would spy on Hamlet. The reason why both Claudius and Polonius are affected is that along with Hamlet they would grow mad due to Hamlet’s actions. As Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet, they use Ophelia to try and solve this unruly behavior. But the interaction between Hamlet and Ophelia cause them to break up. This now leads Ophelia to start to go mad due to Hamlet's sudden rude behavior towards her. As dramatic events occur, Hamlet is plotting against the king to prove The Ghost's word through the making of the play, The Murder of

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