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Essay On Insanity In Hamlet

849 Words4 Pages

Over time our sanity becomes insanity, some sooner than others. Sometimes we only act insane even though we are still sane. The latter is the case with Hamlet in William Shakespeare's “ Hamlet.” Because of Hamlet’s age when the play started, it is hard to determine if Hamlet was insane as a child or if he always acted insane whenever he felt like it. Since Hamlet takes place around the 17th century the ways his actions were viewed and dealt with are different than in today’s society. Throughout “ Hamlet” we see Hamlet act insane in many ways, including, name calling at times, starting fights, suicidal thoughts, and murdering people. All of these are attributes to Hamlet’s character, but are viewed differently in Hamlet’s society and in today’s society. The reactions to these attributes are also widely different. …show more content…

One example of this is when Hamlet and Polonius are conversing when Hamlet calls him a fishmonger, “ Do you know me, my lord? Excellent well. You are a fishmonger,” (2.2.189-190). When Hamlet calls him a fishmonger, Polonius’s only reaction is to say, “ Not I, my lord,” (Polonius.2.2.191). In today’s society however our reactions to being called a fishmonger would to start calling Hamlet names back, or to fight. Depending on the person though the name calling and fighting would be fun and games. The second attribute of Hamlet is starting fights. In many areas of the play Hamlet starts fights with friends and family members. The biggest fight however lasts throughout the whole play. This fight is the fight between Hamlet’s revenge on King Claudius, and Hamlet and the king themselves. Hamlet wants to desperately murder the king, but is fighting internally on when would be a good chance to do so. Hamlet’s internal fight becomes an external fight when he starts acting insane, which leads to the king to determine that he is dangerous and send him to

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