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Hamlet And Ophelia's Madness

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In the book, Hamlet, William Shakespeare places a significant emphasis on the theme of madness. From a medical literary theory, madness equates to insanity or exhibiting abnormal mental patterns. In the 16th century, psychology was starting to progress, but it was still primitive for the time. There was not a classification system to define specific disorders; this meant various, unusual behaviors or even outer-societal beliefs were all deemed insane. However, despite the fact that William Shakespeare followed Catholicism, he never attributed the madness of the characters in Hamlet to supernatural beings or previous eccentric tendencies. The madness in Hamlet and Ophelia can be traced to the death of their fathers. However, Ophelia’s madness comes from a genuine shift in behavior while Hamlet’s madness is a deliberate motive to seek revenge. Ophelia’s madness is a result of several depressing events …show more content…

In Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet informs Horatio that he will “put an antic disposition on” (1.5.172-173). From the reader response literary theory, there is not a direct reason for Hamlet to fake being crazy as he seeks revenge. It may be a chance that Hamlet is channeling his inner eccentricity and projecting it onto the surface as an exaggerated fit. This fit is exemplified in his interaction with Ophelia, a stark contrast from his attitude in his first appearance, as his head was “waving up and down”, “his arm was shaking”, and dramatically “sighing” (2.1.104-106). Despite this, Hamlet appears to be comprehensible about his actions and they serve a purpose. When Gertrude questions how Hamlet is talking to the ghost, he reaffirms that he is not mad as he can “reword” the subject, “which madness would gambol from” (3.4.164-165). As a result, the severity of Hamlet’s madness may be fueled by his suffering, but there is an underlying willingness on his own part to instill a chaotic atmosphere among his

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As the innocent victim of Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s insanity is a product of her inability to cope with Hamlet and her father’s death. Her songs show hidden grief and sorrow; her flowers represent the fact that beneath the innocent exterior, there is a weakness or flaw in everyone. Hamlet was able to look past his grief for his father’s death, but he caused someone he loves to be in pain. Whether it is the frailty of women, sorrow, or death, anything, including love, can appear to be pleasant, but can be the ultimate cause of a person’s

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Emily Dickinson once said “Much madness is divinest Sense— To a discerning Eye—“. This type of madness can be found in the play “Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Though many characters show madness throughout the play, Ophelia’s madness is the most prevalent. Ophelia has good reason for this irrational behavior because of the trauma she has gone through. First, her boyfriend dumps her, then he calls her vulgar names, and lastly, he kills her father.

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There are two approaches to what madness is: delusion and the behaviors that arise from it, and true knowledge that is merely beyond the comprehension of others. In Hamlet, madness plays a key role in the story, and while Hamlet’s madness is, for the most part, the focus of the play – he is after all the title character – Ophelia's sudden descent into madness is an interesting event. Ophelia’s madness shows itself through the perspective of others, but through her own words, she actually shows herself and her actions to be sane. Depictions of Ophelia’s madness and mad actions come from other characters’ accounts, as well as the transcriber, the editor, and even Shakespeare himself. In act 4, a Gentleman first describes Ophelia as “importunate,

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By verbally harassing Ophelia and estranging himself from her, Hamlet provides the apparent image of losing his prior care without a great amount of consideration. Additionally, Hamlet further displays his anger for his father’s death through this display. By dissolving his relationship with Ophelia, Hamlet furthers his image of insanity to further illustrate himself as incapable within Claudius’s eyes while still communicating distaste for his loss of his father. With Hamlet’s intentionally swift change of heart for Ophelia, Hamlet’s procedure warrants a certain level of sanity. Regardless of the sudden nature, Hamlet’s continual barring from Ophelia possesses procedure which causes further doubt of Hamlet’s mental instability from the audience of the

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Ophelia goes mad throughout the story. She is overwhelmed by the loss of her father and the rejection of Hamlet. Her character is seen spiraling down a dark path that also ends in death. Ophelia is depicted as not having control over her actions; speaking and acting erratically. While Hamlet is speaking erratically and behaving oddly, he still maintains control over his actions and movement throughout the story.

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In Hamlet by William Shakespeare he uses Hamlet’s madness to cause conflict between Hamlet and the other characters. Shakespeare has Hamlet fake madness throughout the whole play to find out who killed his father, and to trick the new king into thinking that he is really mad. Before Hamlet goes mad he tells Horatio, “How strange or odd some’er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on)” (1.5.176-177).

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Contrasting his attitudes with the moments that the king walks in, his behavior towards Polonius while the play is preparing, and his actions to Ophelia during the play, Hamlet is sporadic, when alone with Horatio, he is calm and collected, then again the sudden resumption to his “antic disposition” when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter. There is a long break in which we don’t sense any insanity from Hamlet, this is due to the fact that he has no need to assume his disguise. When we find Hamlet with the players, he is giving them directions for the play. With the players, Hamlet acts normal and of sound mind because the players are not likely to betray him, they don’t have the opportunity or the wish to do so.

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Hamlet makes himself appear crazy with a goal in mind, to deceive Gertrude, Claudius, and Polonius. Hamlet exercises his fake craziness exclaiming, “How strange or odd some'er I bear myself as I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (1.5.190-192). Hamlet says these words during the beginning of the tragedy after Hamlet Sr. provides Hamlet proof of Claudius killing his father. Hamlet warns his friends he will put “an antic disposition” on them, pretending he will portray himself as a mad man. Before he finds out his father has died, Hamlet has no legitimate reason to feel

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A man named Ben Jonson once said, “If you be sick, your own thoughts make you sick.” Perhaps Jonson’s words could be used to support the claim that Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s many creations, is potentially plagued with madness in the beloved play, Hamlet. During the era in which this piece of literature was written, diseases of the mind were not as understood or as simple to diagnose; therefore, the character, Hamlet, may have had conditions that went unnoticed, and there may have never been enough evidence to prove his possible illnesses until the 20th century. Nonetheless, by analyzing and interpreting the symptoms present throughout Hamlet, it is plausible to suggest that Hamlet was mad; in today’s terms, he could have been schizophrenic,

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Madness is defined as “behavior or thinking that is very foolish or dangerous,” (Merriam-Webster). Madness can severely affect someone and the people around them. Despite the seriousness that surrounds mental illnesses, they can be faked. In the tragedy Hamlet the main character, Hamlet, pretends to be mad. Hamlet underwent many stressful events like the death of his father, his mother’s quick re-marry to Hamlet’s uncle, and losing a lover which made his antic disposition so believable.

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Hamlet a tragic play written by William Shakespeare is most commonly known as the main character avenging his father, King Hamlet’s death. Deep under the surface of Hamlet’s trials and tribulations lies his lustful love connection with Ophelia. Residing in Denmark, a young woman named Ophelia lives under the household of Polonius and is the sister of Laertes. As Ophelia struggles with the expression of her thoughts and emotions, her voice is trampled by a patriarchal society. Her male influences coupled with the lack of female attention she receives lends itself to a term that is known as “Ophelia Syndrome” or hysteria.

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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.

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