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Hamlet as a Manifestation of Shakespeare's Depression

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Was Hamlet a manifestation of Shakespeare’s depression?
Shakespeare had three children with his wife Anne Hathaway. Their names were Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet. Hamnet and Judith were twins however Hamnet was sickly and died before the age of eleven. It has been speculated the Hamlet is supposed to be based on Hamnet’s name. However, Hamnet might not have been the only basis for Hamlet. Three months after Hamnet’s death Shakespeare’s father passed away. This is similar to Hamlet’s experience with death which included the loss of his father him being forced to see his mother remarry, the death of his love interest and subsequently the deaths of his mother, Laertes and himself. Shakespeare’s depression could have been caused by the loss of his family members both in his adult life and his young life when his sister Anne died at the age of seven while he was fourteen. The deaths of his family members and the …show more content…

Some of their similarities include both Shakespeare and Hamlet lost their fathers early in their lives. However, Hamlet’s father was murdered by his uncle and was younger than Shakespeare’s father when he died. Hamlet was also younger than Shakespeare when he lost his father. Shakespeare had a wife and children while Hamlet was unmarried and was childless. Hamlet displayed suicidal thoughts and tendencies while Shakespeare became more creative in his grief and wrote many comedies. Hamlet was forcibly called back to Denmark after his father’s funeral but Shakespeare went back to his home to see the burial of his son and father. Shakespeare’s mother was also not said to be having an affair with Shakespeare’s uncle while Gertrude has an affair with Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. Shakespeare also saw his son buried 11 August 1596 while Hamlet did not come back to Denmark to see his father but was forced to come back after to see his mother and uncle’s wedding three months

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Hamlet, also, could not get over the death of his father. He found out when his father’s ghost came back that his brother, and Hamlet’s uncle, murdered him. He then was willing to do anything possible to get revenge on Claudius, his uncle. Both of

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Adversity can take us by surprise, but everyone at some point in life experiences it. The way our personal identity can be shaped is through our phases of adversity. The experiences of dealing with difficulties can shape the way we view life and the actions that will show our persona. When we persevere adversity and obstacles it shows our reputation and our true type of identity. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare, illustrates the way Hamlet, as well as other characters, deal with adversity through the types of motives they are seeking.

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In Hamlet, Shakespeare presented Hamlet as the prince of Denmark. When he arrive his home, he found his beloved father, the king of Denmark, is already dead. Again, his mothers marriage with his uncle came to him bolt from the blue. It was unbearable for him to accept that his parents’ conjugal bed is being shared. Then the trauma started that ended into death.

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After a month or two of analyzing Hamlet and the people around him, I feel like I can conclusively determine he suffers from a mental illness. But the question is what. What mental illness might he suffer from. There are hundreds of different mental disabilities. Each has endless possible ways of linking it back to Hamlet in some way, shape or form.

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The Skull Jar William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet around 1600, telling the story of a prince dealing with the death of his father and the quick remarriage of his mother to his uncle. The play uses mental health, both real and faked, as a way to show human behavior. Commonly studied in high schools all over America, this tale has had a profound effect on the way mental health is viewed. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark tells the story of Hamlet, the young prince. When the play opens, his father has just died, and his mother has just married his father’s younger brother Claudius.

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Hamlet himself is characteristically indecisive of what role to play as is seen in his "to be or not to be" monologue (3.1). On another note, Hamlet appears to be the only one grieving for his late father. Claudius assumed the throne and carried on as king, Hamlet 's mother remarried and carried on as queen. Hamlet even acknowledges "how/ cheerfully [his] mother looks" (3.2.116-117) so soon after his father 's death. Hamlet 's grief juxtaposed with the lack of grief in the other characters serves to alienate him from the world around him, as briefly mentioned before.

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Hamlet discusses his first suicidal thought, which shows Hamlets degree of depression. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is complaining that he cannot commit suicide and he wishes that his physical state (body) would melt away. During this scene in the play, Hamlet is still grieving his father’s death and controlling his rage towards Gertrude’s incestuous marriage to Claudius, Hamlet wishes to die himself and is having thoughts about suicide due to his melancholy state. Depression is the first symptom of dissociative identity disorder that causes or alters an individual’s personality. Audiences can observe that Hamlet is traumatized from his father’s death, which is causing his mental state to worsen.

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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.

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Like many things, Hamlet is intelligent and honorable, but his indecisiveness is the cause of his tragic downfall. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare portrays that Hamlet is very incapable of finishing the task at hand. Throughout the drama Hamlet faces many trials and tribulations due to his late father Hamlet, who was murderously killed by Claudius. His inability to kill Claudius and himself is one grand flaw of an epic hero. After King Hamlets passing, Hamlet entered an unknown state of mind that not only feared others for his wellbeing, but also feared himself.

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There are moments in this world where someone can be so depressed that they do not want to live any longer. Many teenagers experience the same stress as Hamlet did in the play from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The character Hamlet is under stressed due to the death of his father who he loved a lot, and the early remarriage of his mother with his uncle. In addition, Hamlet is even more stressed out when the ghost presented itself as Hamlet’s father and wanted Hamlet to revenge for his father’s death. Even though Hamlet is under stress he remained between the state of sane or temporarily insane throughout the play.

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In the Tragedy of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, some of the most significant events are mental or psychological events that make the audience feel and have an emotional connection with the characters. These significant events can be awakenings, discoveries, and changes in consciousness that set off a mental or psychological effect to the readers. The author, Shakespeare, gives these internal events to characters such as Ophelia, Gertrude, and Hamlet throughout the play to give the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius and the sister of Laertes who both tell her to stop seeing Hamlet. To Polonius, Ophelia is an eternal virgin who is going to be a dutiful

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He is depressed and suicidal as indicated in his infamous quote, “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” (3.1.57). However, while many may choose to carry on after the death of a loved one, Hamlet chose to hold on to his sorrow and pretended to be mad so he can know the truth behind his father’s death. Hamlet’s tragic life is not the cause for his madness. Hamlet drives himself to the brink of insanity

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1533 Words | 7 Pages

Can people choose their fate, or are we all at the mercy of circumstance? In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main character Hamlet shows that people are just a victim of circumstances. Hamlet was fine when his father was still alive; he only started going crazy when unexpected events in his life occurred such as; his father dying and his mother marrying his uncle. Hamlet is not to blame for his own downfall, how could he choose how his father dying would affect him. Hamlet is a Schizophrenic with the worst luck in the world.

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He is grieving the death of his father. Meanwhile, Claudius was likely voted king by the court. Hamlet is very cruel to his mother, Gertrude. This is an effect of Hamlet not having the time to grieve his father, instead he comes back to Denmark only to see his uncle marry his mother. This is causing him to be upset thus his cruelty towards his

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1673 Words | 7 Pages

The leading force for Hamlet’s behavior to change is his mother marrying her dead husband’s brother two months later. In the play Hamlet states “O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason/ Would have mourned longer-married with my uncle,/ My father’s brother, but no more like my father” ( I.ii.150-152). This explains that Hamlet is frustrated because his mother moved on so fast and it seemed to him that she never really loved King Hamlet. Hamlet also claims that “Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,/That can denote me truly” ( I.ii.82-83 ). Hamlet is trying to tell his mother Queen Gertrude how he feels after the

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