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The Relationship Between Sexuality And Madness In Hamlet

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Tragedy is a genre of writing determined by the extent of pain that the characters within its pages feel or experience. Whether through emotional turmoil, their own death or even the death of a loved one, a majority of tragic characters experience pain and defeat. For Hamlet, it was the death of his father, the previous king, who also revealed the horrid state that his beloved homeland of Denmark was in, and in addition the failed relationship with the woman he loved, Ophelia. Drastic changes in behavior also started gradually becoming more apparent within the young Prince. These events drove Hamlet to what he convinced to be an act of pretend lunacy in which he created, unknowingly to Hamlet his control is false. With the inclusion of the …show more content…

In the play there is an ambiguous connection between sexuality and madness that is more than just subtly thematic but is represented verbally at the same time (Hunt). Sexual tension is expressed with the fact that the young couple share erotomania; a disease that was believed to bring about irrational thinking and disruption in abstinent people (mainly youth) because of their refusal to have coitus, making them “mad by being a maid” (Hunt). Throughout the play Hamlet makes several “approaches” towards Ophelia which are unwanted. Ophelia expresses her complaints of his advances “my lord, as I was sewing. . .to speak of horrors, he comes before me” (2.1.87-94). Sexual rejection not only keeps Hamlet in a state of madness but also Ophelia. Since both are “honest” they are suppressing the primal instinct that would help keep them socially and mentally functional. The maid qualities affect Hamlet much greater then it affects Ophelia and leaves him “castrated of power”; both of the revenge he has to face in Denmark’s hierarchy and his personal intimacy with Ophelia (Hunt). Overwhelmed by his madness Hamlet finally severs all relationship ties to Ophelia through an overly dramatic breakup monolog “I did love you once. . .Get thee to a nunnery!”

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798 Words | 4 Pages

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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451 Words | 2 Pages

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the delusion of madness and irrational behavior contributes largely to the development of the character Hamlet. Following the death of his father, Hamlet decides to inspect how his father passed away. The clearest way to processed is to act helplessly insane. With numerous events of deranged encounters, Hamlet portrays this as a reasonable behavior. The first case of Hamlet’s impersonation as a madman begins when he races to see his previous girlfriend, Ophelia.

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1268 Words | 6 Pages

Hamlet is affected by hegemonic masculinity in a patriarchal society, where he wants to “reinforce his superiority”, by “[devaluting] women” (Amaefula 2). This can be seen when Hamlet “tumbled” Ophelia and promised to “wed” after. However, not only did Hamlet break his promise after taking Ophelia’s virginity, Hamlet gaslights Ophelia, telling her he would have married her if “thou hadst not come” to his bed (4.5 l.62). Hamlet lies to Ophelia and even blames her for trusting him. The toxic masculinity from Hamlet’s surroundings causes Hamlet to assert his dominance by using Ophelia and throwing her away like an useless object, going as far as manipulating her and saying it's her fault for listening to him.

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645 Words | 3 Pages

One primary example which proves the insanity behind Hamlet’s loss of love for Ophelia is when he berates her for being a pawn of her father. During his encounter with Ophelia, Hamlet states that, “If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell” (x).

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1154 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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932 Words | 4 Pages

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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966 Words | 4 Pages

He is more than willing to obey and respect his mother. Then in the company of Ophelia he denounces his love for her reassuring her he does not love her. Lastly, he comments on women’s inability to remain faithful by comparing a short prologue to their love. Despite these unsavory incidents, Hamlet contains a genuine and caring nature. Shakespeare provides enlightenment on his true nature through his soliloquies and asides because it is only

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937 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet has not only become distraught from his conniving and lying stepfather but also his mother, Queen Gertrude as well. The unfaithfulness that Gertrude shows to Hamlet’s father and Hamlet has a toll on him and plays a part in his insanity. The facade that Hamlet displays slowly leads to his insanity, causing him to show mistreated love towards Ophelia. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia displays a very honest

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In Act III, scene i of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, readers will come upon Ophelia’s soliloquy. After Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have failed to find a reason as to why Hamlet is acting in a peculiar and mad way, Claudius is persuaded by Polonius that the reason for Hamlet’s madness is the broken romance between Hamlet and Ophelia. To prove this, Claudius and Polonius plan to spy on Ophelia’s meeting with Hamlet. During their conversation, Hamlet denies ever having loved her and curses her. Ophelia is left fretting over his sanity.

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1389 Words | 6 Pages

Saying this, Hamlet’s behavior towards Ophelia is crude, rough, and full of anger. Despite Hamlet’s harsh treatment towards Ophelia, he really did love her, but because she was not his main focus, the

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314 Words | 2 Pages

Suffering: Hamlet Hamlet, the tragic hero fits well into the instrument of suffering. The spreading of his suffering was due to his personal anguish. Within Hamlet there were many things that had caused his suffering, some of these reasons were due to his own personal plan for vengeance. Hamlet faced immense amounts of suffering within the play; his father had been murdered, his thrown had been stolen, and his mother was in an incestuous relationship with his father’s brother, who was the reason behind all of Hamlets suffering.

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745 Words | 3 Pages

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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396 Words | 2 Pages

He resents his mother because she did not hesitate to remarry immediately following the passing of King Hamlet; in Hamlet’s eyes, she cannot live independently because she is a fragile, powerless woman as all women are. Hamlet says, after complaining about Gertrude’s hasty remarriage, “frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2 150). His judgment of his mother’s character led to his generalization of all women being frail and helpless. Hamlet extends this judgment to his evaluation of Ophelia’s character. He believes that because she is female, she must be deceitful and adulterous.

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851 Words | 4 Pages

In the “nunnery scene” which is played in Hamlet, Ophelia (as per her father’s and King Claudius’ instruction) attempts to push Hamlet away. As Hamlet realizes that Ophelia is trying to cut ties with him, his mood changes from sweet and loving to angry and sour. In a fit of rage Hamlet curses Ophelia’s name, ruins her name in a public setting and leaves her, upset (and crying in most adaptations) as she expresses her sorrow about having to leave Hamlet. In Ophelia’s soliloquy following her interaction with Hamlet, Ophelia mourns the loss of her ‘one true love’ and the way that Hamlet was behaving.

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1539 Words | 7 Pages

An Examination of Hamlet as a Tragic Hero Webster's word reference characterizes catastrophe as, "a genuine dramatization ordinarily depicting a contention between the hero and a predominant power, (for example, predetermination) and having a tragic or heartbreaking conclusion that energizes compassion or fear." A terrible legend, hence, is the character who encounters such a contention and endures disastrously as a consequence of his decisions and related activities. The character of Hamlet, in this way, is a reasonable representation of Shakespeare's heartbreaking saint. As the play's disastrous saint, Hamlet shows a blend of good and terrible characteristics.

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