Hamlet Suicidal Mind Analysis

The Sanity of Hamlet Voltaire once stated that, “Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.” This statement draws many parallels with William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The main character, Hamlet, is faced with numerous struggles, including the battles he fights in his own head daily. Not only does Hamlet fall apart externally, but his internal, mental health, fails all of Denmark. Throughout the course of this play, Hamlet’s poor mental health is addressed through his soliloquies, his quirky habits, and his inability to handle his issues. The issue of Hamlet’s “madness” brings itself to light most overtly through his “To Be or Not To Be” soliloquy. In this famous literary piece, Hamlet is

Shakespeare, William. III, i. Lines 57-61). Here, Hamlet is questioning whether one should get tough, and take what life throws at them, or to end their life when it gets to be too much. He is having suicidal thoughts, and a severe existential crisis. These are symptoms of depressive disorders, meaning there is some issue going on inside Hamlet’s mind. All of these behaviors point to bipolar depression being to blame. “Symptoms of depression include feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, sleep and appetite disturbances, suicidal thoughts, and physical symptoms such as headaches and chest pains.” (“Mood Disorders A Sad State of Mind”. Kamberg, Mary-Lane). Depression is something that was seen as madness during the Shakespearean age, so under the qualifications, Hamlet was, indeed, crazy. Now, as the field of psychology has advanced, Hamlet would be subject to less stigma, but professionals would likely diagnose him with a technical term, rather than “madness”. While depression is not necessarily considered “insane” in today’s context, Hamlet does show signs of poor mental health, and would be crazy as far as Elsinore is

When faced with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s betrayal, he simply saw that they were killed, instead of civilly handling the matter. “Why, man, they did make love to this employment./They are not near my conscience. Their defeat/Does by their own insinuation grow./ 'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes/Between the pass and fell incensèd points/Of mighty opposites” (Shakespeare V. ii. 61-66). Here, he states that he feels nothing after killing the two, and sending them to England. Hamlet admitted to Horatio that they had it coming, and that is simply something that no sane person would see to. Many agree that patients with bipolar depression generally are able to suppress emotions for so long, and then just snap. Gerald F. Kreyche describes this as changing a thermostat. “Fundamentally, this is the emotional thermostat that copes with changes, and its purpose is to maintain a state of harmony. When that thermostat malfunctions, as is the case with manic-depressives, one 's entire world comes apart.” (INSERT CITATION). This statement is providing that, again, individuals are able to maintain stability for awhile, until their system fails them. Hamlet is more than experiencing a “broken thermostat” here, and has lost control so much that it leads him to kill some of his best friends. Again, this is further proving that