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Insanity In Hamlet And The Piano Man's Daughter

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Insanity is the ability to notice and derive messages from everyday life, which are usually ignored. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet takes place in Denmark during the 1600s. The King of Denmark is murdered by his brother Claudius, who then subsequently married the widowed Queen Gertrude. Prince Hamlet, nephew to the new King, is suspicious of the sudden death and seeks revenge. However, while striving to execute his plan Hamlet, as well as his love Ophelia, is consumed by insanity. Madness is a recurring theme in the play; however the characters who display its characteristics do so differently. On contrary, Findley’s novel The Piano Man’s Daughter takes place between 1868 and 1939 in Canada, Toronto. It focuses on Lily who touched by a hybrid …show more content…

In both Hamlet and The Piano Man’s Daughter it is evident that when a character becomes obsessed with their unconscious thoughts it awakens their Id, thus regressing into their primitive state. For instance, during the confrontation between Hamlet and Ophelia, he urges her to attends a convent: “Get thee to a nunnery” (3.1.123). Nunnery, as a symbol, represents Hamlet’s inconsistency. Sending his loved one to a brothel shows that he does not love or respect Ophelia. This sudden change in treatment towards Ophelia demonstrates his inconsistency in emotion and behaviour. This could also be viewed as a side effect of madness, which creates an emotional turmoil and begins to destroy his relationship. Moreover, there is an ambiguity in “nunnery” as it can mean either a convent or a brothel. Therefore, there is uncertainty whether Hamlet sends Ophelia to preserve her innocence and purity or to continue her alleged promiscuous behavior. In addition, since Hamlet speaks this quote towards a women he used to love, it shows the weakening of his superego, which directs appropriate speech towards those you love. If the superego is not able to ensure behaviour within moral boundaries then there is an imbalance in Hamlet’s self. Thus, the ID is in control demonstrating the primitive emotion of anger and in this case hurt inflicted by Ophelia. Hamlet’s ID expresses anger and resentment towards

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The topic of insanity commonly arises on many occasions, particularly in the law. The term “insanity” is defined as the “unsoundness of mind sufficient in the judgment of a civil court to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or to warrant commitment to a mental health facility” (Document A). In terms of the law, there exists an insanity defense, which is a plea that defendants are not guilty because they lack the mental capacity to realize that they committed a crime (Document C). This concept arises in several of Shakespeare's plays as well. In Hamlet, many readers claim that Prince Hamlet was actually mad, his actions guided by the grief he experienced when his father was murdered by his uncle King Claudius.

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