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Insanity In Hamlet

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It is true that throughout William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet is insane. Hamlet's insanity goes onward well with the drama story to bring thrill and insecurity. Even though Hamlet says to the audience that he is not insane, it is just part of his evil scheme for the king of Denmark:Claudius. Claudius murdered his brother, takes over the throne and marrying his brother's wife. Hamlet finds out the truth and aims to discover more information about his father's murder and he does this by being insane. He acts insane towards all characters. These characters are King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern. Following with Ophelia, Laertes, Horatio, and the Ghost. He goes paranoid to show the reader what he has to face and what he must …show more content…

Hamlet loves his father and thinks he is most dearest to him and wants to set upon the skies like his father is. He has recurring thoughts to himself about his life and what he should accomplish. His suicidal thoughts mostly come from the thinking of avenging his father and to brutally eliminate Claudius from the game. To gamble with your life that is on the line is a true sign of pure madness. This can most commonly be compared to the "Hunger Games" novel and film where the last one takes all. And the ones that did not make it, suffer a bloody death from the brutality of other players. The existentialism also ties into the suicidal thoughts because existentialism comes first. Existentialism is the thinking of ones self and understanding their own development through acts of will. Hamlet has heavy thoughts of why he's here when he can go with his father that is lying in a bed of poison. In his existentialism, the wild fight to the throne comprises of disparages and the ability to live. Hamlet said, "For there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so." This quote relates to the power of existentialism because the power used to think is the same meaning to their own lives. It is conceivable that his poor mental illness comes in so Hamlet does not have to wonder about

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He has a choice to make, so he has to decide if living is worth living and if it is how he will deal with the situation that he has. Hamlet was conflicted he didn 't understand the value of his life in that exact moment. In Hamlets soliloquy the was thinking about the pro and cons of wether to end his life or deal with the problem that his dead father brought to him. He was starting to come to a decision when he’s thoughts were interrupted. This soliloquy brought to light the peoples that most people go through or think about.

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He even considers taking his own life many times. His act of insanity slowly snowballs into true insanity and madness. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are friends of Hamlet that are sent to check on him and find the reason behind his insanity. When Claudius sends them to England with a letter asking the king to kill Hamlet, Hamlet switches the letter with one asking for their death instead.

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888 Words | 4 Pages

Someone who is consumed with insanity would just impulsively act without thinking rationally or considering the consequences beforehand. Therefore, Hamlet is merely acting insane to fool those around

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He uses his insaneness as a sort of a crutch to commit all of the crimes without getting in trouble. So, one of the events it affects is the death of Polonius. When Hamlet stabbed his sword through the tapestry and killed Polonius because he thought it was Claudius. That was definitely a major event

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It is or is it not true that Hamlet was faking his insanity? I’m not saying Hamlet was faking the whole thing. The meaning for insanity on Dictionary.com is “a permanent disorder of the mind.” I don 't think Hamlet had a permanent disorder of the mind he knew what he was doing and even planned the majority of the events that happened. Most of the time anyway.

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1457 Words | 6 Pages

There are many examples of times where Hamlet seems truly insane. We have the time when he is talking with Polonius in the castle, after the King, the Queen, and Polonius were discussing the love letter that Hamlet wrote to Ophelia. Hamlet walks in reading a book, and Polonius asks “What do you read, my lord?” Hamlet replies with “Words, words, words.” “What is the matter, my lord” “Between who?”

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Throughout the play, Hamlet has various points where he is confronted with suicidal thoughts or attempts. Throughout Hamlet’s first soliloquy “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw resolve itself into a dew, / Or that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! Oh God, God!”

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1514 Words | 7 Pages

An overwhelming amount of evidence shows that Hamlet faked his insanity to confuse the king and his accomplices. Often revered for their emotional complexities, William Shakespeare’s tragic characters display various signs of mental illness. Sylvia Morris notes “Hamlet contains Shakespeare’s most fully-developed study of mental illness, and has always intrigued commentators on the play.” (“Shakespeare’s Minds Diseased: Mental Illness and its Treatment”). When looking at the play, one can infer that Shakespeare makes the relationship between sanity and insanity undistinguishable from one another.

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1328 Words | 6 Pages

The major question that is still argued about to this day, regarding Hamlet, is “is hamlet insane?”. Throughout the entire play Hamlet himself puts on a sort of “charade” to hide his evil intentions and buy himself some time to commit his uncle for his crimes. He acts out so he won’t be seen as a threat and sent away before he can make his move. Although many people are aware of the deceiving plots that they are conceiving, Hamlet isn’t fully aware that he is deceiving himself. He doesn’t realize what he is doing wrong

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While many believe Hamlet to be insane, there is plenty of evidence that suggests otherwise. To the other character’s in the play, Hamlet did seem mad, but that was only because he had a plan

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2474 Words | 10 Pages

In a meaningless and absurd universe, existentialist philosophy emphasizes the isolation and anxiety of the individual. This is demonstrated by the character's struggles with meaninglessness, alienation, and angst in Hamlet. Hamlet constantly wonders where he fits into the world and tries to make sense of what is happening to him. He is left to reflect on the meaning of life and the purpose of his existence because he is unable to find comfort in the traditional religious beliefs of his society. "To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them.

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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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1080 Words | 5 Pages

Some may even say that Hamlet pretends to be insane in order to survive in and live among those around him. This is so he could investigate the ghosts accusations about Claudius killing the King, and do so without raising suspicion that he knows the truth of his father’s death. As supported by The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, when it states “He took a mask to conceal his own designs, to discover the secrets of the King and to deceive the court, and particularly Polonius, the sharp-scented detective, who was sure to be placed upon his track” (Snider 73). Hamlet’s goal was to uncover the truth and not give away hints that he was looking closely in Claudius and his actions in relation to the death of his father. Hamlet knew that by acting “insane” everyone around him would believe that was mad.

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1004 Words | 5 Pages

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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767 Words | 4 Pages

It is obvious that Hamlet had a troubled mind in the play because he was torn on what to do in order to avenge his father’s death. He was torn between whether he was following his father’s wish or the wish of the ghost that appeared to him. This made him insane because, he spent his time worrying about his father’s death revenge and this affected his state of mind. Hamlet became insane because

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