Madness In Hamlet Research Paper

In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a recurring motif used is the subject of madness. Madness takes form in Hamlet, who is the focus of the play; however, not only does madness corrupt Hamlet, but it seems to effect and present itself in other characters like King Claudius and Ophelia as well. The validity of characterizing Hamlet as mad could be argued in the context of the play. Madness in the play exemplifies the theme that conflicts between two people can negatively affect the well-being of those close to them. Early into the play, Hamlet interacts with the ghost of is dead father, King Hamlet. When Hamlet hears from his spectral father about Claudius’s hand in his demise, it sets off a chain of events that all revolve around the

Ophelia, suffering heavy loss from the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius, is driven to a clinical madness after she hears of Polonius’s death. She speaks in only a lyrical fashion and is seemingly unable to comprehend the pleas of those around her. In her sorrow induced craze, Ophelia drowns. She becomes, like her father, an unintentional victim in the madness that is the conflict between Claudius and Hamlet. Speaking of Claudius, Hamlet’s apparent madness and efforts to make him feel guilty drive Claudius to a state of paranoia. He becomes secretly obsessed in discovering Hamlet’s motives and how to put an end to them. With the death of Polonius and Ophelia, Laertes arrives demanding justice for his fallen family. At her burial, Laertes and Hamlet argue over the others love for Ophelia. Madness grew in both for “they continued to fight, without ever again mentioning Ophelia by name” which exemplifies madness’s ability to conceal the mind from what is important (Steinnes 824). With the whirlpool of tragedy consuming more people due to Hamlet’s conflict, Claudius grows increasingly unreasonable. He plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet by either a poison sword or drink. Like Hamlet, Claudius becomes blinded by his obsession to get revenge and as a result he kills people close to him. He accidently poisons Queen Gertrude and in this turn of events, Hamlet, Laertes, and himself are also poisoned. The ultimate effects of

Hamlet feigned madness to deflect suspicions away from his plot against King Claudius. The others’ reactions to the events surrounding Hamlet became increasingly more dramatic. Considering all the events that surrounded Hamlet, he is a “fairly normal person in quite a mad world” (Zachrisson 147). The poisoning of his father, and his mother’s marriage to his uncle Claudius would appear abnormal in most ideologies outside of this play. Hamlet was distraught by these revelations and he chose to act against them. Initially, Hamlet was never mad, but driven to right the wrongs that befell his father. However, in time his judgement became clouded and others around him suffered. On the other hand, those who were suspicious of Hamlet’s actions are mad themselves for not realizing the treachery behind Claudius’s kingship. They grew fixated with discovering if Hamlet really was mad to the point where it became an unhealthy obsession with people being tasked to spy on Hamlet. It’s reasonable for Hamlet to become distraught when there’s always a chance that someone is spying or conspiring against