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Ophelia's Madness Essay

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Madness, a theme that runs throughout William Shakespeare's Hamlet, manifests itself as both an authentic illness as well as a shrewd manipulation. By play's end, there is even a gray area between the two that is difficult to discern. But whether the concern is Ophelia truly losing her mind following her father's murder, Hamlet's act of madness after meeting with his father's ghost, or the arguable proposition that Hamlet's "antic disposition" has devolved into the genuine article, one thing is for certain—Hamlet's relationships with Gertrude and Claudius have the greatest effect, directly or indirectly, on all of these instances. Ophelia's madness is the only example that is assuredly real. Throughout much of the play, she is level-headed …show more content…

Her madness later takes the ultimate toll on her, as her drowning in the river is presumed a suicide. This madness, and Ophelia's death, are certainly the result of Hamlet killing her father. But they can be traced back beyond her love for her father, all the way to Hamlet's relationship with his uncle/new stepfather. Hamlet's relationship with Claudius is already poor when the play begins because he's upset about Claudius taking his father's place so soon. It becomes immeasurably worse when King Hamlet's ghost arrives. The ghost informs Hamlet that Claudius murdered him so he could wear the crown of Denmark. Once Hamlet learns of this duplicity, his whole relationship with Claudius is based on his desire for and inability to take revenge. Even though he takes an unreasonably long amount of time before finally gaining that revenge at the end of the play, everything he does from this point forward has something to do with it. It doesn't matter to Hamlet who is affected as he plots his revenge. It doesn't even matter to him that Ophelia, the woman he loved, is at first an innocent bystander, and then a pawn of her father and the king. Hamlet's act of madness centers on treating her in a borderline abusive …show more content…

After seeing Laertes' overblown show of grief, Hamlet makes a similar demonstration. He pronounces his love for Ophelia, jumps into the grave with Laertes, and they fight. He later claims he was just upset at Laertes' public display of affection, but it appears possible Hamlet is truly overcome at this point when realizing all that has happened. And again, since Ophelia's death can ultimately be traced back all the way to Hamlet's relationship with Claudius, it's fair to say this is another example of that relationship emphasizing the theme of madness in the play. Despite Claudius being the center of his revenge plot, Hamlet is also greatly affected by his deteriorating relationship with Gertrude. Even before knowing the truth of his father's murder, Hamlet has lost his respect for his mother. He feels she's disrespected his father by remarrying so quickly after his father's death, and by marrying his father's brother. This is the main source of Hamlet's depression at the start of the

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