Glenda Puckett
Tina Shelby
English 1302
7 November 2012
Hamlet – Mad Man?
From Shakespeare’s description of Hamlet, one can envision him as an intense brooding character. After all he is dressed in all black because he is mourning the death of his father. Some may think that he has pale skin, messy hair with deep, brooding eyes. Hamlet is clearly intense. At times, Hamlet is consumed with outrage about his father’s murder. He exhibits recklessness and various moods from intense mourning to brooding.
One might think that Hamlet is strictly acting out of mourning. However, he has faults in his personality. There are times that he exhibits the qualities of obsession, hatred, quick to act, and violence. Even so, Hamlet is considered to be a prince among men. He is a hero, albeit a tragic hero. All in all Hamlet is a complex character.
Consider that Hamlet is, also, at times cynical. His words were often cruel. Hamlet seemed to have a dislike for things that would bring others pleasure. He finds pleasurable things detestable. Singing, dancing, and drinking are all vices in his frame of mind. Maybe, he felt that way
Puckett 2 because of the intense grief that he was suffering. Maybe, he was always moody, but, the grief intensified the mood.
Some would say that Hamlet was a mad man. Consider the fact that he treats his love with blatant disrespect and complete harshness. Hamlet has a love – hate relationship with Ophelia. At times, he wants to bed her. Other times, Hamlet has cruel words for her. He starts to mistreat Ophelia. Surely, Ophelia was confused by Hamlet’s treatment of her. Hamlet even has problems connecting with his mother. Even though, he and his mother should be comforting each other after the tragic death of his father, he is unable to comfort her. Hamlet no longer has the ability to be intimate with any woman. He does not trust women. Therefore, he finds it easy to mistreat women. His mother is no
Cited: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/hamletcharacter.html