How Does Shakespeare Use Madness In Hamlet
Melissa Martin Martin 1
Pressley
ENG 102
April 27, 2014
How Shakespeare Uses Madness Madness is one of the main themes in Hamlet. There are many themes presented in the play but madness is the greatest of them all. Hamlet, Claudius, and Laertes all represent madness in the play. Characterization is representation of a character or characters on the stage or in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions, gestures, or speeches. Madness is the state of being mentally ill, esp. severely. Madness is represented by Claudius during Hamlet’s play. He does not want anyone to know he murdered the King. Hamlet represents madness when his father is murdered. He wants to find out who did such a crime. Laertes is mad at the death of his father and sister. These are all examples of where each character feels anger and madness during the play. Hamlet is the number one person who stays mad …show more content…
throughout the whole play. Hamlet is mad because his father was killed and his mother married the man who killed his father. He stays depressed throughout the play. He feels as if his life will not get any better. He quotes a speech about “to be or not to be”. (3.1.65-86) He does not know if his life is worth living for. Although, if he takes his life he will not accomplish his goal he has in mind. He decides against suicide because it is a mortal sin and death may bring not sleep but eternal torment. Hamlet is talking to his mother about Claudius when he says, “That I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft.” (3.4.188-189) Hamlet is telling his mother not to tell Claudius that he is really not mad.
He wants him to think he is not pretending to be mad. Hamlet had an object in mind and was trying to reach his goal by pretending at times to be mad. Horatio tries to persuade Hamlet not to listen to the ghost because it might make him fall into madness. (1.4.72-74) Horatio does not Martin 2
want Hamlet to get angry and kill the murder of his father. The ghost is trying to tell Hamlet to seek revenge for his father’s death. (1.5.25) Hamlet fears that the Ghost may be an evil spirit. He thinks he might be leading him to Hell. He has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius when he thinks he is praying. He does not want to do that because he is scared it would send Claudius to
Heaven. He doesn’t believe he should go to Heaven for murdering King Hamlet. Hamlet as well did not believe Claudius was at the right state for his death. This would let King Claudius get away easy. On the other hand Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death but wants to do it the right and safe way. Claudius is the new King, who Hamlet thinks murdered his father. He is married to
Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. When he first became King he made a speech about how he was sorry for King Hamlet’s death but they all needed to move on quickly. (1.2.1-39) This is shady on his behalf. They just lost a great King and this is how the new King comes in to approach them. He never did like Hamlet but he couldn’t show that to the Queen. He wanted to please her and everyone in the town. Most people liked Hamlet and he wanted to show the same respect.
When Hamlet killed Polonius, Claudius became very mad and wanted him sent to England right away to be murdered. (4.3.51-65) Claudius shows madness when Hamlet presented a play. The play was for Claudius to confess of killing King Hamlet. He got very mad and tried to pray for forgiveness but couldn’t. (3.3.35-71) He could not pray because he was not sincerely sorry for his acts. Laertes is Ophelia’s brother and Polonius’ son. He kills Hamlet at the end by a poisonous sword. The reason he did this was because he blames Hamlet for killing his father and sister.
(5.2.299-301) Laertes didn’t want his sister to talk to Hamlet. They thought of this to be a bad influence and crazy. (1.3.10-44) After Hamlet killed Polonius behind the curtain, Laertes was Martin 3
extremely mad. He goes to King Claudius and they plan to seek revenge on Hamlet. They wanted to set up a dual between the two and use a sharp sword. They would poison the end of the sword. If that didn’t kill him they were going to poison a drink and toast to it. They wanted
Hamlet dead. (4.7.109-145) When Hamlet came back from England he did not care anymore about trying to please his mother or faking the fact that he was mad. Hamlet was truly mad he wanted to seek revenge and have Claudius dead. Hamlet proclaimed “O, from this time forth/
My thoughts be bloody ore be nothing worth” (4.5 ). Hamlet was not giving in to Claudius or
Laertes.
The play Hamlet presents many themes but madness is the greatest of them all. The truth behind it all was that Hamlet’s madness was feigned. He realized that there was a lot to be gained out of this madness and went along with it. The people believed the madness was all true.
After time of Hamlet faking this madness it became real-life to him. He turned into the depressive insane guy who looked crazy to everyone. It was all for show at first but turned into his own real problems. Shakespeare never wrote a dull play, he makes them all dramatic.
There are indications through all the drama flashes and the darkness of doubt, show the objective truth of Hamlet 's madness. Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius all show madness in different ways.
Shakespeare did a great job at expressing many different themes throughout Hamlet.
Martin 4
Annotated Bibliography
Crawford, Alexander W.
Hamlet, an ideal prince, and other essays in Shakesperean interpretation: Hamlet; Merchant of Venice; Othello; King Lear. Boston R.G. Badger, 1916. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.< http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/antichamlet.html >.
This website was very useful about Hamlet’s antic-disposition. This site gives examples of how and when Hamlet was mad throughout the play. It gives exact quotations and then summaries from the quote. It was very useful in my research about Hamlet’s madness. This site made you really think how the madness was all a front throughout the play. I never really thought about that hard until I ran into this website. It was beneficial to me and my paper. Shakespeare plays are always attempts for you to look at life deeper than it really is. This site appreciates Shakespeare and his work of art.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Hamlet Theme of Madness." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/madness-theme.html
Shmoop was helpful with my research for the madness of Hamlet. This site brings Shakespeares terms into today’s language. It helps you fully grasp what Hamlet, Claudius, and the other main characters were really thinking and acting out. It has questions on this site that help you think deeper about the play. I wish it would give some answers or advice about the questions. That would be a downfall to this site. On a positive note it has other authors, plays, and topics that can be useful in College. One cool thing about this site was not only did it talk about madness in Hamlet but it gave madness quotes. I will definitely keep this site in mind for other classes and papers.
Auburn University. “Analysis of Hamlet’s Character.” Auburn.edu. Auburn University, Web. 27 Apr. 2014. http://www.auburn.edu/~tuckebr/Site/Analysis.html
This website created by Auburn University is very vague but to the point. This site is an analysis of Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet.” It gives quoted examples from the play and where you can find its location. This was actually one of the most useful sites out of the ones I researched for this paper. The person who created this analysis put some thought and a lot of research into the site. The site starts out at the very beginning of the play and gives all the major points until the end of the play. It’s useful because it goes in order of the play. I would recommend this site to anyone. This site is short, sweet, and to the point.
Pressley
ENG 102
April 27, 2014
How Shakespeare Uses Madness Madness is one of the main themes in Hamlet. There are many themes presented in the play but madness is the greatest of them all. Hamlet, Claudius, and Laertes all represent madness in the play. Characterization is representation of a character or characters on the stage or in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions, gestures, or speeches. Madness is the state of being mentally ill, esp. severely. Madness is represented by Claudius during Hamlet’s play. He does not want anyone to know he murdered the King. Hamlet represents madness when his father is murdered. He wants to find out who did such a crime. Laertes is mad at the death of his father and sister. These are all examples of where each character feels anger and madness during the play. Hamlet is the number one person who stays mad …show more content…
throughout the whole play. Hamlet is mad because his father was killed and his mother married the man who killed his father. He stays depressed throughout the play. He feels as if his life will not get any better. He quotes a speech about “to be or not to be”. (3.1.65-86) He does not know if his life is worth living for. Although, if he takes his life he will not accomplish his goal he has in mind. He decides against suicide because it is a mortal sin and death may bring not sleep but eternal torment. Hamlet is talking to his mother about Claudius when he says, “That I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft.” (3.4.188-189) Hamlet is telling his mother not to tell Claudius that he is really not mad.
He wants him to think he is not pretending to be mad. Hamlet had an object in mind and was trying to reach his goal by pretending at times to be mad. Horatio tries to persuade Hamlet not to listen to the ghost because it might make him fall into madness. (1.4.72-74) Horatio does not Martin 2
want Hamlet to get angry and kill the murder of his father. The ghost is trying to tell Hamlet to seek revenge for his father’s death. (1.5.25) Hamlet fears that the Ghost may be an evil spirit. He thinks he might be leading him to Hell. He has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius when he thinks he is praying. He does not want to do that because he is scared it would send Claudius to
Heaven. He doesn’t believe he should go to Heaven for murdering King Hamlet. Hamlet as well did not believe Claudius was at the right state for his death. This would let King Claudius get away easy. On the other hand Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death but wants to do it the right and safe way. Claudius is the new King, who Hamlet thinks murdered his father. He is married to
Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. When he first became King he made a speech about how he was sorry for King Hamlet’s death but they all needed to move on quickly. (1.2.1-39) This is shady on his behalf. They just lost a great King and this is how the new King comes in to approach them. He never did like Hamlet but he couldn’t show that to the Queen. He wanted to please her and everyone in the town. Most people liked Hamlet and he wanted to show the same respect.
When Hamlet killed Polonius, Claudius became very mad and wanted him sent to England right away to be murdered. (4.3.51-65) Claudius shows madness when Hamlet presented a play. The play was for Claudius to confess of killing King Hamlet. He got very mad and tried to pray for forgiveness but couldn’t. (3.3.35-71) He could not pray because he was not sincerely sorry for his acts. Laertes is Ophelia’s brother and Polonius’ son. He kills Hamlet at the end by a poisonous sword. The reason he did this was because he blames Hamlet for killing his father and sister.
(5.2.299-301) Laertes didn’t want his sister to talk to Hamlet. They thought of this to be a bad influence and crazy. (1.3.10-44) After Hamlet killed Polonius behind the curtain, Laertes was Martin 3
extremely mad. He goes to King Claudius and they plan to seek revenge on Hamlet. They wanted to set up a dual between the two and use a sharp sword. They would poison the end of the sword. If that didn’t kill him they were going to poison a drink and toast to it. They wanted
Hamlet dead. (4.7.109-145) When Hamlet came back from England he did not care anymore about trying to please his mother or faking the fact that he was mad. Hamlet was truly mad he wanted to seek revenge and have Claudius dead. Hamlet proclaimed “O, from this time forth/
My thoughts be bloody ore be nothing worth” (4.5 ). Hamlet was not giving in to Claudius or
Laertes.
The play Hamlet presents many themes but madness is the greatest of them all. The truth behind it all was that Hamlet’s madness was feigned. He realized that there was a lot to be gained out of this madness and went along with it. The people believed the madness was all true.
After time of Hamlet faking this madness it became real-life to him. He turned into the depressive insane guy who looked crazy to everyone. It was all for show at first but turned into his own real problems. Shakespeare never wrote a dull play, he makes them all dramatic.
There are indications through all the drama flashes and the darkness of doubt, show the objective truth of Hamlet 's madness. Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius all show madness in different ways.
Shakespeare did a great job at expressing many different themes throughout Hamlet.
Martin 4
Annotated Bibliography
Crawford, Alexander W.
Hamlet, an ideal prince, and other essays in Shakesperean interpretation: Hamlet; Merchant of Venice; Othello; King Lear. Boston R.G. Badger, 1916. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.< http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/antichamlet.html >.
This website was very useful about Hamlet’s antic-disposition. This site gives examples of how and when Hamlet was mad throughout the play. It gives exact quotations and then summaries from the quote. It was very useful in my research about Hamlet’s madness. This site made you really think how the madness was all a front throughout the play. I never really thought about that hard until I ran into this website. It was beneficial to me and my paper. Shakespeare plays are always attempts for you to look at life deeper than it really is. This site appreciates Shakespeare and his work of art.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Hamlet Theme of Madness." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/madness-theme.html
Shmoop was helpful with my research for the madness of Hamlet. This site brings Shakespeares terms into today’s language. It helps you fully grasp what Hamlet, Claudius, and the other main characters were really thinking and acting out. It has questions on this site that help you think deeper about the play. I wish it would give some answers or advice about the questions. That would be a downfall to this site. On a positive note it has other authors, plays, and topics that can be useful in College. One cool thing about this site was not only did it talk about madness in Hamlet but it gave madness quotes. I will definitely keep this site in mind for other classes and papers.
Auburn University. “Analysis of Hamlet’s Character.” Auburn.edu. Auburn University, Web. 27 Apr. 2014. http://www.auburn.edu/~tuckebr/Site/Analysis.html
This website created by Auburn University is very vague but to the point. This site is an analysis of Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet.” It gives quoted examples from the play and where you can find its location. This was actually one of the most useful sites out of the ones I researched for this paper. The person who created this analysis put some thought and a lot of research into the site. The site starts out at the very beginning of the play and gives all the major points until the end of the play. It’s useful because it goes in order of the play. I would recommend this site to anyone. This site is short, sweet, and to the point.