Hamlet is a very ironic play.You may start to question each characters thoughts at one point in the script. Especially the main character Hamlet, does he truly go insane or is it all a trick? For me in this play I never knew what was to be expected.…
Hamlet’s behavior makes everyone worry about his insanity, but his sagacious thinking shows his actions are thought out, and his depressive state of mind. Hamlet does not appear to be suffering from insanity or from the disabling mental illness, schizophrenia. The National Institute of Mental Health describes the illness, “People with positive symptoms often ‘lose touch’ with reality” (“What is Schizophrenia” 2). With schizophrenia, just like with insanity, someone might lose their understanding of what’s right and what’s wrong. In the play, Hamlet states his plan, “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on” (I.v.172-173). Hamlet clearly confesses to Horatio he will have to act erratic behavior. Through this…
Hamlet is more likely insane because of the action he has done and what he is going to do. He killed Polonius and slipped some crazy words during the play, So I think that Hamlet is not crazy for acting it, But crazy for been insane.…
Merriam-Webster 's Dictionary defines insanity as "a deranged state of mind, commonly exhibiting behavior considered abnormal in society," and depression "a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies."₁ Although Shakespeare 's character Hamlet shows classic signs of depression, this does not necessarily mean that he has gone insane. Many signs show that he acts insane intentionally. Despite the fact that depression can lead to insanity, it does not mean every person experiencing depression also goes through insanity as well. Sources from the…
“Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide”. Although this quote by John Dryden was not directed towards Hamlet, this quote relates well to the argument of whether or not Hamlet was insane. The character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is perhaps one of the most complex tragic heroes and possibly the most analyzed in all of English literature. Whether Hamlet was actually insane, or simply acting mad depends on the reader’s interpretation of the play. Hamlet is a complex character, he is the direct result of his psychological disorders. He is capable of quickly changing his emotions and state of mind from being happy, to being sorrowful, to being seemingly…
The term “madness” can be known as extreme foolish behavior. It can become a very scary thing if one does not have control over themselves. If someone does not let their anger out during the moment and let it build up inside of them over time, it can make them go insane to the point where they are acting and doing things they don’t want to be doing. Not letting your anger out is what constitutes madness and connects it to truth and reality.…
The dead king has told Hamlet that Claudius killed him while he was asleep in the garden. Hamlet’s confusion and feeling of honor leads him to swear in behalf of his dead father to revenge on the present king. Shakespeare starts the play by bombarding Hamlet’s thinking process and leaving him with tons of weights on his shoulders. The whole aspect of the play revolves around character’s vows to fulfill their honor. The idea of honor in this play is portrayed far more advanced than any other Shakespearean play. Reta. A Terry is an author of “Vows to the Blackest Devil”: Hamlet and the Evolving code of honor in early modern England. She agrees that honor is substantial and goes another level with this idea. She diagrams in which Shakespeare used characters of Hamlet, Laertes, and Horatio to demonstrate the England’s notion of honor switching to the chivalric code of the medieval period’s idea of honor. She concludes that the shift of honor or the evolution of honor was visible in Hamlet.…
Madness played a major role in the book Hamlet. Madness didn’t just take place with one character ,but two. Ophelia and Hamlet were both of the characters that seem to have let anger and depression get the best of them. In these scenes we get to know both of the characters very well, and exactly what caused them to flip their script.…
Hamlet appears to be insane, after Polonius's death, in act IV scene II. There are indications, though, that persuade me to think other wise. Certainly, Hamlet has plenty of reasons to be insane at this point. His day has been hectic-he finally determined Claudius had killed his father, the chance to kill Claudius confronted him, he comes very close to convincing Gertrude that Claudius killed his father, he accidentally kills Polonius, and finally the ghost of his father visits him. These situations are enough to bring Hamlet to insanity, but he remains sharp and credible.<br><br>Hamlet is able to make smart remarks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, comparing then to sponges, "When he (Claudius) needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing…
Hamlet could be considered a brilliant actor, only if you believe that he is not insane, he was not! Hamlet was always the smartest person in the room, whether he was two steps ahead of someone of one step behind, he always knew what to do. It can easily be interpreted that Hamlet is acting insane just to not leave a trail for anyone to follow. Hamlet opens up to the Horatio and Marcellus and tells them that he will act mad: “How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself—As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on” (1.5.177). Hamlet is clearly doing this so Claudius will not see him as a threat and will think of him as harmless. Hamlet is insane while actually sane. This is a perfect example of Hamlet being the smartest person in the room, as well as a perfect example of how madness shaped the play. If Hamlet did not act mad Claudius could have seen him as a threat much earlier and attempted to kill him much earlier. Even to the reader Hamlet seems insane, remember the reader knows what Hamlet is thinking. What Hamlet decides to do is “pronounced to be so atrocious and horrible, as to be unfit to be put into the mouth of a human being.” (Coleridge 4). Hamlet here has the reader believing that he is insane, however he could just be blinded by rage…
Shakespeare’s hero, Hamlet, and his insanity is shown and is demonstrated in the different parts of the play. Many parts in the play points out his madness and his loss of control. Hamlet shows many mood swings throughout the play that makes him act mad and speaks like an insane. Hamlet illustrates many unclear emotions to show his insanity. We can see that there are two versions of Hamlet in the play because of the different actions. Sometimes he acts as a perfect prince and sometimes he acts as he is mad. There is a shift in the different personality Hamlet image, he therefore shows us that he in fact insane, with many example shown throughout the play.…
Later on in the play, Hamlet begins to actually become a “mad man” because he did not go through with the murder. He begins to realize he has too many emotions to even think about…
Early on in the play the reader is shown that Hamlet is going to act insane in order to figure out the murder of his father. Therefore, at random moments throughout the play, Hamlet will act insane in so that he can in turn retrieve more information about the death of his father. Although young and handsome Hamlet says he is feigning his madness many readers have called into question whether or not he is genuinely mad. The fact that he is indeed going mad at times is true. It is true for many reasons. Reasons such as questioning his existence, showing true evidence of insanity not achievable by a sane person and at times using consequentialism in his train of thought. There are many factors that play into…
In the story Hamlet, Hamlet is faking being insane because everyone around him is trying to trick him, which makes Hamlet thinks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were friends, but they weren’t because they came to spy on him. Hamlet intends to act odd to make people think he is insane or as a distraction to keep everyone out of the way. Hamlet does not take jokes or put up with anyone while solving a problem of his own. Hamlet focuses on his plot of revenge while getting accused of being insane. The saddest thing is when people around you that once were friends or have loved you so much you never thought they would all disappear, and become strangers. Life changes when something happens and without a doubt you may do something…
In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Hamlet, the main character, displays a very indecisive and uncertain demeanor throughout Hamlet. This recurrent behavior is displayed when: Hamlet first encounters the Ghost of his father, to learn that Hamlet's Uncle, the King, killed Hamlet's Father, also in Shakespeare's most prolific monologue of Hamlet and lastly when Hamlet stabs one of the King's confidants, Polonius. Hamlet's wavering decision making as well as his uncertainty in everything leads to Hamlet's apparent insanity; although he is not completely insane, just to a certain degree that allows him to be somewhat sane.…