In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet himself is a difficult character to figure out. With his elegant intensity and reckless but cautious attitude, he is able to keep his readers entertained as the play progresses. Through his irrational decisions, emotional madness and admirable qualities, Hamlet becomes a character with whom readers will continuously empathize. Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the entire play. We are brought to one of the beginning scenes where Hamlet is…
The story of Hamlet is undoubtedly one of the most famous stories in the whole wide world of literature. It features everything one would wish for in a tale: death, love, injustice, revenge, doubt, and eventually, (in)sanity. How is it with the latter, though? Was the main protagonist of Shakespeare’s most famous play a real madman? Was he faking lunacy to baffle the others? Or did periods of sanity and insanity fluctuate throughout the course of the story? These are the questions that will be looked at and answered in the following paragraphs, and perhaps the enigma of Hamlet’s mental health will finally be resolved.…
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.…
In the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, the story is told of Prince Hamlet. Hamlet is the main character, the supposedly 30 year old protagonist is the Prince of Denmark. This Prince is witty and sarcastic, always presenting comebacks and complex ways to insult someone. The play starts off with a death, King Hamlet’s death. As the scene goes on Queen Gertrude marries the new king, King Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother… Prince Hamlet’s uncle (Shakespeare). During the rest of the play, Hamlets moods seem to jump up and down, from a very manic mood to suicidal thoughts. After reading the play, and getting to understand more about Bipolar Disorder, more about Hamlet, and ruling out other disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder, and Anxiety Disorder, Hamlet has been…
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…
Sometimes the way the world perceives somebody’s character is not always accurate. In Shakespeare’s infamous play Hamlet, Hamlet is thought to be a mentally unstable character. When he isn’t feigning madness, Hamlet is a well educated individual, who is capable of manipulation as well as a capacity for sarcastic wit. Shakespeare effectively portrays Hamlet’s true character through his interactions with other characters as well as his instinctive emotional responses.…
“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…
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…
The play Hamlet is without a doubt an odd story to read based on what society today has become accustomed to. A brother killing another brother, and then marrying his wife. It is not a typical story in the modern world today. There is a vast variety of different themes that can be traced throughout the play, however the most popular is madness and sanity. Madness and sanity shape the play into what it is, without madness and sanity the play would have no life. Certain actions would not occur, certain events would not occur, and certain statements would not occur. Hamlet is a perfect example in the thought of is he acting insane or is he truly insane?…
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.…
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 play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet is seen as a very emotional person. His emotions change all the time throughout the play so he attempts to act crazy so nobody knows what’s going on with him. When he acts crazy to hide his emotions, it affects everyone else but, Hamlet does not realize it. The emotions that he shows in the play are sorrow, anger and guilt.…
Hamlet is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s best plays. Most critics would go as far to say that it is even one of the greatest works of literature from the seventeenth century. One of the many reasons Hamlet is so highly acclaimed is due to its controversial/ambiguous conflicts. For example: Throughout the play, Hamlet characters struggle to understand whether Prince Hamlet suffers from insanity or not. “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” (2.2.195-196). This quote shows that although Polonius thinks Prince Hamlet is crazy, he also feels he is quick-witted. During this time period, people were not educated on the matters of mental health. Present day, where people are educated on such matters, Hamlet is clearly suffering from…
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.…
The dramatic irony throughout the whole play has added a certain element that gives the audience insight into the story’s plot that the character’s within the play do not. It also allows the audience to see the tragic flaw that ultimately leads to the downfall of the tragic hero. The play, as a whole, would not have the same effect without dramatic irony, and it also would not engage the audience as much without it. Dramatic irony is an essential piece to Hamlet that makes the story what it is…