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Depression In Hamlet Research Paper

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After King Hamlet’s death Hamlet, his one and only son, was thought to have been going mad by almost every character in the book, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Hamlet’s madness is due to the fact that he has a bipolar disorder; he displays all of the symptoms of being bipolar such as being depressed, having suicidal thoughts, and being irritable. One side effect of bipolar disorder is depression. Hamlet throughout the book realizes that he is depressed and that he what he is doing is not particularly correct. “But I feel something inside that goes beyond the outward display of mourning” (Shakespeare 26). Hamlet is understanding that he is feeling depressed, and is telling someone about his feelings. Most people who are depressed know that there is something wrong with them, they just do not quite know what it is. “Caught in this evil scheme, I began to act before my mind had conceived of a plan” (Shakespeare 269). At this point in the book Hamlet states that his actions got ahead of his thoughts and that he had not been thinking about his actions due to the fact that his mental illness has began to take over his entire mind and body. Depression affects the affected person's ability to be able to be happy. Depression often takes away the ability for a person to enjoy activities that before would have …show more content…

The fact that a common symptom of bipolar depression is thoughts of death or suicide is very clear way to see that Hamlet does in fact have bipolar depression. “To live, or not to live, that is the question” (Shakespeare 129). Within this soliloquy Hamlet questions if living is worth it anymore. “If only this defiled flesh could melt, thaw, and dissolve into a dew! If only God’s law did not prohibit suicide” (Shakespeare 29). Hamlet states multiple times throughout the play that he would kill himself if it were not stated in God’s laws that he would go to hell for

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