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Hamlet's Madness Vs. Sarcasam

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HAMLET’S MADNESS v. SARCASM

As we read the famous Shakespearean playwright “Hamlet”, there are a few situations we analyze and seem to find connections between the event in the play and real life events. For starters, we could make a comparison between Hamlet’s madness and sarcasm. Both are concepts that utilize the habits of minds in order to fully understand the play.
In an online article on “The Surprising Benefits of Sarcasm” by Francesca Gino, she speaks on the benefits and liabilities of sarcasm. “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit but the highest form of intelligence”, says Oscar Wilde, a connoisseur of wit. This statement can perfectly relate to Hamlet’s condition when he found out the truth on his father’s death; he turns to the use of his intellect to pick the brains of King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia and many more characters. In …show more content…

Most readers aren’t able to differentiate his behavior from a demented mind or genuine madness. In an article titled “The Real or Assumed Madness of Hamlet”, the author Simon Augustine Blackmore mentions that “the poet (Shakespeare) portrayed the abnormal actions of a demented mind and that a real madman could not enact the character more perfectly.” We see how Hamlet uses his mimic madness to guard the truth of his father’s fratricide. Simon also acknowledges “the unaided genius of Shakespeare” because of how he creates such a perfect character from a real life tragedy. If Hamlet were indeed using sarcasm to cover up what he knew, this would make him the most intelligent persona in the play. He utilizes him mental situation to help know others better and catch them in the paranoia as the plot builds up. We still can’t be assured if the madness was legit or a fluke but Shakespeare surely did work the magic; mixing sarcasm and madness to create a world famous renowned

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