To be or not to be, that is the question. In actuality, it’s more like to be sane or not to be sane is the question. Scholars have tried for years to tear apart Shakespeare’s masterpiece of a play, Hamlet, and debate whether Prince Hamlet is completely sane or Insane. In Hamlet, the main protagonist is the prince of Denmark and is mourning the death of his father. Prince Hamlet’s uncle marries the widowed queen who is Hamlet’s mother and is found to murdered the late King Hamlet. After examining and analyzing the play, Hamlet is found to be clever and cunning, pretending to throw fits of insanity while fooling everyone around him. Therefore, the prince is clearly and perfectly sane.
Before Hamlet is called into Denmark for his father’s funeral, the guards of the castle and Horatio see an apparition of the late King. “In the same figure like the king that’s dead…In which the majesty of buried Denmark” (Crowther). In addition, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father later on; “Angels and Ministers of grace defend us! Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned...Thou comest in a questionable shape that I will speak to thee” (Crowther). Horatio and the guards are terrified at the sight of the ghost; along with Hamlet. There would be no reason for Hamlet to fake his fear at this point in time. This scene shows that he is sane and
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The king has poisoned Laertes’ sword and a cup of wine to act as a tribute. As the duel unfolds, Hamlet uncovers the plot to kill him and kills both Laertes and Claudius, but gets poisoned in the process. As he dies, he tells Horatio “And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain to tell my story” (Crowther). Hamlet tells Horatio to tell my legacy and story; Hamlet does not want for his story to be forgotten and all the bloodshed for nothing. A mad man wouldn’t say such a thing unless for a true purpose, for Hamlet truly died as man with
In Hamlet Act four, it clarifies how Hamlet is being demanded to kill Claudius, but he is afraid to. For what Hamlet did to kill Polonius was unnecessary, he did not know that it was Polonius, Hamlet thought it was Claudius, and instantly, he was genuinely in a bad spot for what he is going through. Hamlet may not plan to carry out his father’s revenge, therefore making his decision can fulfill his destiny. Hamlet is apprehensive about his crowd to believe he’s the bad guy of this. But apparently, he is innocent about why he killed Polonius.
One definition of madness is “mental delusion of the eccentric behavior arising from it.” However, as Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Much madness is divinest Sense/ To a discerning Eye.” In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Prince Hamlet, shows apparent madness which proves to serve an important role throughout the story. This erratic behavior consists of his seemingly senseless dialogues, his loss of care for Ophelia, and his increasingly aggressive nature. Such behavior often proves justified by the play’s audience due to its convincing nature despite Hamlet’s predisposition towards insanity.
After the ghost apparition, he's forced to go outside of his pragmatic views only to discover himself in seclusion and derangement. Without Horatio, who has never seen the ghost, Hamlet finds himself constantly contemplating how he should proceed. As an intellect, Hamlet naturally responds with rational deductions. He declares out loud to himself “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am! It is not monstrous that this player here, but in a fiction, and a passion, the forces so so to his own conceit.”
Desiree Kelly Professor Rampello Final Paper December 15th, 2016 Does Hamlet Feign Insanity? Finding out if hamlet really went insane and lost his mind is one of those questions that people can always ask themselves but I feel like he actually did go insane, throughout the play of Hamlet written by William Shakespeare hamlet started to loose his mind, it all started when his mother married his uncle after his uncle killed his father while he was taking a nap while in the garden. In act one after his father 's ghosts came to visit hamlet makes Horatio and Marcellus swear that they will never tell anyone about the ghost or give any indication that they know anything about hamlet losing his mind. Throughout the rest of the play hamlet
After reading your post, I can see you have a firm grasp on Hamlet and the scenes in the play where he feigns madness. You used the same three scene I used to illustrate the effectiveness of Hamlet’s concocted insanity. In 1.5, before he even divulges his plans to his two friends, Horatio notes, “these are but wild and whirling words, my lord” (136). This indicates that Hamlet had already started getting into character by acting to people who knew him well. I also used 2.1 as an example of Hamlet’s method acting.
In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, In the story, a character by the name of Hamlet, has a tough decision. Should Hamlet kill his uncle or should he let him live. This thought drives Hamlet crazy or into complete madness, or is he? This question has been asked by readers for hundreds of years. My personal opinion on if Hamlet slips into madness is yes, that he does actually go insane in the play.
Hamlet's Heightening Insanity In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is clear that Hamlet was once sane, but the tragic events of his life led him to be insane. Grieving over the loss of a loved one, yet a parent, is extremely difficult. These hardships can cause a lot of problems in one’s life. In Hamlet, Shakespeare incorporates a theme of madness to serve a motive. In fact, Hamlet is not initially crazy, but plans to use the insanity as a trick to achieve what he wanted-- revenge.
In an article discussing the ghost in this play, it says, “Gertrude sees ‘nothing at all’ and hears ‘nothing but ourselves’ meaning herself and Hamlet, in the closet scene. The guards and Horatio couldn’t hear it in the opening scene, and the queen can’t hear it here. This makes me think only Hamlet can hear it” (Walthall). One important aspect of this quote is that the guards could see the ghost in the opening scene, but nobody but Hamlet has seen the ghost since that point. Another important part to remember is Horatio was worried that talking to
Having your father die is bad enough, but to have your mother marry your uncle, within a few weeks of your father’s death? Then to see the ghost of your dead father. That would drive anyone a little insane, but maybe not to the extent that everyone thought Hamlet was acting. Hamlet is torn between acting sane and letting everyone else see him as insane.
In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses many references to sanity and insanity. Throughout the play, Hamlet goes back and forth between sanity and insanity, whether pretending to be insane just to mess with those he does not like or to save himself from getting in trouble. Hamlet is actually one of the smartest characters in the play, which is why he can pull off acting crazy so well. Shakespeare uses this idea of sanity and insanity to help the plot change and take a different directions. One of the most discussed topics of the Hamlet is whether Hamlet is insane or if he was just pretending the whole time.
A few soldiers on guard report to him that his father’s ghost has been seen, and he sees the ghost when he goes with them the next night. The ghost tells him that his uncle killed him to get his crown and his wife, and makes Hamlet swear to avenge his death. Hamlet decides to pretend to be
When discussing the topic of madness, Hamlet is a profoundly controversial topic. Some may define madness as the state of being mentally ill, whereas others may define it as a generally foolish behavior. Hamlet has acted strangely toward multiple people throughout The Tragedy of Hamlet; moreover, there are many examples throughout the text that support the assumption that he may or may not be acting mad. Starting in Act 1, Scene 4, Horatio is untrustworthy of the ghost that appears. He believes it is a spirit who has taken the form of Hamlet’s father, whereas Hamlet believes it is the spirit of his father.
The question of whether or not Hamlet was insane is of a never-ending debate. Was he always crazy? Was he always faking it? Or was he somewhere in between? In this paper I will share three different views and provide my own interpretation of Hamlet’s sanity.
A select few scholars believe that Hamlet is not pretending to be mad, but in reality is insane. Hamlet reveals his insanity through his strange behavior toward others. Dr. Simon A. Blackmore claims, “The Real or Assumed Madness of Hamlet” in Shakespearean Online that Hamlet is insane because of the fact that he is able to see a ghost while others cannot (215). Dr. Blackmore in The Real or Assumed... also asserts that in Act III, scene IV, the instance when Hamlet is in Gertrude chamber and Hamlet states to Gertrude that he see a ghost.
In the midst of Hamlet’s confrontation with his mother, the ghost appears and stares at him. Hamlet breaks down and tells the ghost not to look at him that way unless he wants him to cry instead of being powerful enough to get his revenge. While this happens, Gertrude holds to the belief that her son has gone mad as she watches him talk to himself. Gertrude can not see or hear the