Interpreting The Conception Of Insanity In Shakespeare's Hamlet

In William Shakespeare’s classic, Hamlet, the question concerning Hamlet’s underlying sanity is a major element in the interpretation of the text. In the play, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as a dynamic character to cause a mental state conundrum among the audience and explore themes of suicide, spying, friendship, madness, love, hate and humour. Furthermore, by utilising literary devices such as soliloquy, characterisation,

Often revered for their emotional complexities, William Shakespeare’s tragic characters display various signs of mental illness. Sylvia Morris notes “Hamlet contains Shakespeare’s most fully-developed study of mental illness, and has always intrigued commentators on the play.” (“Shakespeare’s Minds Diseased: Mental Illness and its Treatment”). When looking at the play, one can infer that Shakespeare makes the relationship between sanity and insanity undistinguishable from one another. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is melancholic and in a state of grief, which is not out of the ordinary because he is still mourning the loss of his father. After all, Hamlet was home from college and was growing into a nobleman.

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.

In Hamlet , some of the most significant events that happen focus on a character’s mental and

In the play, Hamlet by Shakespeare, the noble Hamlet claims to be feigning great madness. However, the portrayal of a crazy madman is so intense and so convincing that Hamlet himself begins to actually slip into a great magnitude of insanity at certain moments in the amazing play. Some example of Hamlet actually slipping into madness are when, he kills the wise Polonius when Hamlet finds him spying on him while he is having a conversation with his mother. The second example of him going into insanity is when he performs the great speech about whether to be or not to be. The last example of him falling into a great state of insanity is when he kills himself after he battles Laertes to the death, and ends up drinking the same poison himself

The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a realistic representation of the duality of human nature: one which makes the readers pause and observe the motivations of a resolute avenger who undergoes a metamorphosis of mental activity after his encounter with the ghost of his father but due to his conscience, he later becomes a procrastinator with a puzzled will. As a dramatist, William Shakespeare is famous for his character portrayals. If a character is too perfect, it is impossible for us to relate to him. Therefore, the titular protagonist, Hamlet is presented with all his foibles and blemishes which makes him a character who readers can easily relate to. Harold Bloom (1990) claimed that Shakespeare created a “human character.” Hamlet’s conflict about to kill or not to kill makes him relatable. The emotion

In the ever changing world of literature, one play stands the test and that is William Shakespeare's Hamlet. This dramatic, thrilling, tragic play tells the story of a “young prince of Denmark, Hamlet, who is seeking vengeance for his father’s murder.” () The storyline itself is able to grasp the reader, and take them alongside Hamlet as he slowly takes down his enemies and uncovers the secrets, betrayal, and scheming nature of his family. Aside from the storyline, what makes this play great is the monologues, as well as dialogues between characters. Shakespeare incorporates an array of vivid imagery, metaphors, and exquisite vocabulary to make known the passion and heart behind every single character. Upon reading these speeches, the reader is able to catch a glimpse, feel what the character is speaking about with such enthusiasm. Although there are many speeches to choose from when trying to single one out in particular, Polonius gives a compelling speech to Laertes that include these techniques from Shakespeare, to assist while reading.

Madness is the most contradictory element in William Shakespeare 's, Hamlet, in IV.v.160-193 shows an act of true madness. The essential need for madness begins in Act I, when Hamlet decides acting mad is the only way to revenge his father 's death. This progresses the underlying meaning of the play, is Hamlet genuinely crazy? The argument continues when Hamlet murders Polonius with no remorse. Ophelia denies seeing Hamlet, which is the reason everyone believes is the cause of Hamlet 's madness. The stress of Hamlet 's “antic disposition” and the death of Polonius, pushes Ophelia to her downfall, resulting into madness.

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.

A major controversy that has divided the literature community for hundreds of years is the debate of whether Hamlet, in William Shakespeare’s well known tragedy Hamlet, is feigning madness or is actually mad. It can be proven though textual evidence that Hamlet is not insane and his feigned insanity is just a ruse to distract those around him from seeing his superior conscience, given to him though the late King of Denmark, which makes him more aware than the average citizen. The higher sense of consciousness separates Hamlet from the others because it makes him a thinker instead of a follower. This can be seen in his interactions with other characters and how his feigned insanity affects Ophelia, who is also a thinker.

Hamlet, the play written by William Shakespeare, is the story of a young adult struggling with not only the recent death of his father, but also his mother’s quick marriage to his uncle and all of the other complications that come with the bizarre situation taking place in the throne of Denmark. Hamlet is a very dynamic character as he himself isn’t really sure how he feels about the conflicts of the plot, which eventually lead to the death of much of the royal family. Hamlet copes with his problems by showing others his suicidal contemplations and insane thoughts. The way Hamlet handles his issues is triggered by previous encounterings and affects the eventual outcome of the play.

There is quite a bit of evidence in this play that Hamlet deliberately foraged his fits of madness in order to confuse and make the king believe there was genuinely something wrong with him. Hamlet’s soliloquies at the end of Act I are often used as proof of his insanity, but much of what is deemed insanity isn’t really insanity. Hamlet may have a mental illness, but he was far from insane.

Insanity is the ability to notice and derive messages from everyday life, which are usually ignored. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet takes place in Denmark during the 1600s. The King of Denmark is murdered by his brother Claudius, who then subsequently married the widowed Queen Gertrude. Prince Hamlet, nephew to the new King, is suspicious of the sudden death and seeks revenge. However, while striving to execute his plan Hamlet, as well as his love Ophelia, is consumed by insanity. Madness is a recurring theme in the play; however the characters who display its characteristics do so differently. On contrary, Findley’s novel The Piano Man’s Daughter takes place between 1868 and 1939 in Canada, Toronto. It focuses on Lily who touched by a hybrid

"One person's craziness is another person's reality," said Tim Burton, American film director and writer. Shakespeare shows how one character's craziness affects all the other characters in Hamlet. This craziness causes them to hide their true feelings, thoughts, and motives by showing false truths. While others even lose themselves to someone else's life, when their love ones die or when that one person messes with them. Shakespeare shows this through Rosencrantz/Guildenstern, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Fortinbras. The characters in Hamlet show themselves as one thing, but they are completely different people in the inside and even they surprise themselves with their fake lives.

The evolution of Hamlet is quite surprising he begins as a young leader with the world in his hand, to a mad who becomes gript with revenging his father’s death. The revenge theme is acted upon throughout the story and is essentially what drives Hamlet. He believes that Claudius has killed his father (we later find out this is true), this begins his investigating.