Mental And Psychological Health In Shakespeare's Hamlet

In Hamlet , some of the most significant events that happen focus on a character’s mental and psychological health. Hamlet as a character is very introspective, which allows the reader to have detailed insight of his thoughts, actions, and mental state. As the play progresses, we see Hamlet descend more and more into insanity, and sometimes, feigned insanity.

Hamlet is clearly a very troubled mind, as shown by his dialogue, thoughts, actions, and soliloquies. Some other characters, such as Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and others, have struggles of their own, as shown by their various dialogue, soliloquies, thoughts, and actions. Characters that face mental and emotional turmoil are common in works by

Shakespeare, and Hamlet is no exception.

Hamlet struggles with his own mental health and sorrows throughout the play. He constantly battles his own sanity, often questioning it himself. When his father dies, Hamlet is incredibly grief-stricken and returns to Denmark from Germany to attend the funeral.

Soon after, he sees the ghost of his father, who tells him to seek revenge and murder King

Claudius. This alone makes Hamlet wonder if he is truly sane or merely hallucinating, and marks the start of his intense psychological journey through his own mind. When the ghost of his father tells him to seek revenge for him, Hamlet later remarks to himself,

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“Yea, from the table of my memory; I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past; And