After the slow transition from Hamlet’s mournful state, to his ever growing state of madness, does his madness itself become his primary mode of communication with the other characters? 2. Hamlet suggests that his only pretending to be mad, can this be true seeing that he does such a good job doing so? Or is his suggestion of him pretending to be mad is to help himself feel saner? Translation POLONIUS What is it Ophelia, what’s the matter?
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” advice that would have served Polonius well. Both L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Shakespeare’s Hamlet had had a common theme, lying and deception. Lies and deceit affect each central character of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as they develop on social, psychological and moral levels. Prince Hamlet, the protagonist, is morally opposed to deception and constantly craves truth. Hamlet's apparent psychological state as the play progresses changes from that of a scholar, to that of a madman, though contradictorily this change is in itself a deceptive act.
Madness in Hamlet and King Lear The subject of madness is a major theme in two of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, “Hamlet” and “King Lear”. In both of these plays, a character feigns insanity to carry out a motive - Hamlet and Edgar respectively. However, while it is made quite clear to the audience that Edgar is only pretending to be a mad beggar (“Whiles I may escape I will preserve myself, and am bethought to take the basest and most poorest shape that ever penury, in contempt of man brought near to beast”), it is somewhat less clear whether Hamlet has crossed the line and lost control of his “antic disposition”. Shakespeare gives evidence which suggests that Hamlet is sane by having three other men also witness the manifestation of the ghost of Hamlet’s father. If Hamlet were to have seen his father’s ghost by himself, there would be a greater argument for him being insane from the outset of the play.
“To be or not to be, that is the question; whether’ tis nobler in the mind to suffer...” (Shakespeare Act 3, Scene 1). This quotation proves Hamlet becomes inferior to others and the environment through his madness, causing him to express himself explicitly towards others. Hamlet’s madness not only causes his loved ones lives but it allows his “end” to come because he accepts every challenge from his opponent. Hamlet’s madness not only affects him but Ophelia, who is mentally torn apart by Hamlet. Ophelia was once flawless, but since her encounter with Hamlet she has fallen into the same madness and wants to kill herself.
Consecutive misconceptions cause a fallacious interpretation of reality, broadcasted by the power of words, Hamlet’s greatest strength and weakness, which cause unpleasant tribulations to each character in the play. While Hamlet possessed an ear (and mind) that had the ability to filter fabrications, other characters appeared to be less fortunate in determining what seems to be and what is. One of the most interesting things in Hamlet is that every figure is predestined. The first individual we happen upon that is the first to perish, is King Hamlet, who was envenomed via his ear by his brother, Claudius. The ghost, having Claudius’s erosive and unethical ways in mind, vocalizes how these qualities will be undesirably executed in Denmark.
The Fools songs, riddles and jokes are a source of comic relief, used to break up the intensity of scenes. The Fool appears to have a deceptively simple part in the play when in actual fact his role is of key significance. The Fool and Lear have a fascinating relationship throughout the play. Lear seems to depend on his Fool increasingly to be his voice of reason or his conscience, because he reminds Lear of all his mistakes and manipulates his feelings into realising them. This is a great irony as the King who is supposed to be wise is in-fact a fool, yet the Fool himself is full of
The two texts ultimately depict the difficulties that are linked in the treatment of insanity, presenting sobering measures in which to cure the mind of madness. In the plays Equus and Hamlet [->0] of the main characters portrayed (Alan and Hamlet) are insane, "Being unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of their acts." (The Legal definition) which is established through their actions and in Hamlet's case via an insight into his "madman" like thoughts. The paired texts project two different types of insanity, an event induced mental state and a "nurtured" madness. In Equus, Alan experiences the latter of the two, with it being raised in him through out his life, largely on account of his mother.
There is a duality to the character of Hamlet, as his madness changes from a performance to true insanity throughout the play. Initially, in Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet is coerced by the ghost and decides that he will “put an antic disposition on”. This is the main use of dramatic irony in the play, as the audience knows Hamlet’s madness is performed. However as the play develops and changes, so too does Hamlet’s madness. Act 3 Scene 4 is the main turning point for Hamlet’s madness.
Hamlet and True Insanity Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet presents two different types of psychotic behaviors through the characters Hamlet and Ophelia, but only one character truly goes insane. Shakespeare utilizes this theme of madness to create dimensional characters through forming the question of whose insanity is real and which character is simulating it. Hamlet’s lunacy is applied to make it seem as if he does not know Claudius killed Hamlet Sr., and this escalates as the plot prolongs and becomes a significant part of the play. The cause of Ophelia’s insanity is not because of her father’s death alone; many characters pushed her to her wits end and indirectly caused her to commit suicide. Ophelia’s exotic behavior begins in Act Four
Hamlet’s Madness In the play Hamlet, by Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet, battles with struggles during the play. He goes through changes of his father’s death, his mother’s re-marriage to her dead husband’s brother, seeing a ghost of his father, the girl he loves having a father who makes her believe that she can’t love him, and living through is step-father trying to have him killed. In the play, it is thought that he goes mad due to all the lost love of Ophelia and the pressures that he is presented with throughout. Moreover, during all of this, he is also claimed mad because of the way he acts and talks around the king and general public. However, this is not the only type of type of play or drama in which the main character acts crazy or mad in order to enact revenge upon someone to avenge someone or just to purely gain revenge for some personal purpose.