“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.
Act 3 Scene 4 is the main turning point for Hamlet’s madness. The scene begins with a confrontation between Gertrude and Hamlet. Gertrude: “Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended” Hamlet: “Mother, you have my father much offended” The use of stichomythia in this conversation creates a sense of violence between the characters. It also confirms to the audience that Hamlet’s madness is still a performance, because he can respond quickly and with wit. When this is juxtaposed with Ophelia’s legitimate insanity, it becomes clear that Hamlet is still performing.
Analyse how the theme of madness is implied and portrayed in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, focusing on one section of the story. Passage focus for analysis - ‘Upon my entrance, Usher arose…’ to ‘periods of his most intense excitement’, including other parts of the text. Madness is a clear theme throughout The Fall of the House of Usher, and could even be argued to be the main point of the story, as the narrator himself eventually falls victim to the insanity that consumes the household. In this extract, the focus is upon the character of Roderick Usher, his mental decline and the physical consequences. The narrator describes him as ‘lying at full length’ on a sofa, which gives the reader the image of a weak, diseased man, but Poe creates antithesis to this portrayal with the suggestion of his ‘vivacious warmth’.
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.
We examined numerous examples of different types of insanity. For example, in the 2005 Jan Svankmajer film Lunacy, the main character, Jean Berlot, experiences frequent nightmare hallucinations of being put into a straightjacket. Despite these disturbing nightmares, Jean rarely displays any other signs of madness. In fact, the antagonist, Marquis, convinces Jean he needs to be institutionalized when in reality he is saner than the Marquis. Furthermore, in the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel Notes from the Underground, the main character, or the unnamed narrator known as the Underground Man, feels extremely alienated from society.
Selen Yılmaz 20801395 Third Essay Outline OUTLINE The Climax of Madness Essay Topic: Compare and contrast the treatment of the theme of madness in “The Fall of the House of Usher’’ and “The Yellow Wallpaper’’. Thesis Statement: Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher’’ and “Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper’’ are stories which totally include madness, fear and dread that are products of human psychology. While Poe’s story is completely immersed in madness, Gilman’s story limits the element of madness to the imagination of the narrator. In Poe’s story, madness exists in the Usher’s house and its environment, however, in Gilman’s story, madness completely in the mind of the narrator. It shows that both stories handle the subject of growing madness, however, in Poe’s story, the madness surrounds all characters, whereas in Gilman’s story the narrator is the one who is the victim of the madness.
Since Lady Macbeth set him up to this by insulting his manhood, Macbeth took a turn for the worst when he started experiencing fear and guilt. You’d think he’d put an end to all of this negativity by this point, yet it actually drags out and he continues with doing malicious, unlawful acts. Eventually this leads to more trouble for Macbeth; He begins to struggle with hallucinations and sleeplessness, causing him to become extremely paranoid. He began to lose his human qualities during this process of regaining his ‘so-called’ manhood, as his killing spree was pretty much a joke on his actual manliness. Macbeth’s decadence then led to his marriage to slowly fall apart.
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. Hamlet also exerts control over his actions, which is the main reason why it could be argued that he is sane. He actively tries to convince Polonius that he has gone mad - mocking him when he would usually be respectful, acting cruelly towards Ophelia whom he was clearly affectionate to earlier in the play. He does this in the hope that Polonius will tell the court of his madness. Hamlet is often hesitant to do things, for example where he had the chance to kill Claudius in the chapel but couldn’t bring himself to do it, not because he would be killing another human but because he wanted Claudius to suffer and not go straight to Heaven.
The Macbeth household started out in Act I with the couple on the edge of insanity; by the end of the play it fell well over the edge, and took all the readers along for the ride by exposing all of Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth's touchy mental disorders. The obvious mental disorders Macbeth displayed by the end of the play consist of: Post Traumatic Stress, Panic Disorder, and Bipolar Disease. His lover in crime had her own issues to deal with such as Sleep Disorder, and Paranoia. The first time you hear about Macbeth in the play Captain references him on how savage he fought saying; "...For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name- Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor's minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave; Which nev'r shook hands, nor bade farwell to him, Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops, And fixed his head upon our battlements." That incident initiates the beginning of Post Traumatic Stress
There may seem to be many motivations for villains throughout the times but as we study these scoundrels we find that generally they are motivated by pure jealousy, or a need of superiority. They utilize manipulation, both physically and mentally in order to achieve their goals and show a lack of remorse. Stephan King’s “Misery”, provides us with a very graphical depiction in Annie Wilkes a sadistic, mentally unstable retired nurse, who has a desire for power and control. Annie goes to tortuous extremes on her captive Paul Sheldon to realize this. Iago from Shakespeare’s play Othello is also a power hungry villain who enjoys having people under his control, he is driven by extreme jealousy and the motivation, revenge.