“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.
Hamlet also demonstrates his flaw when he says “That would be scanned,”(Shakespeare III.iii.76) which basically means that he wants think more about the situation at hand, before following it through. His nature to over-think matters is considered a tragic flaw, because his decision to put off the murder of Claudius, leads to the death of many characters in the play, including him. Not only does Hamlet miss his opportunity when he scum’s to his flaw, but he also displays another tragic flaw, which is to procrastinate. Ophelia’s character flaw that is displayed is her emotional weakness. Ultimately Ophelia’s flaw is the reason for her own death, which is what makes it so tragic.
Hamlet Essay Identify a key scene which can be seen to be extremely important for a number of reasons. A very dramatic and intriguing key scene in William Shakespheare’s “Hamlet” is the closet scene, Act III Scene iv where Hamlet sees his father’s ghost again and kills Polonius. The scene reveals to us Hamlets madness, violent rage and desire for revenge. I feel the scene was very dramatic and has many consequences for Hamlet and for Ophelia (who goes mad at the tragedy of her father’s death.) The beginning of the key scene is important because, Hamlet has been summoned by his mother, who is furious with him for events surrounding the play-within-the-play, in which it has been suggested clearly that Hamlet’s father has been murdered by his brother.
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.
God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! This is the first time that the reader sees Hamlet’s inner turmoil as he considers committing suicide over the death of his father but decides he cannot, for the consequence would be hell. It is important to note that purgatory and hell are referenced numerous times throughout the play as a consequence for giving into selfish thoughts or actions. In this particular instance however, this soliloquy also lends to the idea that Hamlet is insane due to the passing of his father.
The personality traits of insanity and intellectuality also contribute greatly to the death of Hamlet. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his procrastination. Without a doubt, Hamlet portrays procrastination and indecisiveness multiple times in the play. The ghost of Hamlet’s father visits him in the beginning of the play informing Hamlet that he was murdered by his own brother, Claudius: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears the crown”(I.v.44,45). Furthermore, Shakespeare exhibits how Hamlet chose to devise a plan of acting mad, rather than avenging his father’s death immediately, progressing to his demise.
This is also shown with Polonius’s un-trust worthiness for Hamlet. As to with Laertes who feels the exact same way as his father. Paolo Feliciano Mr. McCarthy A.P. Lit Examination Act 2 Open Ended Questions 1. 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?
Hamlet stares as his mother behaves melodramatically. He looks from her to Claudius and definitely picks up on something unsaid. Also, when Laertes returns from school, his anger towards Hamlet for killing his father is very apparent. His disdain with Hamlet is shown exceptionally in the film with the great action-scene fight between Hamlet and Laertes at the end. Finally, as Hamlet saw Claudius in prayer he was discontent with just killing Claudius.
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.
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.