Hamlet Insanity And Insanity

His mother and his uncle have married after only 2 months of Hamlet’s father’s death. This has caused Hamlet to be in a heavy state of anger, mixed with his already deep state of mourning. According to Theodore Lidz, these two states can lead to one thinking back on all the negative wishes one may have had in the past. Considering Hamlet’s relatively young age, death wishes upon a parent are not serious but they are common among children. “…and as most, if not all, children have sometimes had death wishes toward a parent, guilt over such wishes can become intense when the parent dies.” (Lidz 48) All of these emotions mixed together so early in the play could lead to a sense of depression.

There is a fine line between sane and madness that everyone can teeter on in some point in their lives. Sometimes this is the result of a broken relationship, a loss of a job, confusion about the future, anger, or can be a result of countless other events or reasons. This theme of insanity is present in countless pieces of literature due to its relatability to everyone, not just people with a diagnosed mental illness. People tend to do crazy things and act crazily without being completely insane. Along the same lines, when people linger in their crazy actions and start to do it purposefully, it can lead to something that is real and more permanent. Hamlet’s madness, in Hamlet by Shakespeare, is a complex idea that is constantly developing throughout

Many people have seen Hamlet as a play about uncertainty and about Hamlet's failure to act appropriately. It is very interesting to consider that the play shows many uncertainties that lives are built upon, or how many unknown quantities are taken for granted when people act or when they evaluate one another's actions. Hamlet is an especially intriguing production, both on the set and on the screen because of its uniqueness to be different from what most people expect to be in a revenge themed play. Hamlet's cynicism and insane like behavior cause him to seem indecisive, but in reality he is always judging and contemplating his actions in the back of his mind in order to seek revenge for the murder of

Why does insanity affect some people in different ways and why? Hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare which tells us when we read it about how some people react differently to insanity then others. Hamlet is the some of the late King Hamlet who was murdered. Gertrude, King Hamlet's wife, was remarried to her brother-in-law Claudius, two months after her husband died. Insanity takes hold of three people in particular in the play: Hamlet, Ophelia and Claudius.

Insanity can be defined as a mental illness that causes a person to have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Whether Shakespeare’s Hamlet was insane or feigning insanity is a controversial topic. Gregory Shafer argues that Hamlet is not insane and that he uses insanity or madness for his own political purposes (42). In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s circumstances force him to seek revenge for the murder of his father King Hamlet. He creates a plan that he believes will give him an opportunity to kill Claudius, and the main part of this plan involves him faking insanity. Further and further into the book, his actions of a madman become more believable. However through his thoughts and actions it is clear that he is not truly insane, and his is only acting in this way in order to reach is ultimate goal of revenge.

Hamlet continues on and almost complains on the state of the world, calling it stale, flat, and unprofitable, showing how truly miserable he is. Hamlet considers suicide as a possible option of escape from his life in a painful world, but feels as though religion is preventing him from doing so. Hamlet then provides us with the roots for his pain and the reason for his contemplation of suicide. Hamlet is is troubled by his mothers marriage to Claudius, but especially how quickly the two were married after his father's death. He continues to express his dislike and hatred for Claudius calling him a satyr, while praising his father and saying how excellent of a king his father was. In one of the final lines of the soliloquy Hamlet comments on how the marriage is a bad omen for Denmark, "It is not, nor it cannot come to good," (I. ii. 163). For the first time we are introduced to the idea of suicide which will continue to present itself as the play develops.

Hamlet was deeply depressed about his father's death, in this quote he couldn't even speak in complete sentences so you can see how much this affected Hamlet and how it took a toll on him. Hamlet overcome this obstacle by taking revenge for his father and killing his uncle for the murder of his father. Hamlet was also going through other obstacles because right after his father death his mother married his father's killer which is his uncle. Hamlet was bummed about this and really disappointed in his mother's actions. In the Play Hamlet said “she married.

Hamlet shows numerous symptoms and people wonder “why he’s acting so dazed and confused” (Shakespeare 135), but do not take initiative to get him treatment. Hamlet criticizes himself as a “low-life” (Shakespeare 129), a “lily-livered man…, and an uncourageous rascal” (Shakespeare 131), similar to Craig. Another parallel is that Hamlet sees “no future ahead for [himself]” (Shakespeare 179) and is fixated on “dying” (Shakespeare 139). Everyone around him just thinks he is insane; consequently, this “treatable disorder… goes unrecognized” ("Depression in Young People" 3), because the people in his life have failed decipher his symptoms of clinical depression. When Hamlet’s “depression [is] left untreated, [it] can be dangerous, even fatal” ("Morbidity" 1), which is shown to be true as he spirals into a further state of lunacy, leading to his death. Though Hamlet ‘lived’ 400 years ago, he had suicidal ideation, erratic behavior, self-hatred, anxiety, and a skewed reality just like present-day

    The cause for a person's insanity can be perceived as a psychological disorder. “Insanity .n. Mental illness of such severe nature that a person cannot distinguish  fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior”(Ryan Howes, PhD.). Hamlet’s own thorough planning to take revenge against claudius shows his sharp and deceptive mind and creating deceptions for other character  in order to make what once was wrong and make it right with his own ideology. “Don’t let the Danish king’s bed be a nest of incest. But however you go about your revenge, don’t corrupt your mind or do any harm to your mother. Leave her to God and her own guilt”(Old King Hamlet).

   Shakespeare's Hamlet is a master of deception. Hamlet decides to make Claudius believe that he is insane, but the scheme backfires when everyone, except Claudius, falls for it. Ophelia is one of those who believes Hamlet lost his mind, and when he does not return her love, she is so brokenhearted that she commits suicide. Near the end of the tragedy, Hamlet plays the part so well, that he convinces himself he is insane. Clearly, Hamlet's plan to put on an antic disposition is a tragic error.

The insanity that Hamlet caused was beyond his comprehension. Throughout the play, Hamlet goes insane when he saw King Hamlet’s ghost and requested Hamlet to avenge his death. In that moment, Hamlet started going insane and promised to kill his uncle (Claudius). This topic relates to society, since there had been cases that all serial killers murder people, because they suffer from mental illness.

Firstly, Hamlet admits to Horatio that his madness is just an act when he states “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (Shakespeare 1.5.171-172). This is the first time hamlet mentions madness, and he alludes to the fact that he will be acting insane in the near future on purpose. It is also clear that Hamlet is very keen on keeping this a secret from the king, which verifies that his actions come with a strategy which proves his saneness. Furthermore, when Hamlet talks with his mother and says “Make you to ravel all this matter out that I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft.” (3.4.187-188), he proves that within his mind he believes in his sanity at all times. Additionally, Hamlet further explains that all of his actions are just a ‘mad act’ to redirect the focus off his plot. Only a sane and rational person could devise such a plan as to act insane to convince others that he is insane when he actually has complete control over his psyche. Anytime from his first mention of insanity, till the moment he dies, Hamlet never doubts his control over his

At the start of the play, Hamlet was inundated with a sadness that could only be the consequence of the murder of his father. William Shakespeare uses examples of Hamlet’s sadness from his father’s death to directly characterize Hamlet as a victim of excessive melancholy. In act one, scene one we get a depiction of Hamlet's character as he is addressing his mother and her husband, King Claudius. The King and Queen notice something has changed in Hamlet; he is constantly sad, dressed in all black, and talks in a depressing tone. Hamlet was driven into this state because of the death of his own father, King Hamlet. Hamlet describes the grief and pain he is undergoing by saying, “I have that within which passes show.” (Act I, Scene i, lines 84-86.) Furthermore, Hamlet is stating, “I have more grief inside me than you could ever see.” From the very start of the play, Shakespeare makes a point to characterize Hamlet as a victim of excessive melancholy and was delivered into a great despair from the death of his father.

Hamlet seems to be the only person still in deep mourning over his father’s passing. Gertrude has already remarried his uncle, and his uncle, now step-father, is satisfied with the happenings because he now has the crown and the queen. It is understandable why Hamlet would be suicidal because he is alone in his mourning for his father, and everyone else continues to tell him to move on and forget about his father’s tragic death.

For starters, Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle, or the king’s brother. The uncle, named Claudius, then took over the throne without anyone knowing. But, the king’s ghost came back and told Hamlet what exactly happened. That turned Hamlet into this mad machine to avenge his father’s death. He endures a ton of mental stress throughout the play, and commits murder. There is Hamlet’s love, Ophelia, that loses her father, Polonius, to a murder done by Hamlet. Ophelia then loses her mind and commits an apparent suicide by drowning herself. Modern times, it isn’t common, but it is yet very real, to suffer from depression. Depression is a slippery slope that could lead to suicide, like in Ophelia’s case. It also can make you lose your mind, like in Hamlet’s case. Common threads between this Shakespearean piece of literature and modern times can be intertwined quite easily with this mental instability