This conventional form of insanity can be directly attributed to the character of Ophelia.
"Though I am not splentative and rash / Yet have I in me something dangerous (line 283; Act V Sc. i)." Madness, as seen in its conventional sense is most commonly associated with a loss of the ability to reason and think rationally. This conventional form of insanity can be directly attributed to the character of Ophelia. Ophelia grew up completely dependent on the overwhelming outside influences surrounding her and as a result, was unable to think independently for herself. Once these outside influences disappeared, Ophelia was unable to corralle her circumstances and therefore lost the ability function normally in her and society. Hamlet madness was developed under different circumstances from those of Ophelia. In contrast to Ophelia, Hamlet became mad through his overly developed rational. Through his intense intellectual interpretations, Hamlet exceeded his mental capacity. In essence, Ophelia's madness is a result of her lack of reason while Hamlets' results from his overly developed ability to reason. Ophelia is clearly a product of her environment. Carol Neely She has grown up without a mother and was ruled by the men around her. She has been brought up to accept orders and not form her own opinions. Her father and brother feel that it is their duty to dictate her "moral, intellectual, even psychological development"(Neely, 2) They remain blind to the
Compare the two soliloquies of Act 2 scene 2, and act 3 scene 1. What do these speeches reveal about Hamlet's state of mind?
Compare the two soliloquies of Act 2 scene 2, and act 3 scene 1. What do these speeches reveal about Hamlet's state of mind? In these two substantial speeches, the character of Hamlet Junior is revealed, and portrays a lot about the made-believe character's state of mind. Shakespeare, who has shown Hamlet to be aberrant, in a sense that he makes absurd remarks which no other character seems to understand, but in actual fact has a lot of meaning in them. At the beginning of the first soliloquy, Hamlet's self hatred is exposed and Shakespeare emphasis's his isolation. He starts by saying, " Now I am alone" which is a cleaver use of language by Shakespeare, because it is a sort of pun. One meaning being that he is saying it literally and telling the audience he is talking to them, or he could in fact be referring to his close friends and family, trying to say that he is alone in society and doesn't have nobody he can rely on, or trust. This is because the only people in his life he thought he could trust have let him down. Gertrude, Ophelia and most importantly Claudius sit on top of his list. Hamlet's self-hatred is shown when he says, "o what a...slave am I!" He feels like he has betrayed his father for not believing him. Shakespeare shows the audience that he has low self-esteem for not taking his much promised revenge to the spirit of Hamlet Senior. This is because he asks
Is Hamlet acting or is he really insane?
Hamlets confrontation with Gertrude leaves her questioning her son's sanity. This is because she attests to him talking to thin air, which he claims was his father's ghost (3,4). It seems like Gertrude has every right to think Hamlet is mad. Her judgement is also fuelled by Polonius' murder. Hamlet did not know that Polonius was the spy behind the curtains 'how now, a rat?' (3,4,24). Hamlets response to his mother is not full of love either. He is disgusted with his mother's actions and is not ashamed of letting her know. '...Live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed...' he does not hid his hatred for Claudius and Gertrude's marriage. But Gertrude does not seem to understand why her son holds such strong feelings. She is clueless throughout most of the play. 'As kill a king?' Gertrude does not realise the real situation and how much hatred the two men bare. She is one of the reasons that stopped Claudius getting hamlet killed throughout the play. And when he finally decides to, she dies before both of them. Gertrude is not the only woman in Hamlets life. He also confronted his lover Ophelia, where he came across as-yet again- misogynist. However, we cannot condemn Hamlet to hating women because we only see him two in the play. Ophelia rejected him and his mother married his uncle. But this is not surprising because Hamlet distrusts everyone and tries to push everyone away,
Choose one scene or incident, which seems to you to be of crucial importance in the development of the play. Explain its importance and outline the dramatic consequences of decisions which are made or events which take place.
HAMLET ESSAY Jean Forrest Choose one scene or incident, which seems to you to be of crucial importance in the development of the play. Explain its importance and outline the dramatic consequences of decisions which are made or events which take place. Hamlet is a play which seems to me to have an incident of crucial importance which has dramatic consequences. This incident occurs in Act III, scene III, where the King Claudius is kneeling in thought, too guilty to pray to God. This provides Hamlet with the key opportunity to put an end to his procrastination and kill the King to seek revenge, yet Hamlet does not act. This inaction has many dramatic consequences, one of which eventually is Hamlet's own death. From the outset, Hamlet has been conveyed as a fairly sensitive young adult, he is very indecisive and for much of the play, struggles between his duty and his conscience. Hamlet is a thinker, and this may in fact, have proved to be his downfall. He finds spontaneity impossible and tortures himself with his thoughts from Act I scene V, where his father tells him of his uncle's actions and begs for revenge to be sought, until the final scene, where Hamlet finally takes action. Although depressed and upset about his father's death and his mother's hasty marriage, Hamlet is completely
Discussing the sanity of Hamlet.
Throughout the entire play, Hamlet portrays an irrational behavior that affects the work as a whole. His sanity is questionable and he could have been pretending to be mad in order to kill King Claudius. Through his conversations with Horatio, it is seen that he plans to pretend to be mad, but his actions during the course of the play call the reality of his madness into question. Hamlet's first act of strange behavior is demonstrated through spurned love. Hamlet approaches Ophelia, stares at her, simply runs his hand down her arm, and leaves. Polonius uses this action as a reasoning to Hamlet's irrational behavior , stating that Hamlet is mad for her love. Although Hamlet does show complete madness when speaking to Polonius, during his soliloquies he demonstrates complete lucidity when he plans to find guilt in the King. Hamlet reenacts a play of his father's murder and uses his madness to make sly remarks in order to prick the king's conscience. His behavior can be judged reasonable if his madness is indeed an act to provoke responses from the King and at last avenge his father. There is a cause to question whether Hamlet's mind is entirely stable because after the play, he encounters Gertrude and loses complete control of his temper. During this enraged scene, he encounters the ghost of his father again, but Gertrude does not seem to see the ghost. Because only Hamlet
Hamlet. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one of the main themes is the discrepancy between appearance and reality.
In the play 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare, one of the main themes is the discrepancy between appearance and reality. The development of this theme through the plot, soliloquy and imagery help to reinforce the player's role in the play and directs the audience to where their allegiances should lie for the climax of the play. The theme appearance versus reality is clearly evident throughout this Shakespearean play; it is introduced at the very beginning through Claudius' speech to the court. The structure and rhythm of this blank verse carries him through but the imagery that Shakespeare uses signals to the audience the corruption in Denmark - he uses phrases such as 'defeated joy', 'one auspicious and one drooping eye' and 'wisest sorrow'. These opposing images and hollow phrases reveal the hypocrisy of the diplomat's words; how can a person have 'one auspicious and one drooping eye' unless they are duplicitous? Claudius' opening speech is also eloquent, relaxed and so carefully structured that it appears rehearsed - he deals with three items of business before confronting his black-suited nephew: Old King Hamlet's death; the threat from Fortinbras' army; Laertes' impending departure to France. Shakespeare here signals to the audience that Claudius is uneasier than he appears by leaving his nephew and son-in-law to deal with last. In my opinion, the exposition of
Shakespeare's
SHAKESPERE A tragic play is one in which the protagonist dies through disaster evoked by a combination of personal faults and circumstances out with the character's control. Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is true to this genre, depicting a noble, but flawed, character that is subject to outrageous twists of fate ultimately leading to his demise. However, to what extent can Hamlet's downfall be attributed to his own failings? From the start of the play, the reader is shown a tormented Hamlet, mourning the loss of his father and insulted by his mother's hasty remarriage to his uncle. However, this sadness and disappointment quickly turns to wrath as the ghost of his father reveals to him that it was Hamlet's new stepfather who murdered him. As the play unfolds, all these factors play an integral role in the young prince's untimely end. It is also notable that Hamlet had little control over these events, seeing as his father was killed while he was abroad at university and even if he were there, he would not have been able to intervene, as he would not have known of Claudius' murderous intentions. Similarly, Hamlet was unable to stop Gertrude's marriage to his uncle seen as his protests to that end fell on deaf ears. However, these actions, in themselves, did not cause the massacre that would end the play but rather Hamlet's reactions. For example, Hamlet possessed an unhealthy
Why is Hamlet able to kill in hot blood and not cold blood?
During my essay, I have tried to establish the following issues: * Why Hamlet is able to kill in hot blood and not cold blood. * How Hamlet can be ruthless in contrast to his delay in seeking revenge * Hamlet's reaction with men of action (Laertes and Fortinbras) * Hamlet's treatment of Gertrude and Ophelia * How Hamlets madness was caused by revenge. The analysis I have formed is based on information from the following: * Cambridge School Shakespeare - Hamlet * Zeffirelli Film - Hamlet (starring Mel Gibson) * Kenneth Brannagh film - Hamlet In Act 1, we see Hamlet as a depressive and grieving for his Father. He is also full of anger against his Mother because of her marrying her late husband's brother within a couple of weeks of his Fathers death. I was under the conclusion that Hamlet could be suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, and that Barnardo, Francisco, Marcellus, (the Sentries at the beginning of the play), and Horatio (fellow scholar and friend), could well be multiple personalities of Hamlet. The sentries there to protect Hamlet from the new reign of his uncle, and Horatio there to protect and guide Hamlet. These five characters are the only characters in the play to see the ghost - the ghost appears whilst Hamlet is in Gertrude's chamber (Act 3, Scene 4), but Gertrude is unable to see her dead husband "Alas, how is't
In what ways, and how effectively, do you think Shakespeare presents the theme of revenge in Hamlet?
"In what ways, and how effectively, do you think Shakespeare presents the theme of revenge in Hamlet?" "Hamlet" contains particular elements which categorise it as a revenge tragedy, a popular genre in late 1500's and early 1600's. Revenge tragedies often comprise of certain characters who are appointed to pursue vengeance against a particular person. In addition, there is frequently a central plot, for example Hamlet's revenge on Claudius for his father's death, and minor sub plots; Laertes' revenge on Hamlet and Fortinbras' attempt to regain the lands his father lost. Revenge tragedies often incorporate similar plot lines, which are usually relatively simple, and they regularly contain similar features, such as a ghost, a hesitating revenger, a villain and concepts of madness, all of which are featured in "Hamlet." Although the play is much more complex than a stereotypical revenge tragedy, one of the central themes is revenge, and Shakespeare portrays this through three entirely different characters. The main plot focuses on Hamlet, however there are intricate links to Laertes and Fortinbras. Shakespeare effectively presents the three revenge characters as possessing parallel lives, especially Fortinbras and Hamlet. In using 5 Acts, Shakespeare does more than present the popular genre of revenge tragedy and through the structure of these he effectively uses sub plots, as
Revenge in Hamlet
Revenge in Hamlet Revenge causes one to act blindly through anger, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye, but this principle is not always an intelligent theory to live by. In the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare the theme of revenge is displayed by, Fortinbras, Laertes, and young Hamlet. There were three major families in the Tragedy of Hamlet. These were the family of King Fortinbras, the family of Polonius, and the family of King Hamlet. The heads of each of these families are all slaughtered within the play. Fortinbras, King of Norway, was killed by King Hamlet; slain by sword during a man-to-man battle. "...our valiant Hamlet-for so this side of our known world esteem'd him-did slay this Fortinbras." (p.13). This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a seal'd compact. Polonius was an advisor to the King, and father to Laertes and Ophelia. He was nosy and arrogant, and he did not trust his children. Young Hamlet killed him while he was eves dropping on a conversation between Hamlet and his mother. "How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!" (p.171). King Hamlet was the King of Denmark, and Hamlet's father. He had killed King Fortinbras, only to be killed by his brother, Claudius. "...Murder most foul as in the best it is, but this most foul, strange, and unnatural." (p.57).
