The Madness Of Hamlet And Ophelia - 1131 Words

The Madness of Hamlet and Ophelia Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In it, a young, Danish prince struggles with the death of his father and the betrayal of his mother. This struggle is so profound; it shakes its main character Hamlet to the core and brings him to the brink of sanity. Shakespeare uses madness to convey important information throughout the play especially through Hamlet and his love interest, Ophelia. Hamlet does not always appear to be mad, in fact throughout the play his sanity is questioned by the reader and other characters. Whether real or faked, Hamlet and Ophelia’s madness reveal to us more about their characters, opinions and secrets than their regular discourse. As demonstrated throughout the play, Hamlet’s madness is evident whether real or fake. In his own words, â€Å"I am mad but north-north-west: / When the wind southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw† (II. ii. 377-78). Hamlet is claiming that he is frequently seen as crazy. However, he claims that he can choose the moments to be mad. Hamlet is speaking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern stating that Hamlet knows what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern plan to do. The reader is again asked to consider whether Hamlet is faking his madness or whether he is, in fact, mad. In a monologue, he says, â€Å"How strange or odd some’er I bear / myself / As I perchance hereafter shall think / meet / To pit an antic disposition on† (I. V. 190- 92). The death of Hamlet’s father is something Hamlet cannotShow MoreRelatedThe Madness Of Hamlet And Ophelia1296 Words   |  6 Pages11 December 2015 The Madness of Hamlet and Ophelia Psychotic behavior is prevalent in Shakespeare’s Hamlet as two of his characters, Hamlet and Ophelia, exhibit madness during the play. The play commences after Claudius killed King Hamlet, leaving him in purgatory. Hamlet, after discovering this fact, feigns madness, which he calls an â€Å"antic disposition† (1.5.192) in his plot for revenge to ultimately free his father. Ophelia, on the other hand, succumbs to madness after the death of herRead MoreTheme Of Madness In Hamlet And Ophelia996 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout the centuries, the medicines used to treat madness have varied; however, the ultimate treatment has remained the same: negligence or ignorance. During the 14th and 15th centuries, mental illness was viewed as an inhabitation of an individual by demons or evil spirits; the method utilized to cure this ailment was a combination of exorcism and rituals. The patients were usually placed in hospices then asylums. During the 16th through 20th cent uries, mentally ill patients were not often treated;Read MoreTheme of Madness and Causes: Hamlet and Ophelia Essay1788 Words   |  8 PagesIn Shakespeares Hamlet, there are two characters that display qualities of insanity. 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He tells Ophelia he never loved her, callsRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - Ophelia s Struggle And Madness1088 Words   |  5 Pages1 Pregnant with Madness— Ophelia’s Struggle and Madness in Hamlet Yi-Chi Chen Intergrams 11.2(2011): http://benz.nchu.edu.tw/~intergrams/intergrams/112/112-cyc.pdf ISSN: 1683-4186 Abstract Madness in Hamlet is one of the crucial themes for Shakespeare to depict the chaotic turbulence in the Hamlet family and the court of Denmark. Due to Claudius’s usurpation of the Old Hamlet’s crown and queen, characters such as Hamlet, Ophelia, and Gertrude suffer seriously from betrayal, resentment, and enragementRead MoreThe Relationship Between Ophelia and Hamlet: William Shakespeare970 Words   |  4 PagesThe play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, looks at the issue of madness and how it effects the characters of the play. Madness can be looked at from very different perspectives, such as strong and uncontrollable emotions, a person’s desires, and also a persons mental stability. Throughout the play, the audience is questioning the sanity of the main character, Hamlet, as he goes on his quest for revenge. The people around him also show signs of madness, such as Ophelia and Claudius, but in differentRead More Ophelia as a Foil to Shakespeares Hamlet Essay875 Words   |  4 PagesOphelia as a Foil to Hamlet  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚      In Shakespeares tragedy, Hamlet, the audience finds a docile, manipulated, scolded, victimized young lady named Ophelia. Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet. Plays have foils to help the audience better understand the more important characters in the play.   The character of Ophelia is necessary so that the audience will give Hamlet a chance to get over his madness and follow his heart.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Similarities are an important part of being a foil. OneRead MoreMadness In Hamlet Essay869 Words   |  4 Pagesneed of an intervention. In Shakespeares Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, decides to fake his own derangement in order to prove his uncle Claudius guilty of the murder of his brother, King Hamlet. To avoid anyone discovering him, he maintains his crazy act in front of his own love interest, Ophelia, perplexing her to the point of lunacy. One of the main contributors to Ophelia’s authentic madness is Hamlet’s pretense of insanity, leading to both Hamlet and Ophelia’s ultimate defeat. From theRead MoreHamlet and Ophelia’s Madness Essay674 Words   |  3 PagesThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is one of Shakespeare’s most tragic plays. Most of the characters in this play suffered a heartbreaking death, although, all of the characters faced anger, regret, madness or distress. Madness was a reoccurring theme in this play, two characters portrayed this more than others. Ophelia and Hamlet faced similar fates, with similarities and differences along the way, all to do with their madness. Hamlet and Ophelia were two young people in love and were supposedlyRead MoreAppearence vs. Reality in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay1671 Words   |  7 Pages amp;#65279;Appearance vs. Reality nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, there is a dominant and overwhelming theme that is concurrent throughout the play. Throughout the play, all the characters appear as one thing on the outside, yet on the inside they are completely different. The theme of appearance versus reality surrounds Hamlet due to the fact that the characters portray themselves as one person on the outside, and one different on the inside. In the play, Claudius