Is Hamlet Mad?
Perhaps the world's most famous mental patient, Hamlet's sanity has been
argued over by countless learned scholars for hundreds of years. As a mere
student of advanced-level English Literature, I doubt I can add anything new to
the debate in 2000 words, but I can look at the evidence supporting or
dispelling each argument and come to my own conclusion.
Hamlet is obviously experiencing grief and despair right from the beginning of
the novel, with the death of his father and his uncle's seizure of the throne
and rapid weddign of Hamlet's mother, and we can observe his great grief
bordering on irrational suicidal tendencies as early as Act II Sc I, where he
gives his first soliloquy. He ...
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the ghost of his father has such an effect on him, which is a
trigger for all the subsequent events in the play.
Moving on to the fourth scene, the next interesting speech is on l. 23. It is a
long and complicated speech, but its general gist is that if a person has one
fault, no matter how virtuous they may be in other ways, they are soiled by "the
stamp of one defect". This speech is quite ironic, because it is Hamlet's "one
defect" (his hesitancy and inability to take action), regardless of his other
qualities (such as honour and integrity), will be the main reason why the play
ends so tragically.
Although we are supposed to suspect that "something is rotten in the state of
Denmark", as Horatio puts it, from the start of the play, it is only when Hamlet
talks with the ghost of his father in Act I Sc V that we realise the full extent
of his uncle's treachery. When he first sees the ghost, Horatio and Marcellus
try to restrain him, Horatio saying:
"What if it tempt ...
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and Guildenstern:
"... Something have you heard
Of Hamlet's transformation; so call it,
Since nor th' exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was."
Claudius is keen to talk of Hamlet's rumoured madness, because he thinks Hamlet
might know something about his treachery and wants to deflect his guilt and
detract from Hamlet's credibility. To the audience, who have already heard the
ghost's speech, Claudius seems to be going over the top, saying that he can't
imagine what has rendered Hamlet mad and going back to childhood reminisces.
This is similar to one of Shakespeare's other tragedies, Macbeth, where Macbeth
goes weaves all sorts of ...
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Is Hamlet Mad?. (2004, October 9). Retrieved April 24, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Is-Hamlet-Mad/15603
"Is Hamlet Mad?." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 9 Oct. 2004. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Is-Hamlet-Mad/15603>
"Is Hamlet Mad?." Essayworld.com. October 9, 2004. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Is-Hamlet-Mad/15603.
"Is Hamlet Mad?." Essayworld.com. October 9, 2004. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Is-Hamlet-Mad/15603.
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