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Hamlet: From Feigning Madness to Authentic Madness |
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Hamlet: From Feigned Madness to Authentic Madness
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a most mysterious and complex character, his psyche probably being the subject of more psychoanalysis than any other character in English literature. Hamlet is a play about the main character, Hamlet, plotting vengeance against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered his father, Old Hamlet, and has taken over his kingdom of Denmark. Not too often do we come across such a story in which a man who feigns his madness ultimately immerses himself so deep into this fabrication to a point of actually assuming authentic madness, as is the case in this drama. Though Hamlet initially feigned his madness, this madness progressively overcame him and transpired into an authentic lunacy.
Shakespeare suggests some instability in Hamlet’s mind even before learning of his father’s murder. Before Hamlet is aware of his father’s ghost, his father’s spirit begins to haunt his mind: “My father- methinks I see my father/ In my mind’s eye” (I. ii. 184-185). The fact that Hamlet sometimes imagines the presence of his father suggests that his mind is becoming unsettled under the trauma of his father’s death. Upon hearing of his father’s death, Hamlet
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Below are additional random excerpts from the paper...
Initially, Hamlet was successful at faking his madness. Throughout the play, he remains sane to Horatio, and mad towards Ophelia. One such instance where Hamlet acts insane is when talking to Ophelia at the play: “For look you how cheerfully/ my mother looks, and my father died within’s two hours” (III. ii. 126-127). Ophelia answers, “Nay, ‘tis twice two months, my lord” (III. ii. 128). Ophelia is thinking that Hamlet has reached insanity as he distorts his perception of time, and reality in general. However, what he said is not so outrageous. He did say “two hours” instead of “two months,” when he could easily have said something more absurd, like “7 minutes ago.” This brings me to believe that he really still is a sane, rational person, who is putting on an act. Here, Hamlet is still able to separate himself from the insane person he feigns.
The single event that initially drives Hamlet into madness is his encounter with the Ghost. Before this personal encounter, Horatio warns him of the danger of following the Ghost, arguing that it “might deprive your sovereignty of reason/ And draw you into madness” (I. iv. 73-74). Horatio believes that the Ghost is a demon in the form of Old Hamlet and will send Hamlet towards danger. Hamlet, on the other hand, is convinced that the Ghost is in fact his father and follows it, ignoring his friends’ pleas. The ghost does in fact lead Hamlet into madness, as Horatio foresaw. Hora
Some topics in this essay:
Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
Initially Hamlet,
III Scene,
Claudius Hamlet’s,
Ghost Hamlet,
Rosencrantz Guildenstern,
Hamlet Claudius,
Ironically Hamlet,
feigned madness,
hamlet’s actions,
Scene Ghost,
father’s death,
Act III,
iii scene iv,
scene iv hamlet,
iv hamlet,
hamlet’s mind,
actual madness,
hamlet cope,
iii ii,
claudius murdered,
act iii scene,
claudius murdered father,
murdered father,
murdered father hamlet,
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Approximate Word count = 997
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)  |
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