Death, madness, and lies are the perfect themes to make up an ideal tragic story. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, madness steals the spotlight as the ultimate character within itself. Madness took hold of two important characters: Ophelia and Hamlet. Hamlet is only acting as though he is mad, whereas Ophelia is truly driven mad.
Hamlet goes through some very troubling situations which he seems to act in an insane manner. He is convincing though that he was " not in madness, but mad in craft"(3.4.108). Hamlet is the prince of Denmark. King Hamlet, his father, died recently. Shortly following King Hamlet's death, Gertrude, the mother of Hamlet, married the brother of her dead husband. Claudius, the brother of Old King Hamlet is now the King and husband of Gertrude. Hamlet returned home to for both the celebration of his mother's wedding to his uncle and for the funeral of his father. Hamlet was bombarded by many situations at the start of the play which his psyche had to deal with. The quick marriage of his mother was upsetting and disgusting, he best expressed as: "Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left the flushing in her galled eyes, she married. O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets" (1.2.38).
Following the celebration of the King and Queens marriage, Horatio reported to Hamlet that they had seen a ghost during the night watch. Hamlet was shocked at the description of the ghost and he said to himself, "my father's spirit in arms? All is not well. I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come" (1.3.42). He spoke to a ghost, which was Old Hamlet, and stated that his death was a murder, by the hand of his brother, Claudius. The ghost told this to Hamlet by saying, "the serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown" (1.5.51). Hamlet's personality underwent severe stresses due to the situations encountered and consequently, he had to find a way to solve the dilemma of avenging his father's murder.
