King Hamlet And The Play example essay topic

Sanity: Boundaries of the Mind The mind is a beautiful thing. The boundaries that someone can extend the irrationality is different in each and every person. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the balance of sanity and madness is tested. Hamlet's way of thinking is changed, but in a way that his personality is only a front. By looking at the different events that Hamlet overcame, we can observe the passion for acting that many readers do not come across; knowing the importance of acting is imperative when questioning Hamlet's sanity, since he is only acting insane, and is rational and in control of himself throughout the play. For those who do not recall the story of Hamlet, this play is one of revenge, scandal, and lies.

Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is living a life that one would not want to live. His father, the King, was murdered by his brother, who is now married to Hamlet's mother. Hamlet beings his brilliant acting and conniving when he learns that he must avenge his father's murder. Not only does Hamlet fool his family when acting insane, but the genius of his work has fooled critics all along. As the play begins, the ever popular question "Who's there?"Betrays the insecurity of Hamlet's world" (Salkeld and Shakespeare). Starting the play with question was pure genius on Shakespeare's part; the symbolism of the questionable state of Denmark which is "in a state of shock and confusion", along with the people in it, leads the readers right into the questionably unstable life of Hamlet (Salkeld, Strachey).

In act I, scene V of the play, the audience learns of the "antic disposition" that Hamlet will be putting on (Shakespeare). In this scene, he tells the audience that he plans to act insane in order to get away with killing Claudius. He believes that by acting insane no one will suspect him of doing anything such as that. To many critics the "whole conduct of Hamlet's madness is too ludicrous" and in fact he has really gone mad (Stubbers). For Hamlet to come out and say that he is planning to act insane is, on the other hand, "purely and adequately a man of genius" (Strachey). Hamlet's ability to imitate someone who is insane is astonishing.

His ability to do so is what has confused readers and critics. Not only can his sanity be seen, but throughout different scenes his control and stability shine through. When Hamlet comes up with the idea to put on a play, which he calls The " Mouse-trap" the readers can see that under the complete ciaos there is a brilliant mind at work. All along Hamlet had been trying to prove that Claudius has killed King Hamlet and the play was the perfect way to do it. The " Mouse-trap" is about the murder of a king, meant to be King Hamlet, and the murder was of a king dying by poison being put into his ear, exactly the way that Claudius had killed King Hamlet.

Hamlet wanted to see the guilty reaction of Claudius and hope that everyone would then know the truth. In act scene ii, Hamlet is discussing the play with the actors. From the beginning of the play, Hamlet has been acing insane, and this moment shows that excellent acting ability. Before the play commences, Hamlet is giving the players tips and advice on acting and how the play should be read. He tells the players to "Speak the speech I pray you as pronounced it to you, /tripping ly in the tongue, but if you mouth it as many of / your players do, I had as life the town-crier spoke my / lines " (Shakespeare). What he is trying to emphasize is that he want them to make the play very believable and as real as possible.

Hamlet is trying to makethe play come to life in a way that people can see that the actors are portraying real life. After Hamlet gives the players the lesson, a question comes to mind; what would Hamlet know about acting? When Hamlet starts giving the players tips and advice about how to act, it shows that he knows a lot more about the art of acting than nay one anticipated of game him credit for. As the play proceeds, Hamlet becomes fixed on the reaction of Claudius. When the Player Claudius pours poison in the ear of the Player King, Claudius stands and asks for lights. He cannot believe what he is seeing.

In the film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Mel Gibson plays the role of Hamlet and this scene shows the horror in Claudius's face beautifully. In this film, Claudius appears as though he had seen a ghost. His eyes became full of thought and emotion and his demeanor changed from very dignified to be wilde red. He seemed lost and confused with what he had just witnessed (Zeffirelli). Hamlet's ability to control his thoughts and furnish these exceptional ideas gives the impression that he is in control of his mind.

Anyone who has lost his or her mind would not think of such a way to frame someone. Although the "Mouse-trap" play didn't work exactly the way that Hamlet had wanted it to, Claudius still brought plenty of attention to himself. After the play Hamlet found Claudius along, where he was praying. This situation, too many critics, is what illustrates Hamlet's insanity, but on the other hand many believer it shows emotional control. This would be the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius, but Hamlet stops. He stops and thinks about what he is doing.

His stable mind comes to the understanding that if he kills Claudius now that he will never be brought to public humiliation and no one will know the truth of his father's murder. That was the purpose of the play, to show that Claudius was guilty, and in killing him now that would not be shown. Some critics who find the cause of "Hamlet's delay in his internal view the prince as a man of great moral integrity who is impelled to commit an act that goes against his deepest principles" ("Overview of Hamlet"). His deepest principles can be taken in different ways: one being that just because Claudius is praying that would be reason enough not to kill him. When religion is put into the picture, killing someone can be much harder, especially while that person is trying to confess his or her sins to the Lord. Another would be for those who believe in a theory that "external influences assert that the prince delays killing Claudius not only because he does not want Claudius to die repentant, and hence to go unpunished in the afterlife", but Hamlet wants Claudius to suffer in the afterlife in hell for what he has done to his father ("Overview of Hamlet").

Any insane person would not have come up with such reasons to not kill someone. Hamlet had the capacity to stop himself from killing Claudius, even thought that is what he has wanted from the beginning. Hamlet's mind and willpower to finish what he had started to the best of his abilities is what proves that he is not insane. His ability to fool his peers and control his mind was captivation. Within the play are many examples of Hamlet's capability to control his thoughts and actions. From acting out his father's death, to holding back from killing Claudius when he had the chance to.

"To be or not to be", sane or insane has been the question of many since the play was written (Shakespeare). Hamlet had the ability to control his emotions and ultimately was able to avenge his father's murder. He may have lost his life in order to finish his fight, but he never lost the ability to control the fight. Shakespeare was able to portray insanity through Hamlet's acting that fools critics every where.

Hamlet takes his feelings of revenge and l oneness and turns those feeling into the performance to fool all. Being able to fool even his mother is what gave Hamlet the ability to complete his plans of murdering Claudius. Hamlet eventually avenged his father's death and accomplished that by keeping his thoughts and emotions in order. The mind is a beautiful thing, which wasn't wasted.

Bibliography

Overview of Hamlet". Gale 2003 Gale Research.
Student Resource Center. BlinnCollege Library, Bryan TX. 28 Nov. 2004 web.
Salkeld, Duncan. "Madness in Shakespearean Tragedy". Shakespearean Criticismvol. 35. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Roberts, Edgar V., Henry E. Jacobs, Eds. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, Seventh Edition, Upper River, Pearson, 2004.
1306-1406. Strachey, Edward. "Essay on Madness (Hamlet)". Gale 2003.
Gale Research. StudentResouce Center. BlinnCollege Library, Bryan, TX 28 Nov. 2004 web.
Stubbers, George / Thomas Hanmer. "Critical Heritage". 1.1975.
vol. 71 Zeffirelli, Franco, Dir. Hamlet. Perf. Mel Gibson, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Bates, and Glenn Close, Warner Bros, 1991.