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  • Hamlet's Madness
    1,822 words
    Is Hamlet Mad? 'I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw' (II. ii. 369-370). This is a classic example of the 'wild and whirling words' (I. vs. 134) with which Hamlet hopes will persuade people to believe that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his 'antic disposition,' (I.V. 172). Hamlet is sane. Under his strange choice of imagery involving points of the compass, the weather, and hunting birds, he is announcing that he is calculated...
  • Hamlet's Ophelia William Shakespeare
    1,151 words
    Hamlet's Ophelia William Shakespeare has written many masterpiece plays and has told a vital story in almost all of them. In the play Hamlet Shakespeare uses melancholy, grief, and madness to pervade the works of a great play. Throughout the play Shakespeare uses such emotional malady within Hamlet, that the audience not only sympathizes with the tragic prince Hamlet, but to provide the very complexities necessary in understanding the tragedy of his lady Ophelia as well. It is the poor Ophelia w...
  • Great Fascination With Hamlet And The Characters
    3,099 words
    The study of Shakespeares Hamlet has been one that is very extensive as well as enormous. Books upon books have been written about this great play. About an equal amount of books, however, have been written about one character; Hamlet. A critic of Hamlet once said, a man set out to read all the books about Hamlet would have time to read nothing else, not even Hamlet. What is the great fascination with Hamlet and the characters contained within. The great intrigue comes from the ambiguity of the ...
  • Hamlet's Use Of An Antic Disposition
    1,214 words
    On How Tragedy Leads To Deception In: "The Tragedy Of Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark" On How Tragedy Leads to Deception in: "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" In the play "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark", William Shakespeare has used the theme of deception, and how its use by one or more characters leads to their downfall. Polonius explicitly stated this theme when he said to Laertes in I, ii, "By indirections find directions out". Each major character in Hamlet, in his or her own w...
  • Fake Madness
    773 words
    After Hamlet discovers the truth of his father's death, he goes through a very traumatic period, which is interpreted by many as madness. Hamlet fakes this insanity to appear un threatening to Claudius and to avoid raising suspicion of his actions. "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (II. ii. 387-8). This is a classic example of the "wild and whirling words" (I. vs. 133) with which Hamlet hopes to persuade people that he is mad. These words, h...
  • Hamlet In Madness Hath Polonius
    2,077 words
    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 unc...
  • Nature Of Hamlet's Madness
    1,446 words
    In the event of examining the nature of Hamlet's madness, we will need to probe into Hamlet's state of mind at different periods and circumstances in the play. Hamlet can be seen to be and not to be mad by different people at different stages. From one perspective, Hamlet can be seen to be mad when Ophelia goes to her father and gives a description of Hamlet's disposition when he goes to see her, also when he goes to see his mother in her closet as can be seen in his tone of voice and his murder...
  • Hamlet Plans To Fake His Madness
    1,218 words
    When we first meet Hamlet, he is a sad, dark, loathsome figure; the loss of his father and the whoring of his mother have upset him indefinitely. Like a ticking time bomb, Hamlet's noticeable temper reflects the storm of emotions and thoughts brewing in his head, and then like a catalyst, his meeting with the Ghost of King Hamlet brings his anger to a boil. With revenge in mind, Hamlet plans to fake his madness so that he may be free to pursue his father's killer. Everyone, except his close frie...
  • Hamlet Questions Polonius
    1,200 words
    An Analysis of Hamlet's 'antic disposition'; Is Hamlet mad? A close analysis of the play reveals that Hamlet is straightforward and sane. His actions and thoughts are a logical response to the situation in which he finds himself. However, he assumes antic-disposition to undercover the truth of his father's death. In the first act, Hamlet appears to be very straightforward in his actions and thoughts. When questioned by Gertrude about his melancholy appearance Hamlet says, 'Seems, madam? Nay it i...
  • Hamlet And Ophelia Melancholy
    1,405 words
    Hamlet and Ophelia Melancholy, grief, and madness have pervaded the works of a great many playwrights, and Shakespeare is not an exception. The mechanical regularities of such emotional maladies as they are presented within Hamlet, not only allow his audience to sympathize with the tragic prince Hamlet, but to provide the very complexities necessary in understanding the tragedy of his lady Ophelia as well. It is the poor Ophelia who suffers at her lover's discretion because of decisions she was ...
  • Symbolic Meaning Of Hamlet's Actions
    1,066 words
    Hamlet: 'To Be Insane or Not To Be Insane That Tis The Question' With in Hamlet, Shakespeare gives a psychological dimension to and actions of each of his characters, especially hamlet. Shakespeare gives the reader an in depth look into the mind of Hamlet. If shakespeare had not given the reader the complex psychological state of Hamlet, then yes one could say Hamlet was insane, but Shakespeare did. He made sure that there was an explanation, logical reason for all of his actions. Hamlet, at the...
  • Ghost Revisits Hamlet
    1,467 words
    Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most analyzed plays. The Danish prince is developed into a mysterious and fascinating man. A philosopher and a fencer, he is a man disgusted with the rottenness of life around him and is obligated to set things right. Under the guise of madness he attempts to achieve his ends; yet there is much to puzzle over. Was Hamlet really such a good actor that he could fool everyone into believing in his madness or was he truly mad And, why did he wait so long to carry out h...
  • Severity Of Madness In Macbeth And Hamlet
    984 words
    Have we all gone mad Did you ever ask yourself, have we all gone mad It seems that in our time confusion, disorder, and madness seem to reign chaotically throughout the world. Then, we seem to look at ourselves and wonder, who really is mad The people around us are so diverse that we sometimes forget what normal is and we falsely accuse others of being insane. The presence of madness is also a very integral part of some great literary works. Shakespeare, for example, used several "mad" character...
  • Tragedy Of Hamlet
    525 words
    Plucking Out the Heart of His Mystery: Was Hamlet Mad "I will be brief. Your noble son is mad", states Polonium (II. ii. 92). "O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown, Ophelia exclaims ( . i. 142). "Alas, he's mad", concludes Gertrude ( . iv. 107). I am but mad north-north-west; when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw, professes Hamlet (II. ii. 331). Four hundred years later the debate still rages. It seems odd Hamlet's sanity would be so widely debated for centuries when we nee...
  • First Step To Convincing Polonius Hamlet
    3,461 words
    Hamlet Knows Exactly Where He is Going Madness fascinated William Shakespeare's contemporaries, perhaps in part because it was still not entirely clear how or when madness as a disease was to be distinguished from demonic possession or spiritual ecstasy. Mad characters were a staple of William Shakespeare's stage and such figures were particularly associated with revenge plays. Hamlet's distraction, then, is notable in part because it is feigned. In Hamlet is the exploration and implicit critici...
  • Very Dull And Dark Version Of Hamlet
    790 words
    after watching the presentation of Hamlet by Mel Gibson I noticed that this is a very different description of the play than that I had pictured while reading Hamlet. The play that I read left many details to the imagination and this play I watched had all the details placed into the play but some of them were quite different to what I expected. There are many flaws with this production and the directors views of how the events happened. Hamlet was acted out very well in this production. There a...
  • Madness In Hamlet
    2,075 words
    Shakespeare's tragic hero, Hamlet, and his sanity can arguably be discussed. Many portions of the play support his loss of control in his actions, while other parts uphold his ability of dramatic art. Madness in Hamlet has been a popular topic of discussion by both critics and readers for some time. It is quite simple to see why. The play gives us evidence to prove the power of the claim of Hamlet's true madness, or, rather, a view that the actions and words coming from the apparent madness, is ...
  • Hamlet's Reflection
    409 words
    It is reasonable to wonder what Shakespeare had in mind while writing Hamlet. After all, Shakespeare wasn't a philosopher or historian, or even a literary critic. He was a playwright. He didn't leave us critical essays examining his work. It is left to us to examine his work and decide for ourselves, if we care to, what Shakespeare was thinking. Did he know that he was writing a drama of deep psychological significance, a play which would eventually be viewed and read the world over, produced ma...
  • Hamlet's Contribution Toan Instrument Of Life
    1,080 words
    An Instrument Of Life Hamlet's Contribution ToAn Instrument Of Life Hamlet's Contribution To The Play Samuel Johnson writes "Hamlet is through the piece rather an instrument than an agent. ' This statement is true, it is exhibited in several ways. The manner in which Hamlet's father manifests himself is an indication of his true intentions. Hamlet acts as an earthly means of revenge, he is the output for actions directed by a mortal being. Inner weakness has riddled Hamlet's life, it runs rampan...
  • Ophelia's Insanity Against Hamlet's Madness
    4,882 words
    In both Hamlet and King Lear, Shakespeare incorporates a theme of madness with two characters: one truly mad, and one only acting mad to serve a motive. The madness of Hamlet is frequently disputed. This paper argues that the contrapuntal character in each play, namely Ophelia in Hamlet and Edgar in King Lear, acts as a balancing argument to the other character's madness or sanity. King Lear's more decisive distinction between Lear's frailty of mind and Edgar's contrived madness works to better ...

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