NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Over the centuries, many writers, thinkers, and students have studied the works of William Shakespeare. One of the most analyzed plays in history is Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet. The most common topic of scrutiny is Hamlets insanity. Is Hamlets madness a reality, or is it actually a clever the clever plan he leads us to believe it is? This ambiguous play allows the reader to pass his or her own judgment on Hamlets mentality, which in turn causes much confusion as to what the correct diagnosis is. As the reader puts the pieces together and begins to unfold the true feelings and actions of Hamlet, it becomes obvious what the truth is.
Hamlets antic disposition is a reality, and his rationalization for his mad behavior is nothing more than a clever deceit. Each character has his or her own account of Hamlets mentality, and for the reasoning behind his behavior. All agree that he has gone insane, but the verdict on why varies for each character, depending on their relationship with Hamlet. Characters tried to explain Hamlets antic disposition by means of associating to thwarted ambition, heart breaking anguish, and denied love. In the workings of their thoughts, the characters inadvertently reveal something about their own desires, emotions and experiences to the reader. (Lehmann) Gertrude's reason for Hamlets insanity is almost ironic, because although she draws near to the truth, her explanation receives no real attention. Gertrude claims that she is sure it is his fathers death and her hasty marriage to Claudius that caused Hamlets strange behavior.
Gertrude is the expression of what most modern observers, and some Elizabethan audiences, would have seen as the natural reason for Hamlets antic disposition, and would have expected that the characters would come to see this and take some steps to resolve the problem. However, the idea is given no other serious consideration. Other main characters ponder the idea, but no serious action is ever taken to prove or dismiss the theory. It is as if the characters, especially Claudius, pretend that it was never mentioned, as if it were a taboo topic. (Paint) Gertrude's admission of her idea of the reason serves two purposes: She gets the idea out in the open when it is obvious no one else has thought of it. It also reveals her own guilty feelings for her actions.
She knows now that Hamlet has suffered far greater than she had anticipated, and she feels guilty for instilling those feelings on him. However, she does little to reform her ways until it is too late to do anything. In the bedroom scene (Act IV, Scene II), Hamlet lets his mother in on his feelings about her relationship with Claudius outright, instead of beating around the bush with snide and sarcastic remarks as he had been doing up to that point. He finally reaches her, but he is too late because he has already murdered Polonius, an irrevocable act of passion. Now it is too late for amendment because now Hamlet is obviously much farther gone than originally thought.
Gertrude has managed to avoid the truth long enough not to have to face it, but in the time it took her to admit her guilt she has lost her son. The character of Claudius is interesting because he does all he can to avoid the truth. In the way that Gertrude doesnt push her idea, Claudius doesnt encourage her to. He knows all along that Hamlet doesnt like him, but he assumes its because of his marriage to Gertrude and his claim to the throne. Slowly he becomes suspicious of Hamlets knowledge, and the paranoia eats away at him until the climactic play within a play.
Once he understands the plot of the play, The Mousetrap, it is painfully obvious that Hamlet knows the truth of what happened to King Hamlet. It is now a matter of whether Hamlet will tell the truth or not. In a way, his insanity, or feigned insanity is a gift to Claudius. Hamlets feigned insanity can work two ways.
He can use it to gather knowledge as he originally intends to, and then come out with what he has learned in the end. The other side to it is that he is almost sealing his own fate by pretending to be mad. Who will believe a mad man when he starts pointing his finger? (Weller) Claudius still doesnt know that Hamlet is pretending to be insane, though. He just figures that his insanity is a result of knowing about the instances surrounding his fathers death. Polonius, advisor to the king, is positive he knows the truth when he claims that Hamlets madness is a result of unrequited love. Initially, one of the most accepted causes for Hamlets instability is that of denied love, conjured by the self fulfilling Polonius. (Armour, 22) When Ophelia comes rushing to her father to tell him about Hamlets visit to her in the sewing closet, he immediately decides that Hamlet is mad because Ophelia doesnt love him in return.
Polonius tells Ophelia to cut off all ties with Hamlet, and reports to the King with his news. Although the Queen doesnt truly believe that this is the reason, she is the obedient wife to the king and agrees that it could be the answer. This leads to a group effort to spy on Hamlet, using Ophelia as the bait. It seems that love is the furthest thing from Hamlets mind, but cocky Polonius refuses to believe that he could be wrong. Right to the very end, he feels that his daughter is the cause of Hamlets distress, but all he manages to do is put Ophelia in a poor position by insisting that she speak with Hamlet so they can listen in on the conversation. At first Hamlet speaks with Ophelia as he normally would, until he discovers the king and Polonius spying.
After that it is a torrent of insults, hurting Ophelia and adding fuel to the consideration of love as the reason for his instability. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two school friends of Hamlets, are summoned to the court to help the King and Queen discover the reason for Hamlets distress. They are each paid a significant amount of money, and given favor by the King, which is more than enough reason to carry out the act of betrayal. After speaking with Hamlet, they come to the conclusion that his madness is a result of thwarted ambition, basically because they are ambitious individuals and they are just putting themselves in Hamlets shoes. Hamlet discovers that the King has paid them off and does all he can to confuse the two of them (which proves to be quite simple).
Hamlet refers to Denmark as a prison, and the two friends can only think of one reason for his sudden lack of patriotism to his land. As prince of Denmark, Hamlet was next in line to become King. Unfortunately, his mothers marriage to his uncle removed the short-term possibility for Hamlet to become King. (Pennington, 53) Although all the characters have different views of Hamlets insanity, they are all conclusive that it is real. It is never questioned that he may be pretending to be insane, nor is any action taken to help him. Everyone is so caught up in trying to figure out what is wrong with him, they never stop to realize that they are really just making things worse. Hamlets insanity isnt just because of his knowledge of his fathers murder, or his mothers hasty marriage.
It has a lot to do with his feelings of abandonment and betrayal. Hamlet has no one to turn to when he finds out about his fathers murder. He has no closer friends he trusts enough to hand the knowledge over to, aside from Horatio, but even he is addressed with guarded trust, and Hamlet never really tells him the whole story. Hamlets lack of trust comes from the fact that he is literally surrounded with betrayal. When he is already feeling bad about past incidences, he keeps being disregarded by his close friends and family. This just fuels the already burning fire within Hamlet, making his behavior even more erratic and strange.
Gertrude's betrayal is obvious to the reader. She has dishonored her sacred vow of love and respect to her late husband, King Hamlet, by incestuously marrying her brother-in-law. As if this was not bad enough, Hamlet finds out that her uncle is also the cause of his fathers death. Gertrude tells Hamlet that his time for grieving and mourning is over, and that he should move on because there are so many other things to be happy about. This shows Hamlet that she does not care about his father at all, and she inadvertently turns him against women altogether. He calls them fickle, and claims, Frailty, thy name is woman! (Shakespeare, 146) This could be a reason why he is so quick to turn on Ophelia.
He is afraid of trusting another woman, because he now sees them as the conniving and malicious gender. Claudius has done nothing but betray Hamlet. He does the obvious by murdering his father and marrying his mother, and then spies on Hamlet constantly, turning many people Hamlet trusts against him, like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, for example. He also finds out that Hamlet knows the truth, and tries to get rid of him by sending him off to be murdered.
Hamlet gets back to Denmark unharmed, and Claudius tries a new tactic. He brainwashes Laertes into turning on Hamlet and challenging him to a duel. Unfortunately, this wasnt enough for him, and he gives Laertes the advantage by dipping his sword in poison and giving Hamlet a poisoned wine to drink during the fight. This backfires on him miserably, and ends up being the cause of both his and Gertrude's death in the end. Ophelia claims to care deeply for Hamlet, and there is certainly some sort of love between the two of them. Their relationship is not meant to be because of Hamlets position compared to hers.
She is advised by her father and brother not accept any more gifts or answer any more messages. She agrees, which is another example of Hamlets idea about the frailty of women. This upsets Hamlet, but it is not until she helps her father spy on Hamlet that h...
Free research essays on topics related to: spy on hamlet, fathers murder, hamlets antic disposition, hamlets madness, rosencrantz and guildenstern
Research essay sample on Character Analysis Of Hamlet Antic Disposition
