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Throughout Shakespeare s play Hamlet, Hamlet is described as mad by the other characters: as he encounters the ghost of his father in Act I, as he kills Polonius and confronts his mother in Act III, and ultimately when he confronts Laertes and Claudius in the final scene. But this madness is a broad term used by the characters, and Shakespeare, to refer to the actions taken by Hamlet while he is in this state of mind. With all things taken into account, this lunacy can actually be seen to be a facade put on by him, a type of feigned madness meant to deceive and entrap Claudius. Some of the most obvious evidence of Hamlet s mental confidence and lack of insanity is when he is talking to himself. Shakespeare uses his soliloquies and asides to demonstrate this to the audience, but his appearance of confusion, indecision and nervousness leads the other characters to label him mad. This is established quite early in the play, and much of the following action revolves around Hamlets scheming under the disguise of madness.
Shakespeare shows that madness can be used describe something as trivial as Hamlet s first signs of lunacy, as well as true insanity as we see in Ophelia. Also included in the definition is the passion and obsession that Hamlet displays in later Acts in the pursuit of his revenge. At the start of the play, Hamlet is shown to be mourning his father s death. As the queen encourages him to look to the future, he responds angrily to her suggestion that he appears to be grieving: But I have within which passed show; these but the trappings and the suits of woe... We see immediately the kind of strained relationship that Hamlet has with Claudius, and the his attempts to win over Hamlet, or at least to control him. From the outset, then, we see that Hamlet is not entirely at peace with himself, and is prone to emotional outbursts at those around who do not understand him.
His soliloquy in Act I Sc. ii explains some of the reasons for his distraction: the death of his father, the remarriage of his mother to his evil brother; all these have shaken Hamlets faith in the world. This passage is also a prediction for the course of the rest of the play, as he struggles between passion and reserve in order to enact revenge for his father. But at this point, Hamlet is perhaps at his most mad he is tormented with grief, but has not yet decided to act. The encounter with the ghost of his father changes Hamlets nature considerably. He is shaken but becomes determined to act in some way and starts the scheming that continues throughout the rest of the play by swearing his friends to secrecy about the meeting.
He also develops a new found sense of looniness (new word? ), because of his unique ability to understand his fathers communications, i. e. the guy talks to ghosts. This, more than anything, makes him seem mad, and draws the many of the side-plots with Ophelia, Polonius and Laertes into the play.
After the confusion caused by Hamlets meeting with the ghost, his appearance is misinterpreted by Ophelia and Polonius as love: That hath made him mad concludes Polonius. But Ophelia is not Hamlets target and once she and her father have begun to think that she is, Hamlets behavior appears more and more bizarre to them. Polonius snooping, which alerts Claudius to Hamlets madness, eventually leads to his own death but by this point, Hamlet is more composed, and he has a clear end in sight. However, Hamlet does not appear in his original, placid state. From Act III onwards, Hamlet appears in control of his crafty madness as Guildernstern calls it. He dispatches Rosencrantz and Guildernstern to their deaths in England, instructs the Players to give Claudius a performance that is rather too close to home, and finally he engages Laertes in combat.
By the final scene, Hamlets state of mind is again in confusion: in his passionate desire to avenge his fathers death, he had not understood the full extent of Claudius plotting against him, which leads to the deaths of both of them, as well as his mother and Laertes. Hamlets state of mind is initially confused as he feels that the order of his world has been upset, and evil (in the form of Claudius and his marriage to Gertrude) has triumphed over good (in the form of his father). He is also indecisive, but his encounter with the ghost is his motivation for action in the rest of the play. Because he is not used to deceiving and killing, he finds himself holding back from killing Claudius, remembering the ghosts instructions to ensure that he go to Hell.
The audience sees a more in-depth look at this hesitation than the other characters, through Hamlets soliloquies and asides, and therefore see the development of Hamlets madness more roundly. Hamlets world becomes one where the line between reality and fantasy is blurred: he talks to the ghost as a living person, and uses the play as a tool against Claudius. Hamlet, once having decided to kill Claudius, becomes less disturbed and more scheming. Being classified as mad by Polonius only provides Hamlet with the time essential to perfecting his plan. Ironically, it is Ophelia, not Hamlet, who becomes mad in the traditional sense, and terminally so.
Hamlets confusion becomes an obsessive determination to enact revenge, in which he demonstrates his passion and vitality, and also selfishness over the murder of Polonius, and his harsh treatment of Ophelia. His friends Rosencrantz and Guildernstern become his enemies, and he appears increasingly isolated as the play progresses, perhaps as a result of his obsessions while plotting his actions. As Claudius schemes with Laertes in his customary way, Hamlet is also scheming as we see in this full change in his personality. Ultimately however, Hamlets simplistic scheming is no match for Claudius but Hamlet achieves the revenge he aimed for. Laertes becomes a more decisive Hamlet who is quick to avenge his father, demonstrating none of the procrastination Hamlet might be said to.
It would be wrong to say that Hamlet is mad. He is confused, unsettled, then determined, clever and courageous: an impression that Shakespeare confirms by developing contrasts between his and Laertes courage, Ophelias madness and Claudius scheming. While he may not develop into the picture of a hero, he also does not fit the mold of a madman.
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Research essay sample on Ghost Of His Father State Of Mind
