Depression And Depression In Hamlet

In real life Shakespeare has a tragic event occur, the death of his son, Hamnet. His way of mourning and dealing with death was to write the tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Shakespeare uses Hamlet as a mirror to express his overwhelming despair. As said by an article written by Peter Bray, “ It is suggested that in creating Hamlet, Shakespeare must have drawn upon some profound personal experiences.” (Bray) Through Hamlet’s pain Shakespeare mirrors his own feelings of being lost and depressed. Within the play there is a common theme, the mourning of death and how it varies from man to man. Young Hamlet locks himself away and contemplates suicide saying. “To be or not to be”(3.1.57). He ponders whether given his current life situation it is better to exist or to not have existed at all. Another message Shakespeare wishes to get across is that proper mourning takes a substantial amount of time, this is something Claudius and his mother do not understand. In a scene with Claudius and Hamlet they say, “ How is it that the clouds still hang on you? / Not so, my lord. I am too much i' the sun.”(1.2.66-67). Claudius wonders why Hamlet has not moved on yet, but based on the reader’s knowledge how would the king know what it is like to lose someone he’s lost? He does not understand the struggle of overcoming death and the amount of time it takes. This arguably could be an insight into the real life of

His mother drank the poison that was meant for Hamlet that was supposed to drink. The king put the poison in it because he knew that Hamlet was onto him for killing his father and marrying his mom. At the very end though Hamlet, His mother, and father ended up together. All three of these examples show he has depression because he was angry at the world and he was always thinking of negative thoughts.

In the playwright Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet often shows many signs of depression. It is argued whether he is putting on the act, or if he is actually severely depressed. I believe after the death of his father, Hamlet becomes very emotionally unstable. Three things affect Hamlet, the death of his father, the remarriage of his mother, and Ophelia. Hamlet contemplates death, and becomes prepared to die near the end of the play.

Depression is a mental illness that affects approximately three hundred and fifty million people in the world today. Is it too far fetched to think that a man who has lost his father, and essentially lost his uncle and mother too at the same time, is depressed? Any person that has gone through what Hamlet has gone through would be at a high risk of having depression. Not only can it be assumed that Hamlet, who has gone through many awful experiences, has this illness but it can be seen in the text when Hamlet has suicidal thoughts in the beginning of act three.

“Take these again; for to the noble mind, Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind (Act 3 scene 1). Ophelia softly and nobly points out to Hamlet that however fancy and rich a gift may be, it loses any value when the person who gave the gift turns to be one of the false motives and wicked emotion. Like most women, Ophelia values the emotion and thought put into gifts of love, not the materialistic gift itself. Hamlet has been criticized for hundreds of years, enduring virtually every facet of Shakespeare's life and the ties to his play Hamlet. In “Hamlet’s Not Depressed, He’s Grieving.” by O’Rourke, the critic focuses on Hamlet’s reaction to his father’s death and the ghost he see’s, questioning the idea of whether or not Hamlet has literally

There are several reasons why one would suspect Prince Hamlet to have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder has five classifications, including: bipolar I, bipolar II, rapid cycling, mixed bipolar, and cyclothymia. It causes mood swings, severe depression, extreme feelings, and/or confusion. Hamlet, said to be about twenty years old, has been through so much more than the typical twenty year old has. In the play, Hamlet’s father had been recently murdered by his uncle, whom his mother has also recently married. These are the main reasons why Hamlet has also shown serious signs of major depressive disorder as well, which can often go hand-in-hand

Laertes in Ophelia's grave. Hamlet tells her that he never loved her when she returns his

Did you ever notice there are many characters in Hamlet that have mental disorders? Hamlet has a few characters that could possibly be diagnosed with a mental health disorder. At the beginning of the story, Hamlets dad is possibly murdered and Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, takes over the king spot. Hamlet's father's ghost arrives in the castle, it causes suspicions with the whole remarrying right after the death. He becomes very confused on how and why his father passed away. Due to the confusion and questions Hamlet wants answered, he could have developed a mental health disorder in the process of trying to figure things out.

Shakespeare uses metaphor and tone to stress the development of mental illness in the character Hamlet throughout “Hamlet”. Mental illness is defined as a condition that affect mood, thinking, or behavior; furthermore, Hamlet presents himself as a character affected by mental illness. Hamlet, in his first lines, describes his pain and suffering, simulating signs of depression, a form of mental illness. Early in his introduction, Hamlet describes his feelings regarding the death of his father King Hamlet, and sudden marriage of his mother Gertrude to his uncle Claudius. Gertrude asks Hamlet to stop his mourning, and Hamlet responds by saying “I know not seems tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black nor windy suspiration of forced breath” (I, ii, 76-79). Shakespeare uses words like “black” and “inky cloak”, to develop a dark and solemn tone; furthermore, this tone allows the character of Hamlet to develop a dark and depressed attitude which reflects his internal depression. Shakespeare also uses metaphors to develop the idea of Hamlet’s depression. Hamlet conveys multiple symptoms of depression, like thoughts of suicide. Hamlet often debates about his death and what the effects his death would bring. Hamlet also debates life after death and questions religion. Hamlet describes death as “ this too too sallied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew” (I, ii, 129-130). Shakespeare compares flesh melting to the resolving of dew; this comparison reflects Hamlet’s thoughts on death. Hamlet believes that after death, life fades away into nothingness. Hamlet’s constant thoughts of death and life after

Hamlet, a Shakespearean character, constantly struggles in a battle with his mind. He leads a very trying life that becomes too much for him to handle. Hamlet experiences hardships so horrible and they affect him so greatly that he is unable escape his dispirited mood. In speaking what he feels, Hamlet reveals his many symptoms of depression, a psychological disorder. While others can move on with life, Hamlet remains in the past. People do not understand his behavior and some just assume he is insane. However, Hamlet is not insane. He only pretends to be mad. Because Hamlet never receives treatment for his disorder, it only gets worse and eventually contributes to his death.

His diminishing outlook on women is, in fact, not the only attribute that affects Hamlet throughout the play. There are various conclusions in academic journals regarding Hamlet's mental state, all of them agreeing or refuting the theory that Hamlet is mad throughout the play. Despite having sufficient evidence, the analyzation of this play is subjective and no definitive conclusion has been made. Nonetheless, one opinion remains to be the most popular: Hamlet is not mad, yet encounters various feelings regarding mental and emotional health.

Nor does he find pleasure in the company of other people, men or women alike. Last, Hamlet’s pessimism and negativity go hand in hand with his low mood and anhedonia. Not only does he refer to Denmark as a prison, but he also expresses a strong sense of “inadequacy, when he quickly feels overwhelmed by the task imposed by his father’s ghost, after first boasting that his revenge would be swift,” (Shaw 1). On many occasions, he expresses the guilt in his inactivity. This is most prevalent in his third soliloquy, “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I! … Yet I / A dull and muddy-mettled rascal peak / Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause…” (Shakespeare 134). This depressive illness was most likely not present his entire life, however. “Only since his father’s death has he succumbed to melancholy which has temporarily made him apathetic and slow to act,” (Nardo

First, there were many events that led to the deterioration of the relationship between Hamlet and his mother. To begin, perhaps the most notable example is that Gertrude moved on from Old Hamlet, and married Claudius so quickly after Old Hamlet died. Hamlet describes his feelings while talking to Gertrude later in the play. Hamlet comes to meet Gertrude in her bedroom, and then Gertrude asks if Hamlet has forgotten who she was because of his supposed madness. Hamlet responds, saying, “No, by the rood, not so./ You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife;/ And—would it were not so!—you are my mother” (3.4.15-17). Here Hamlet puts Gertrude’s actions into words in attempt for her to

In 1:2:1-159, Shakespeare introduces Hamlet as a figure in deep melancholy due to his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage to his uncle. Hamlet’s melancholy in this act is defined by his dark wardrobe, the stage directions state, “enter Prince Hamlet dressed in black” (1.2). Claudius is the first to mention Hamlet’s appearances of depression, he states, “How is it that the clouds still hang on you” (1.2.66). This indicates that Hamlet has been depressed even before the play introduces him. By focusing on act one, scene two of Shakespeare’s play, disability studies can suggest that Hamlet is a character that is dealing with what modern studies would label as depression.

Hamlet has seemed to be getting restless with the situation. This is where he starts to change and gain his self- knowledge. When he goes to talk to his mother he seems to only confront her because he goal was to not agree with and not want to listen to Claudius. “No, by the rood, not so: You are the Queen, your husband’s brother’s wife, and