Comparing Midlife Crisis Denial, Depression, And Displacement Of Shakespeare ' Hamlet '

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

"’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, / nor customary suits of solemn black / [ . . . ] but I have that within which passeth show; / these but the trappings and the suits of woe” (Shakespeare 1.2.76-73, 85-86) says Hamlet when confronted about his way of grieving over his father’s recent death. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a remarkable tale that is centered on the idea of death and grief. While death is a universal occurrence, meaning every person will deal with it, how we grieve after a loss is completely individual. To look at a formula of grief, most turn to the five stages of grief developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychiatrist, who studied the topic in her book On Death and Dying. This model consists of denial, anger,

Hamlet is considered to be Shakespeare's most famous play. The play is about Prince Hamlet and his struggles with the new marriage of his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle and now stepfather, King Claudius about only two months after his father’s death. Hamlet has an encounter with his father, Old King Hamlet, in ghost form. His father accuses Claudius of killing him and tells Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet is infuriated by this news and then begins his thoughts on what to do to get revenge. Hamlet and Claudius are contrasting characters. They do share similarities, however, their profound differences are what divides them.Hamlet was portrayed as troubled, inactive, and impulsive at times. Hamlet is troubled by many things, but the main source of his problems come from the the death of his father. “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon 'gainst self-slaughter” (Act 1, Scene 2). In this scene, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, which is caused by the death of his father and the new marriage of Gertrude and King Claudius. This scene shows the extent of how troubled Hamlet is. Even though Hamlet’s father asked him to avenge his death, Hamlet is very slow to act on this throughout the play. “Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do ’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged.—That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” (Act 3, Scene 3). This scene shows King Claudius praying, while Hamlet is behind him drawing his sword but decides not to kill

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.

     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 friend Horatio, seems convinced that he is mad. Claudius however, fearful that someone will discover his evil deed, has also had his perceptions heightened by his guilt and he experiences chronic paranoia throughout the

At the end Act 3 Scene 2 of Hamlet, Hamlet speaks to himself before his meeting with his mother. Not knowing what the conversation is going to be about, he already decides to treat his mother harshly and not submit to her motherly charm. This soliloquy expresses Hamlet bitterness towards his mother while still wanting to respect her. He tells himself to go into the meeting with a cold-heart throughout his whole speech, but he also warns himself not to inflict violence on her. I believed that Hamlet anger towards his mother is more for her willingness to remarry quickly after his father's death than any speculation of her role in King Hamlet's murder.

Similar to the quest for truth in Oedipus’ case, so does Hamlet lead to his own decease. In the first act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, after Hamlet is aware of the tormented ghost of his father walking on the ramparts, he goes to witness it for himself. This immediately exemplifies the theory that Hamlet, like Oedipus, is in search of the truth, until he realizes it is too much to bear. Subsequent to seeing the apparition, he is convinced to avenge his father’s murderer. The ghost tells him, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,” (29). As Hamlet lays the trap for the new King Claudius, he is procrastinating in order to solve his self-doubt. Even after the ghost tells Hamlet how his father was murdered, Hamlet has the players act

Hamlet is arguably one of the greatest dramatic characters to be created. As he learns of his father’s death, he starts to over analyze ever little detail causing him to create scenarios in his mind that give me anxiety. His mother notices his anger, but Hamlet makes it known that the distress he is feeling over-powers his actions. He says, “Together with all the forms, moods, shapes of grief… for they are the actions that a man might play; but I have that within which passes show, these but the trappings and the suits of woe” (ACT I, ii). He is angry at his mother because she remarried that same man that killed his father. Hamlet starts to see his father’s ghost and she cannot. She then starts to tell Hamlet how he has offended his father, as in Claudius. When Hamlet is defending

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

In the acceptance stage of grief, Hamlet experiences acceptance of his father’s death when he determines the cause of death was murder. To obtain acceptance, according to Kübler-Ross and Kessler, the person must accept the realization of the other person’s death and recognize their reality without them (25). At this stage of acceptance, Hamlet acknowledges his father’s death as he accepts the reality of Claudius being king because Hamlet completely believes that Claudius murdered King Hamlet in order to become king. Also, with acceptance of his father’s death, Hamlet alters his emotion from depression to vengeance towards King Claudius which results in Hamlet moving from the stage of depression to the stage of acceptance.

This all sets the stage for Hamlet’s mental state prior to learning that he was killed by somebody in his family. These themes of death and betrayal lead into the end of the first act when Hamlet is tasked by the ghost of his father to seek revenge against Claudius for what he did. Hamlet believes that he was “born to set it right” (1.5.190). The extremes of this line reveal that Hamlet believes that the whole reason for his existence is to avenge his father. This need for revenge drives Hamlet for the rest of the play. He wants justice for his father, but he also wants to punish Claudius for his murder and marrying his mother. He gives in to human nature when he starts striving to avenge his father’s death.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a ghost tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, is responsible for the death of his father. Hamlet is driven to reveal the truth of his father's death and seeks to avenge his murder to achieve justice. In his quest to right the wrongdoing, Hamlet delays acting toward justice for many reasons. The main factor for Hamlet's hesitation is attributed to his self-discipline. He lacks of ability to act on his emotions. Hamlet is an intelligent, moral, and reserved character. He restrains himself to act rationally and not on emotion. This hesitation is a tragic flaw for Hamlet, but in order to resolve the truth, it is necessary.

As the play goes on, Hamlet encounters his father's ghost. Upon discovering that his father's death wasn't natural, he says with much feeling that "Haste me to know't, that I with wings as swift/ As meditation, or the thoughts of love,/ May sweep to my revenge" (1.5.29-31). The ghost tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. His motives were his love for Gertrude, without her knowledge or consent. Hamlet is furious and seething with rage with the news of his father's murder. Knowing the truth makes Hamlet's subconscious realize that killing Claudius would be similar to killing himself. This is so because Hamlet recognizes that Claudius' actions of murdering his brother and marrying Hamlet's mother, mimicked Hamlet's inner unconscious desires. Hamlet's unconscious fantasies have always been closely related to Claudius' conduct. All of Hamlet's once hidden feelings seem to surface in spite of all of the "repressing forces," when he cries out, "Oh my prophetic soul!/ My uncle!" (1.5.40-41). From here, Hamlet's consciousness must deal with the frightful truth (Jones).

Losing a loved one can be difficult, hard, and can even drive a person insane. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet death takes its toll on the entire royal family. When King Hamlet died, it caused Claudius to take the thrown and the hand of queen Gertrude. As soon as the King and Queen hear about how mad Hamlet has gone they discuss the idea of death and wonder if the thought of death or not mourning the made him go crazy. Claudius quotes, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies. But in battalions” (3.4.52-53). This quote symbolizes that death brings sorrow and how this is a view on death. Although mourning is common between characters in the beginning of the play, views on death become different and apparent among

He alters from innocent sorrow and depression following his father’s death to unhinged insanity and anger once he hears of his father’s true reason for death. Hamlet is constantly under scrutiny and this led to the way in which he chooses to handle his response to learning information about his father’s involuntary passing. The significant change in Hamlet’s emotions also pushes the implied meaning of how thought processes work differently for everyone. It is extremely noticeable of Hamlet specifically, that clear thought processes can be clouded by a desire to carry out crazy and revengeful