The Widely Unnoticed Mental Disarray of Hamlet The Tragedy of Hamlet which is often shortened to Hamlet tells an interesting but yet peculiar story about a kingdom in the late middle ages. The story opens up with Hamlet's father getting murdered while hamlet was still at a young age. He later goes on to figure out from his father's ghost that he was murdered and asks him to avenge him. Hamlet decides that he must avenge his father by killing his uncle, the one who murdered his father in the first place. He is persuaded even more because of the fact that his mother married his uncle which Hamlet calls “foul incest”. Hamlet begins to act erratically, even towards the girl he claims to love Ophelia. She is warned by multiple people to …show more content…
360.). The first psychological disorder Hamlet qualifies to be diagnosed under is Bipolar disorder. The reason for this diagnosis is because of Hamlets moods throughout the play. At some points he was very aggravated and even volatile. This is very reasonable cause to believe there is something involving Bipolar disorder and Hamlets brain going on throughout the play. Another reason would be that this whole episode Hamlet is experiencing throughout the play could all be considered A Hypomanic episode. There’s no way to be certain since Hamlet died before we could check the time frame and see if it really was just a single episode. For these reasons; Bipolar disorder is on the table. Another disorder Hamlet could fall under is Schizophrenia. Since nobody else throughout the play see the ghost, nobody really knows if this ghost is real or if it's just a figment of Hamlet's imagination. This could be Hamlet Hallucinating which is a big part of diagnosing Schizophrenia. He also shows negative symptoms, which basically is Hamlet being negative about what the outcome will be the whole play. He’s never really confident in what’s going to happen, he tries to set traps but something crazy always comes around the corner. There is no way to be certain that it’s Schizophrenia though; It doesn't seem likely that Hamlet is having delusions because he doesn’t think other people can hear what he’s thinking. He is always strong minded in the thought that his thoughts are his and
In the story of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet’s sanity is questioned because of the relationships he had with other characters in the story. Hamlet’s relationship with the other characters did not all start off bad. Gertrude was his mother, Ophelia is the woman that he loved, and Claudius was his stepfather. Eventually over time all of them started a conflict. Hamlet didn’t just have problems with them, he had problems with himself. The problems were internally and externally with him and his Mother, Lover, and Stepfather.
In Shakespeare's play Hamlet the main character Hamlet experiences many different and puzzling emotions. He toys with the idea of killing himself and then plays with the idea of murdering others. Many people ask themselves who or what is this man and what is going on inside his head. The most common question asked about him is whether or not he is sane or insane. Although the door seems to swing both ways many see him as a sane person with one thought on his mind, and that is revenge. The first point of his sanity is while speaking with Horatio in the beginning of the play, secondly is the fact of his wittiness with the other characters and finally, his soliloquy.
Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his
Hamlet had a lot of things in his life gone wrong. For an example his father (the king at the time) was murdered by his own brother the new king. At the end of the book his mother and ophelia end up dead to. Hamlet was obsessed with his father being murdered and tried to seek revenge upon his murderer. At the end of the book hamlet ended up killing polonius because he thought it was Claudius (the new king). He was putting other people in harm's way too make claudius too confess. Hamlet has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of depression, self-destructive behavior, and unwanted memories of the trauma.
As stated by Ms. Turk, “If a person in a rational state of mind decides to act crazy, to abuse the people around him regardless of whether he loves those people or hates them, and to give free expression to all his antisocial thoughts, when he starts to carry out those actions, its it possible to say at what point the stops pretending and starts actually being crazy?”. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the way others interpret Hamlet’s behavior is different from the way Hamlet views himself.
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.
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.
The insanity of a person can be contributed through the trauma that is caused by a few events in a person’s life, but in the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote the main character prince Hamlet experiences a few dramatic events from the play which his attitude changes throughout. In order to figure out whether hamlet is insane is by figuring out what the characteristics of his insanity. Characters see Hamlet in different shades of gray, each side more or less sane than others. His sanity can be his truth or his lie.
Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.
Hamlet is a young man who has become crazy from his trials and tribulations in life. He lost his father due to his uncle murdering them and then had to watch his mother marry the killer. Hamlets insanity can be demonstrated by his crude language and disregard for the well being of his mother. It can also be shown by his depression, which causes him to second guess everything including his life and finally his love, Ophelia helps to justify his absurdness by acting as a mirror. His foolish behavior worries many in the kingdom and creates a hostile and paranoid environment for those around. While some in the castle may believe that Hamlet is putting on an act, he proves that he is mad through his violet actions, his mental health and Ophelia.
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
Secondly, if Hamlet saw the ghost, and went insane from that, don’t you think that Horatio, and the guards would have gone insane from seeing him as well? I really don’t think that Hamlet would become crazy out of seeing something that 3 other people did. Later on, Hamlet lets out to his friends and his mom his plan to pretend to act insane. He tells Horatio that he is going to "feign madness”, and that if Horatio notices any strange behaviour from Hamlet, it is because he is putting on an act. Some of the other people also come to notice that Hamlet is not crazy. Claudius says that Hamlet's "actions although strange, do not appear to stem from madness." Also Polonius says that Hamlet's actions and words have a "method" to them, there might be a reason behind them, and they make sense over all. Through the play Hamlet looks like he’s insane then sane again. What he says to his friends describes his madness "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw". This explains how he is mad only at the right time, when he’s around the people who betrayed others and himself. The people are: Ophelia and her betrayal to him, his mom's betrayal to his dad, his friends’ betrayal to him and his uncle's betrayal to his brother.
Hamlet's surrounding are increasingly affected by his flaw. Hamlet begins to forget all important obligations in his life and neglects his responsibilities, causing other problems. One very important commitment Hamlet has which he lets go is his relationship with Ophelia. Ophelia becomes very confused and hurt. Hamlet hurts her in a couple of ways. First, he neglects her, and second, he insults her. "Ha, ha! Are you honest??Are you fair??That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. ?I loved you not? Get thee to a nunnery." Then Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia's father, which in turn makes her go mad and in her madness she commits suicide. Hamlet loses objectivity. He does not respect the King nor his mother's feelings. Hamlet meets with his mother and insults her. He calls her a whore and a sinner for marrying a murderer. Since he knows that the King is a murderer, he attempts
“Mood disorder: although Hamlet worries a lot, he doesn’t avoid situations that cause him to worry. He confronts the ghost of his father as it appears before him. Also, he presents two symptoms namely restlessness or feeling on the edge and irability.” (Character Analysis of Hamlet, Psychological Disorders, Sept. 22, 2012).
No, I am not talking about Shakespeare. But rather, Prince Hamlet himself. The theory states that Hamlet possesses a variety of psychological disorders that do not allow him to think and/or act cleary. His various mental illnesses are the sole cause of the elaborate Hamlet story. The theory points out that Hamlet displays symptoms of Schizophrenia, as well as more common disorders such