Hamlet And Macbeth : Mental Illness Or Internal Warfare

Several emotions engulf Shakespeare’s Hamlet throughout the play, the most famous being Hamlet’s own emotional state. His madness, triggered by his incestuous uncle, has led several scholars to explore the psychological causes of his madness. This research into Hamlet’s madness will explore his madness in comparison to other characters, the psychoanalytical studies behind his madness, and defining whether his madness is genuine or another play within the play.

The play Hamlet, by Shakespeare, is a very important piece to understand the grim actuality and undeserved consequence of one’s untreated mental state. In the case of these mental states, actions are still just as affected by the karmic consequence as all other characters. The justification of actions using signs of mental illness does not excuse the eventual and inevitable karmic consequence, but helps readers actually understand the character.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both show signs of what would today be diagnosed as symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is defined as “long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation”. There are three major symptoms of this disorder: not knowing the difference between reality and fantasy, jumbled conversations, and withdrawal physically and emotionally. The most common and most well known symptom of schizophrenics is when they can’t make out what is real and what isn’t.

Throughout Shakespeare’s many works, mental illnesses have played an undeniable part in many of them, especially his tragedies. From Lady Macbeth hallucination of a bloody spot leading to her suicide, to Hamlet’s faked illness and Ophelia’s very real illness, afflictions of the mind are featured prominently in the Bard of Avalon’s many works. Still, in the Elizabethan era, understanding of mental illness was rudimentary at best, as were the methods of treating it. During the Middle Ages and Elizabethan Era, numerous theories about mental disorders and how to treat them abounded. Three plays of Shakespeare’s that feature mental illness most prominently are King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, while also managing to showcase the conception of

After the murder of Banquo, MacBeth hallucinates Banquo’s ghost at the table, And states that he cannot sit down because the table is full (3.4). I personally believe that Lady MacBeth was the ultimate reason for MacBeth’s mental deterioration, she played a key part in his decision-making when it came to his run in of power. This all leads up to the incompatibility of living a normal life, which led to the downfall of him being king.

     Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a complex play, filled with layers of meaning. These are often revealed through the madness of the characters and the theme of madness throughout the play. Although Hamlet and Ophelia are the only characters thought to be so afflicted, the reactions of other characters to this madness mirrors their own preoccupations.

Shakespeare also exemplifies contrast of mental illness and wellness between characters in the play Hamlet. As the characters, Ophelia and Hamlet both endure the stress of a father's death their actions begin to change. This makes it easy for a reader to perceive the difference between Hamlet, Ophelia, and the other characters in the play. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex characters, his insanity is often a subject of debate. The article “Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear” states that “he is an apt example of the complexities of the human psyche which are often beyond comprehension” (Ebsco). To find out the answer to the ultimate question of whether Hamlet is insane, comparing his actions to those of other characters would be helpful. At the beginning of the play both Hamlet and Horatio are trusted when the ghost appears to the guards. However, soon after Hamlet begins to spiral into insanity. In Act Two, Scene Two Hamlet talks with Polonius and this is the first time a reader can see Hamlet start to act unstable. Hamlet begins with “You are a fish monger” (190), and after Polonius corrects he continues to act deranged, by the end of their conversation Polonius is convinced “though this be madness” (223), meaning that he believes Hamlet is mad. However, Hamlet seems to be able to control his madness, which is why people often think that he is just acting. But by the end of the play Hamlet, similar to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, has hallucinations. He sees his father’s ghost again, but this time no one else can see it. Hamlet asks his mother, “Do you see nothing here?” (3.4, 150), and she answers with “Nothing at all” (3.4, 151). Comparing Hamlet’s actions to his Mother’s in this scene creates a sense that Hamlet’s acting mad and need for revenge has caused his to change his mental state. Ophelia, also driven mad by her father's death, plus Hamlet's twisted love for her can also be compared to Hamlet throughout the play to see that she is sane at the beginning, but just as mad as Hamlet, if not more, by the end. Ophelia at the start of the play is trying to help the King and her father to catch Hamlet, what she thought was to help him. However, after her lover, Hamlet,

Macbeth shows several symptoms of schizophrenia. These symptoms are techniques that Shakespeare uses to create the idea that Macbeth has a mental illness. Macbeth's main symptom is detachment from reality. While contemplating killing Banquo to secure his fate, Macbeth begins to see an imaginary dagger in front of him. He asks, "Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight, or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?" (II.2.35-39) Then after Banquo is dead, Macbeth believes he sees his ghost during a dinner with the country's nobility. Macbeth says, "The table's full." (III.4.46) Lennox points to the seat where Macbeth sees Banqo's ghost sitting and tells him that it is empty. Puzzled, Macbeth asks, "Where?" (III.4.48) He

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.

The Lesser of Two Evils Hatred, internal turmoil, and grief are all emotional phases people experience in life. Self-hate is a timeless attribute that thrives throughout the societies of the world. Christianity came about from one man named Jesus Christ. The teachings he taught to the people of the land were focused on forgiveness and love. The sole purpose of the Christian religion is to help people repent of their wrong doings.

Not only did this trauma create a violent state, it also created an illness inside young Hamlet.   Through this soliloquy and dialogue Shakespeare reveals the start of Hamlet’s suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).   The popular health magazine Sick uncovers that PTSD affects people who have undergone major shocking events.

William Shakespeare revolutionized modern literature with his application of mental illness in his play Hamlet. Shakespeare explores psychopathology applying this theme to Ophelia and Hamlet. The use of mental illness is a concept rarely recognized in literature before Shakespeare writings. Solomon states, “Previous to Shakespeare, the melancholy of man had been a discrete entity; after Shakespeare, it was no more easily separable from the rest of self than are the indigo rays from the rest of the white light spectrum” (Solomon 300). He revolutionized the societies view of mental illness and how it is written in literature.

In literature throughout history, many writers have tried to capture the human condition, but none have been as successful as William Shakespeare in articulating truthfully what it is to be human. Shakespeare's characters are complex and dynamic, and they exhibit internal struggles that people battle with in modern times. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the title character experiences a series of misfortunes that lead to his depression and subsequent descent into madness. Hamlet is a play that depicts the dangers of mental illness and highlights the consequences of leaving mental illness unchecked. Hamlet’s dark journey begins with the death of his father, the King of Denmark.

The word “madness” often provokes thoughts of schizophrenia, dementia, and psychosis; however, these illnesses prove not to be the exact cause of the various downfalls to the characters throughout the play Hamlet. The author, William Shakespeare, depicts a different type of insanity in the play, one that seems ambiguous but also feels eerily similar to ones that still affect others to this day. Shweta Bali, author of Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear, reiterates this by stating, “Insanity—real or obfuscated—is integral to the fiber of many of Shakespearean plays. Apart from reflecting the political turmoil, madness adds to the atmosphere of pathos, misfortune

A common mental illness brought about in today’s society is clinical depression. With the stress and great responsibility that develops a hero, depression is almost guaranteed to develop after time and the effort it takes to rise above the rest of society. In the play Hamlet, depression overcomes the life and personality of the main character. Although the illness is never