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Mental Illness In Hamlet

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The World Health Organization estimates that there are three hundred and fifty million people living on this planet with depression. Due to this there has been countless research projects done on the individuals who suffer from this illness. From the research it has been shown that mental illness and extraordinary intelligence are linked in an interesting way. Professors and Doctors have coined the term “Tortured Genius” to describe those who struggle from mental illness because they are intellectually gifted. In the Medieval society that Hamlet lives in, he can be considered a tortured genius. Unlike most men, Hamlet would rather study abroad than fight in a war. His intellectual abilities have led him to become disillusioned with the society around him. Due to this, people around him make him feel like an outsider. Moreover, Hamlet’s intelligence is put to the test when he is visited by the ghost of his father and is instructed to seek vengeance for his father's death. This bothers Hamlet throughout the play because he must deal with the internal strife of being an intellectual while also trying to partake in a primitive activity. The world of Denmark in which Hamlet resides is full of distrust, disloyalty, and corruption. This is starkly contrasted with his internal beliefs and his high regard for education. These conflicting moral values lead to Hamlet’s initial inability to kill Claudius and ultimately results in his depression.
Hamlet longs to study abroad, however

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