Thursday, April 26, 2012

Is Hamlet really mad? The mystery behind the novel...


Throughout the novel we are left to question whether Hamlet is actually insane or is his cleverness and revengeful behavior painting him out to be that way. Shakespeare provides us with many different scenarios for that question to come up. Can Hamlets obsession over seeking revenge turn him mad, or, is it all an act?
At the end of the fourth act, it is safe to say that the real person insane in the novel is Ophelia. She portrays the characteristics of insanity more than Hamlet ever has. Ophelia causes self-harm, she fails to connect the past and present, lastly, she drowns; as she is drowning, she begins to sing. These are the characteristics of insanity, and Hamlet has failed to present these traits in the novel. I believe that Hamlet’s whit, cleverness, and thought of revenge is driving him to make such rash decisions, not because he is actually going insane.
                To begin with, some may argue that when he was talking to his best friends Guilderstein and Rozendrieks after finding out about their secret promises to the king, he was going insane. The explanation for that would be the simple fact Hamlet is much smarter than them. He then decides to use this to his advantage. Although he goes off topic during the conversation, he knows that they lack the intelligence to fully grasp what he is saying. By this, the two friends had nothing to report back to Claudius as to why Hamlet was behaving the way he was.
                To add, some also argue that when Hamlet brutally murders Polonius without remorse, it shows the final decline of his mental state. Personally, this just shows that the hatred for Claudius is strengthening, causing him to destroy everything that tries to intervene. Hamlet believed that Polonius was Claudius behind the curtain. When he found out otherwise, Hamlet did fail to feel sympathy for the life he had taken. This does not categorize him for being insane. Hamlet has bigger problems that he has to face than to care about someone who showed no compassion for him in return. 
                To summarize, Hamlet insanity is obviously feigned. He is keeping in touch with the present and is also making wise decisions throughout the novel. Someone who is going mad would lose concentration of the task, and possibly end up like Ophelia, dead. Hamlet may be making irrational decisions but this is because he is a young prince with a lot to deal with. His father is dead and his ghost keeps reaching out to him, his uncle killed his father, his mother married his uncle, Ophelia cuts him off, his best friends betray him, and he has a task that he is unsure he can fulfill. To me, this is a boy with a lot going on, concluding his “insanity” to be feigned.

4 comments:

Rose Marques said...

I like how you compared Hamlet's "insanity" to Ophelia's insanity. When I think of it like that I definitely don't think Hamlet's alleged mental illness is anywhere near as severe as Ophelia's. Maybe Shakespeare includes this part of the story to make reader's understand that Hamlet isn't really mad.

Nierah Jinwright said...

Rose I totally agree. When comparing the two, we see that Hamlet's mental state doesn't comepare to Ophelias. Clearly Hamlet still has the ability to think wisely and continue life. Ophelia wasn't able to do that at all.

Rachael Ciccone said...

Nierah, your argument was very pursuesive and valid! I did the same essay and as you can see, my opinion did not match yours. I still believe that Hamlet is nusto in the brain! I also like that you compared Hamlet and Ophelia's insanity, though! I believe Ophelia's insanity was very true, but I also feel like Hamlet's insanity is still there. Good job!

stw923 said...

Nierah, while I am a little disappointed that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's names were butchered in your blog, I think you produced a good argument. I think that compared to Ophelia, his madness looks contrived; however, I think that the fact that he shows no remorse for killing a man with whom he had a personal relationship with, shows some decline in his mental stability.