Who really is Hamlet? Why should we care about him?
What does research add to your own perceptions?
*Go on the databases on either Munising Library's website or on the St. Norbert Databases
*Be prepared to cite the database to add strength to your argument or you may disagree with it.
*Answer the question/s and/or create your own argument:
*What does Hamlet mean as a play (and as a person symbolically?)
*How has his tragedy changed from Sophocles?
*Do you feel that Hamlet is mentally ill or just pretending?
*Your own argument
For full credit, you MUST have quotations as support of your points, you MUST show reading and avoid online summary info, you MUST respond to a minimum of 2 posts. Points will be deducted for those students who wait until the last 12-24 hours, for spelling problems, repeating information already stated, confusing responses, attacking classmates verbally, simply agreeing without saying much of anything, or off-topic commentary.
------Having support from databases may be given additional credit if used well----
DATABASES REQUIRED FOR THIS BLOG, but your argument will be judged harshly, so be prepared to defend yourself!
**This blog will end at 9 a.m. on 12/13. Remember that starting on the last 12-24 hours prior will result in loss of points since your discussion will be limited. I prefer you post something by 12/10 with the encroaching Christmas vacation.
Who is Hamlet to us? In the play Hamlet the main character seems to have many feelings that are hidden in the way he speaks. Hamlet’s father was the ruler of Denmark, making him the prince. After the death of Hamlet senior, his brother becomes the king. So to sum it up, Hamlet’s uncle becomes his step father when Hamlet really was the heir to the throne. At the wedding of the new king and Hamlet’s mother, Hamlet stays aside because he is still mourning the death of his father. When the King refers to Hamlet as his son at the wedding, Hamlet responds quickly saying, “A little more than kin and less than kind.” (Shakespeare, 2012, Act 1.2, Line 67). This is a play on words referring to how the new King being his step father is quite unnatural. Hamlet actually uses word play throughout the play to hide the way he feels.
ReplyDeleteThis young prince is quite obviously dealing with some kind of mental illness. In the database research I found something interesting about how Hamlet is caught in a sort of catch-22. A reference meaning that there is no way to win or a way to escape. Hamlet is living in a society where mental illness is not even acknowledged. The new King seems to believe that Hamlet is just grieving his fathers death and discusses a remedy with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern telling them, “So much as from occasion you may glean, [Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus] That, opened, lies within our remedy.” (Shakespeare, 2012, Act 2.2, Line 16-18). The King wants to find some remedy for the way Hamlet is behaving. There is not just one single remedy to cure grief or depression. But it is not only the death of his father that is the reason for Hamlet acting the way he is. “Being unwilling to come to terms with his present king/father and unable to obey the deceased one, Hamlet turns into an inevitable rebel who has to be eradicated, scapegoated, and castrated, hence restoration of the order.” (Azad and Abbasi, 2018, pg. 122).
We are nowhere near the end of Hamlet, but after researching I get the sense that Hamlet is going to end up trying to appease his dead father, who speaks to him as a ghost, and end up doing something regrettable. The fact that Hamlet speaks to a ghost that no one else can communicate with proves that there is something off with this young man. There is so much evidence that Hamlet has some kind of mental illness. Not to mention Hamlet flat out says, “Denmark’s a prison.” (Shakespeare, 2012, Act 2.2, Line 262). Hamlet also expresses his feelings for a woman named Oephelia. Oephelia’s father, Polonius, does not want Hamlet anywhere near his daughter. So to prove that Hamlet is wrong for his daughter, Polonius brings a love letter, that Hamlet wrote for Oephelia, to the King and Queen. This is no treatment suitable for a Prince and violates is privacy.. Hamlet as a play itself has an overwhelming theme of mental illness and how it is perceived, especially on a royal level. There is spying and secrets, setting this play up for a tragic ending. Illnesses are not meant to be dealt with alone, and the story Hamlet proves that some crazy things can happen when mental illness is not dealt with in an educated manor. In society today, diagnosed mental illness levels are at an all time high. Hamlet gives a portrayal of what happens when someone in a catch-22 situation can turn things upside when there is no help.
DeleteShakespeare’s tragedy has one major difference from Sophocles' play Oedipus. In Oedipus the king has all the power, controlling everything, and his past brings him to a crumbling end. But in Hamlet, the main character seems to begin the play with absolutely no control on what is going on. The marriage of his mother and uncle, plus the death of his father is giving Hamlet a decayed life from the very start. Hamlet’s actions from meeting his father in ghost form (if he is even really there) are going to have a large impact on what happens to all the characters in this play. The idea of Hamlet’s mental illness symbolizes what can happen when an illness goes ignored.
References
Database: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=12&sid=4da13d12-7ccc-40ff-949b-6a2e07862a77%40sessionmgr102
Shakespeare, Simon & Schuster. (2012). Hamlet. New York: The Folger Shakespeare Library
I agree with your statement on Hamlet. He is not a man who has no emotions quite the opposite actually. Hamlet has immense emotions mixed in with his potential illness. Not to mention on top of all the crazy life events occurring around him. People seem to ignore these issues or simply use it as an excuse to call Hamlet a bad man.
DeleteI agree with what you said about Hamlet not having control over anything and just having to sit and watch everything go down. Although I disagree that Hamlet has mental illness. I believe he is just sad and I think since Hamlet does not have a say in anything, is being watched, and his privacy is being invaded, those are just more reasons why Hamlet is acting out but not being crazy.
DeleteI agree that Hamlet is mentally ill, he expesses it verbally and physically throughout the play. Hamlet freaks out on Ophelia when he found out her fatheris watching them break up. And he physically drags her around and pushed her into walls.I also really liked the statment you made saying "Hamlet’s mental illness symbolizes what can happen when an illness goes ignored." It a great explination to wrap everything up.
Delete@whip-a-tesla I find it hard to believe that it is obvious that Hamlet is suffering from a mental illness. Hamlet was written in an era where FEELINGS were not acknowledged and were encouraged to suppress. Throughout the play I have found no evidence to support Hamlet having a mental illness at all. The only thing I would have found questionable would be the ghost and Ophilia breaking up with Hamlet. Even then, the guards saw the ghost and Hamlet was already stressed from losing his father and now his long term GF is breaking up with him.
Delete"But two months dead- nay, not so much, not two. So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother" (Shakespeare, 2012, lines 142-144, Act 1.2). Hamlet is just a kid whose father died and he is upset. He is upset about his uncle, who is now his father marrying his quick to move on mother. As Hamlet said, "A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she followed my poor father's body, Like Niobe, all tears- why she (O, God, a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourned longer!), married with my uncle," (Shakespeare, 2012, lines 151-156, Act 1.2). It is the same as if any kids’ father, today died and their mother was to move on quickly. While this being the late middle ages the actions such as seeking revenge, may be looked at as a little crazy or out of hand nowadays but was acceptable in this time period. We should care about Hamlet because he is mourning, hurt, and feels as if his mother betrayed his late father. Many people cope differently with death, some still believe their spirits are with them and that is why I believe that Hamlet says he talked to his father as a ghost. I also believe Hamlet's friends wanted to cheer up Hamlet and told him they saw his father. Along with Hamlet seeing his father as a coping mechanism, he also believes he has to avenge his father and this is why he seeks revenge on Claudius. In my database, I found that Hamlet gave himself to hos late father in order t avenge him, almost as if it was the old king possessing Hamlet. As said in the text, "He commits himself to his father, to being a son, to represent, that is, old Hamlet in both senses of the word- as the child who re-presents the father and as the agent who represents the father's interests" (Kastan, 1987, pg 2). I believe that we should feel empathetic towards Hamlet because he is going through a lot then he was earlier in his life. Hamlet's tragedy is different from Oedipus for one main reason I see, Oedipus lost his throne where Hamlet never had it in the first place, but Hamlet lost something more important than his royalty, he lost his father. One more thing that is different between the two plays is that Hamlet does not have as strong of hubris qualities as Oedipus did. Oedipus only cared about his own well-being while Hamlet wanted to avenge his father because he cared deeply for his father. Finally, Hamlet is not crazy he is just finding his own ways to deal with his father’s death and his mothers need to move on so quickly. I do believe that Hamlet is going to get into some deep trouble later in the play. He is very concerned about getting revenge for his father and I do believe that his worries so strongly towards the already dead will have himself dead soon.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Database: Kastan, D. S. (1987). “His semblable in his mirror”: Hamlet and the Imitation of Revenge. Shakespeare Studies (0582-9399), 19, 111. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s6944278&db=lfh&AN=7167059&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Play: Shakespeare, Simon & Schuster. (2012). Hamlet. New York. The Folger Shakespeare Library
I agree with your statements about Oedipus and Hamlet having different types of tragedies and the vast differences among their personalities. However, Hamlet having a mental illness is different than Hamlet being crazy. I agree that he is coping and grieving and that he is indeed not crazy. But I do not think it is safe to rule out the thought of mental illness as they take many different forms and it may not always be apparent or obvious when one suffers from a mental illness. It is very well possible that Hamlet has one.
DeleteI agree that Hamlet is defintley feeling as if his mother moved on to soon and that he is suffering from great greif. I also think that you are correct in saying that Hamlwt is not metally ill he is just trying to find ways to cope with the death of his father. I feel has if Hamlet it the normal one and everyone around him is acting strange; like the Claudius and Polonius. Polonius is worried about Hamlet like his daughter but if she is seen as lower class during this time period most fathers would be overjoyed to hear that a young prince wanted them. Hamlet's Uncle and Ophelia's dad even go as far as reading Hamlet's private letters to Ophelia. " I have a daughter (have while she is mine) Who, in her duty and obedience, mark, Hath given me this. Now gather and surmise. [ He reads.]" I feel as if this was out of line to do, if my parents were to read my private texts I would be upset. This is why I feel that Hamlet is sane and is just coping. He even does not act without proof which I feel as if he was crazy he would not care! I also love your take on comparing Oedipus and Hamlet! I feel as if Hamlet is looking out for more than himself and shows that he has complex emotions where as Oedipus only really was shown being hubris and sorrow. Great post Ophelia!
DeleteI am with you in believing that there really isn't a ghost. It was dark out and I believe it was just a figure of their imagination. But I don't think Hamlet's friends wanted to "cheer him up". Horatio and Marcellus definitely think they saw something. Before Hamlet leaves to speak to the ghost, Horatio warns him, "What if it tempt you toward the floor, my lord? Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff" (1.4.77-78). Hamlet's friends do believe they saw something, it's not just a cheering up tactic, and if it was that'd be a pretty sick one.
DeleteThat was me^
DeleteI agree that Hamlet is not mentally ill. However in some ways Hamlet did lose his throne, yes it was never his but it should have been and it was taken away from him before he could even get the chance to experience it. Also Oedipus lost more than his throne too, he lost everything he had ever known. He was banished from his home, and is never going to see his children ever again.
Delete@Ghostly, I definitely agree that it is messed up that they read Hamlet's love letters, it is like they are the crazy ones. All Hamlet was trying to do was find someone or something to take the pain away, which in this case was Ophelia.
Delete As the main character of quite the lengthy play, Hamlet is quite fleshed out. He is multifaceted and complex. Due to this, there are many ways to interpret his character. Some people will say that he is truly insane, and others will say that he is merely faking it. While some interpretations are clearly wrong (Like saying that he is a totally stable and normal individual), there are no interpretations that are clearly superior to the others. With that in mind, I will take a Freudian approach to psychoanalyze Hamlet.
ReplyDelete At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is seen sulking away from his uncle Claudius and his mom while they are celebrating their marriage. While this could be explained as him still grieving for his dead father, his reaction appears to be quite out of proportion, and there is clearly something else going on. When Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, he is hallucinating. This is reinforced by a scene later in the play where he interacts with the ghost in front of other people, and they can’t see it. So, if the ghost is just a figment of Hamlet’s imagination, than anything the ghost tells Hamlet is exactly what Hamlet wants to believe. Considering that the “ghost” told Hamlet that “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown.”(Shakespeare, 1599, Act 1 Scene 5 lines 45-46) and asks Hamlet to avenge his death, it is clear that Hamlet just wants an excuse to kill his uncle. But why would Hamlet want to do this? This is where Freud and his ideas come in.
Sigmund Freud was a famous 20th-century psychologist, and his theories have greatly contributed to the field of psychology. Perhaps his most famous (and controversial) theory was that of the Oedipal conflict. "In the young boy, the Oedipus complex or more correctly, conflict, arises because the boy develops unconscious sexual desires for his mother. Envy and Jealousy is aimed at the father, the object of the mother's affection and attention. These feelings for the mother and rivalry toward the father lead to fantasies of getting rid of his father and taking his place with the mother."(simplypsychology.org) While this theory seems rather far out, it does describe Hamlet’s actions strangely well. His demeanor isn’t solely due to his father’s death, a major component of it is due to his mother’s remarriage. Hamlet, as any child does, has subconscious sexual feelings towards his mother, and when Claudius marries her, he is extremely distraught because he sees him as a rival for her attention. When he sees her and Claudius enjoying themselves, he envies him. He sees him “as having done precisely what every male child fantasizes: killed his father and married his own mother.” (Bynum & Neve, 1986, p.395) It is this envy that drives Hamlet’s desire to kill Claudius, and possibly to replace him just as he did Hamlet’s father. Despite Hamlet’s insanity, his motivations are still explainable by a little Freudian psychoanalysis.
References
Bynum, W., & Neve, M. (1986). Hamlet on the Couch: Hamlet is a kind of touchstone by which to measure changing opinion—psychiatric and otherwise—about madness. American Scientist, 74(4), 390-396. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/27854253.
McLeod, S. (2018). Oedipal complex. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/oedipal-complex.html.
I agree with most of what is said in your argument. Hamlet is suffering and grieving but I also do believe he suffers from a mental illness. With that being said, I do not believe Hamlet is trying to kill his uncle to take his father's ex place and now his uncles.I truly believe Hamlet has issues that are not well known topped with the events happening it is just not a good mix. One statement in your argument baffles me though, "Hamlet, as any child does, has subconscious sexual feelings towards his mother," this statement actually turned my stomach. Freud is an excellent psychologist and great at what he does, though this statement does not seem factual or accurate by any means.
DeleteI'm going to have agree with pony polonius. I am unsure where your database research was done but I don't know if it's super accurate with a statement saying, "Hamlet, as any child does, has subconscious sexual feelings towards his mother,". Maybe the Freudian approach isn't for everyone.
DeleteI agree with many of your points. Hamlet is certainly in pain and surely is looking to make things right in his eyes. But, there is one line that has shook me to my core. "Hamlet, as any child does, has subconscious sexual feelings towards his mother". I cannot speak for you or the traditions of your family, but I know in my home, and what has always been the consensus of mother-son relationships, is there is no sexual feelings between mother and son. It is inherently wrong, and makes me rather sick. Maybe you should talk to someone. But otherwise good blog post.
DeletePros, you took an interesting approach to Hamlet by psychoanalyzing him, mentioning the ghost as a figment of his imagination and stating that it is saying what he wants is a very strong point, and you consider his reasoning behind his subconscious desires. The cons are I believe you are using the Oedipal conflict incorrectly. That conflict existed due to accidental sex with his mother. He did not know the woman was his mother when he slept with her, and then you apply this to a completely different character. At the end of your blog it seems like you kind of go into assumptions and guesses. You talk about Hamlet's lust for his mother when he shows no signs of this. He shows no loving or lustful emotions towards his mother. There is evidence to why he takes revenge and that evidence says nothing of sexual desire. You may also want to pick your quotes more carefully. The wording is also confusing, mixing quotes about Oedipus with Hamlet.
Delete@Waino
DeleteHey Waino, you exclaimed that all of this talk of the Oedipal Conflict "makes [you] rather sick" Nonsense, my dear classmate! Repulsion shan't stop the pursuit of knowledge! Also, I do hope your relationship with your mother is not that of lovers! That would be quite odd indeed. I suppose I have not made myself clear; The Oedipal Conflict is purely subconscious! Within healthy children, the Oedipal Conflict resolves itself, with the father becoming a role model and the desire for the mother being replaced with desire of other women. It is only when this conflict is not resolved that these feelings and thoughts become an issue, as in Hamlet's case. Hope that clears it up!
@What The Freud, I believe you are wrong. Throughout Hamlet there has been no implication that Hamlet has sexual or romantic feelings for his mother. Nor any feeling of neglect from his mother. I am curious as to what lead you to that conclusion as the only person that has caught Hamlet’s eye in the play is Ophilia. Over all I disagree with Hamlet’s jealousy for his mother, mostly because it doesn’t exist. Hamlet is angry at his mother because she acts like nothing happened once the previous king dies, and marries the previous kings brother.
Delete@What The Freud, I believe you are wrong. Throughout Hamlet there has been no implication that Hamlet has sexual or romantic feelings for his mother. Nor any feeling of neglect from his mother. I am curious as to what lead you to that conclusion as the only person that has caught Hamlet’s eye in the play is Ophilia. Over all I disagree with Hamlet’s jealousy for his mother, mostly because it doesn’t exist. Hamlet is angry at his mother because she acts like nothing happened once the previous king dies, and marries the previous kings brother.
DeleteI like your take on Sigmund Freud's theory about sexual relations with family members but it is only a soft theory. To elaborate more on the concept to clear up any confusion with the readers, humans are naturally attracted to familiarity. Although, anonymous is absolutely right. There have not been any signs of sexual relation with Hamlet and his mother so I think it would be smart to rethink your analogy connecting Freud's concepts with Hamlet's thoughts.
Delete@lemonhead
DeleteI agree that Hamlet hasn't been overtly sexual with his mother. However, this doesn't discredit the theory! As I said in a previous comment, the attraction is typically subconscious. Even Hamlet probably isn't aware of it! However, it still effects him. It's kind of like a crush that you don't realize you have; if they get a boy/girlfriend, you're going to be a bit jealous, even if you don't know why. Oedipus's unconscious desire for his mother manifests itself in the same way!
If you are going to use the Oedipal Complex and explain it to people, I would recommend doing more research before you give people the wrong idea. First off, that concept is ONLY true in children from ages 3-6 because it occurs in the phallic stage of psychosexual development. A good example of what a kid experiencing the Oedipal Complex is a young boy not wanting his father to kiss his mother.
DeleteApt analysis @lemonhead
DeleteThank you @Waino
Delete@lemonhead
DeleteGood point. I don't think that I made it clear that it tends to resolve itself in early childhood in the original post. +10 points to Lemonhead!
Hamlet is a grieving man who is going through massive life changes along with a crisis in his life. From what we know so far, Hamlet seems like a man who is simply losing his mind and grip on reality, from talking to ghosts all the way to rambling random words in order to form a speech. Though Hamlet may have a high seeming status, he is no different than you and I. Hamlet has feelings and it is apparent that he is a strong family man. With his dear father’s passing, it tore Hamlet apart and only made things worse when his mother married his beloved father’s own brother! Hamlet describes his feelings in private, “O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables-meet it as I set it down that one may smile and smile and be a villain. At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.” Hamlet says aloud to Horatio and Marcellus. He writes, “So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word. It is “adieu, adieu, remember me. I have sworn’t.”(Page 63, line 111-119) Hamlet also refers to his uncle in this way, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown.” (Page 59, line 46-47) Sigmund Freud conducted research in which he states, “Given the belief in psychic universality, the pleasure of the viewer or reader derives from art must be directly linked to that of its creator.” (Feud, 1953.) To truly understand Hamlet, we need to dive into the mind of Shakespeare, the artist behind Hamlet. To my surprise, Freud might be onto something here. Hamlet is a man who feels with everything he has, ranging from intense love to intense anger. “O dear Ophelia, I am till at these numbers. I have not art to reckon my groans, but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu. Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet.” (Page 91, line 128-132)Hamlet loves Ophelia with everything he has. This is similar to Shakespeare as he has a variety of plays that impact the audience in different ways. Hamlet is important as a person because of the fact that he is an average man who simply has feelings and in my opinion has no reason to say sorry for it. Hamlet is going through a massive breakdown and he truly just needs help and to come to peace with his father’s death, which will only happen once we find out how and why his father passed away. Hamlet as a person, symbolically represents a strong family man who is being pinned out to be the bad guy. Polonius cannot stand Hamlet and wants his daughter to have nothing to do with him. “Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star. This must not be. And then I prescripts gave her, That she should lock herself from his resort. Admit no messengers, receive no tokens;” Polonius explains to the king. (Page 91, line 150-154) It absolutely boggles me how nobody around Hamlet truly feels bad for him or realizes how bizarre the whole situation is with his mother and uncle. The King does not blame Hamlet though, he believes Hamlet is simply acting up due to the circumstances going on in his life. Hamlet represents truth and family, he wants to find out the truth about his father and shows the power of family, in ways it can be beneficial and good, or ways it can be terrible and cold.(1/2)
ReplyDeleteHamlet has caused me to muster up many different feelings than Oedipus. Unlike Hamlet, Oedipus took part in his father’s murder and married his own mother, all self induced causing him to ruin his and his family’s lives forever and drastically. Hamlet never asked for this. He loved his father and it tore him apart to see his uncle with her, taking the attention away from the great mass who perished and directing all on the evil man who caused these events to occur. Hamlet and Oedipus both seek the truth, but Hamlet is way more open to the ideas being brought to his attention. He believes the Ghost when he gets told his father was murdered, whereas when Oedipus was told the truth, he fought against it and got angry with those around him. I truly believe Hamlet is mentally ill and suffering the aftermath of losing a loved one and nobody acknowledging or keeping his memory alive. Not only that, his mother married his uncle and I cannot stress this detail enough. Put yourself in Hamlet’s shoes. It would be weird seeing that and heartbreaking at the same time. I do not believe anybody would enjoy that. Hamlet is only a suffering man who desperately needs help but people are blind and too selfish to notice the disintegrating life in this man. (2/2)
ReplyDeleteSigmund Freud, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (ed. James Strachey, trans. Strachey et al., 24 vols., 1953–74)
I agree with you that Hamlet has a lot more emotions than Oedipus but I do not agree that Hamlet believes the ghost. I think he is skeptical of what the ghost is playing and questions if the ghost is coming with good intentions or trying to create hell. He even sets up the play to try and see how his uncle will react to know for sure if he is being truthful. " He would drown the stage with tears and cleave the general ear with horrid speech, Make mad the guilty and appall the free."( 2.2.589-591) I see Oedipus and Hamlet the same because the both are fighting for the truth but Oedipus and Hamlet are fight for different people Oedipus, himself and Hamlet, for his father! But I love your perspective!
DeleteHamlet is a character in the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, who in my eyes is struggling with a mental illness. We care about him because he is the prince and his father the king got killed by his uncle, who is now King Claudius. Once his uncle took place as king, Hamlet was upset and confused as to why it was not him. And to add onto all the drama and confusion of Hamlet not becoming king, he had to witness his father's own brother who he dislikes marries his mother, Queen Gertrude. Hamlet is not a fan of their marriage and continues struggling with his father's death. His mother even told him to get over his father's death even though it was just so recent. Queen Gertrude said to Hamlet “Seek for thy noble father in the dust: Thou know’st ‘tis common; all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.” (Shakespeare, 1958, 1.2.75) Hamlet is mad at his mother and everyone else who made it seem just so easy to forget about his father and move on so quickly. During the wedding of the king and queen Hamlet stood to the side and did not participate in the wedding. He felt as if it was wrong to celebrate their marriage when his uncle killed his father just to become king. I also believe Hamlet is being stubborn and pouting about the marriage, because he himself thought he be the next king.
ReplyDeleteHamlet also claims that he had spoken and has seen a ghost. And that the ghost is his father, as said in the play by the ghost “I am thy father's spirit”(Shakespeare, 1958, 1.5.14) And Hamlet believes and listens to everything the ghost has to say. Like for example the ghost had talked about King Claudius saying “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and dammed incest” (Shakespeare, 1958, 1.5.87) Which then Hamlet goes on with that mind set of hating King Claudius being with his own mother and being crowned the new king. But for believing everything a“ghost” says, that no one has ever spoken to leads me to believe even more that there is something mentally wrong with Hamlet. He could be hallucinating like menatlly ill people do, due to the grief of his father.
Hamlet as a play is to show us how improper a royal family can be. From the outside most people would believe that the family is very formal and they all get along. But that is not the case with Hamlets family and kingdom. For an example king Claudius sent Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to go spy on Hamlet secretly. King said “by your companies To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather” (Shakespeare, 1958, 2.2.14). Guildenstern and Rosencrantz were supposed to be Hamlets “friends” but lied to his face just to figure out what was wrong with him, for the king. Rosencrantz lied to Hamlet and told him they were only there “ To visit you, my lord; no other occasion.” (Shakespeare, 1958, 2.2.87) But in a kingdom you would not assume that the king would send people behind the princes back to spy on him to try and get information. Hamlet symbolically is to show grief and sadness. As mentioned before he is very upset in the sense of his own uncle killing his father and taking over. Hamlet is so distressed he even mentions about his home, “Denmark's a prison.” (Shakespeare, 1958, 2.2.260)
The tragedy in this play has changed from Sophocles because in Oedipus, he himself killed the king. Which the king was Oedipus’s father, then Oedipus filled in the position of being king. But in Hamlet, his uncle killed his father, the king. And Hamlet did not get to fill the position of being king, his uncle Claudius did.
DeleteFrom the database I learned that Hamlet was trying to get revenge, which assured me to assume he is mentally ill. As stated in the database “Hamlet’s continued failure to take his revenge and also, perhaps, to his accidental killing of Polonius” (Johae, A. 2007). Which was kind of a spoiler in terms of Polonius, but it proves that Hamlet is having impulsive thoughts as a mentally ill person would. Another point in the research stood out to me mentioning “Hamlet going around in mental circles, as when, in act 3, scene 3, he sees his uncle, Claudius, at prayer and reasons himself out of doing his duty and taking his revenge” (Johae, A. 2007). Where there it even “stated mental circles” proving that Hamlet’s mental state is not well. Lastly, the database stated “and for Hamlet, at last, to literally “steel,” or stab, his treacherous uncle to death.” (Johae, A. 2007) Which clarified that Hamlets illness is real and has brought him to major violence.
References:
Johae, A. (2007). Wole Soyinka’s “Hamlet”: The Rotten State of Denmark Revisited. Research in
African Literatures, 38(4), 61–69. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s
6944278&db=lfh&AN=27055586&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Shakespeare, W. (1958). Hamlet. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
I do not think that just because Hamlet wanted revenge means that he is mentally ill. I think any sane person would want revenge after what happened to his father. The kingdom that should have been his was ripped out of his hands, and given to someone who should have never been in line for the throne. Hamlet appears to be frustrated with the situation because there is not a whole lot that he can do, but I wouldn't say he's mentally ill.
Delete@rosencrantz Hamlet is indeed very frustrated, but he has more symptoms than just frustation that we have read about so far. He gets physical with Ophelia and switches moods very fast which happens to mentally ill people when they get upset. Plus in the begining when he stayed to the side of everyone during the wedding and did not include himself. Hamlet also got up infront of everyone during the play Mouse trap and had made a fool of himslef, which sometimes that is what mentally ill people do and they don't have control over themselves in those moments.
Delete@Queen obviously violence is never the answer however it is unfair to automatically assume that because he turned to violence then he is mentally ill.
Delete@Rosencrantz, I totally agree with your statement. He wanted answers. He wanted to know what actually happened, why it happened, who did it. There is nothing crazy about trying to figure things out, any person that wanted answers I feel would do the same things as Hamlet does.
DeleteHamlet is the Prince of Denmark who sort of changed Shakespeare's typical story line. Most of Shakespear’s characters act on Impulse, Hamlet on the other hand, waited patiently and played with people for days until the perfect time came. In my mind he is the best of Shakespeare’s characters and really define his work. Hamlet really means something in literature, not just the story but character himself. He acts crazy to blind others from his real thoughts. He does and acts certain ways but really only does these things to catch Claudius for the murder of his father also known as the old king. As we see he tends to change his attitude when he learns or notices someone is listening and watching. He goes from normal for him to go crazy. Every one thinks he is crazy for his love for Ophelia instead of the murder of his father. This piece of literature is used in today's world. In movies, television, and books they use this aspect of someone pretending to be something else to elude others from their real identity. The more research I do of Hamlet the more impact I see and how important he really is in literature. For instance the article i am reading compares this work to Oedipus from Sophocles and from this we can see how literature has evolved. They give me examples on how they differ and compare just opening my opinion even more.
ReplyDelete@Hurati-o why do you think Hamlet is pretending to be crazy? I personally do not see why he would do this as it means that he is less likely to get the throne and to get Ophelia. I think that the people around him, especially Claudius are trying to convince people that he is "crazy". I am also wondering, in your opinion, how literature has changed over the years and also how Hamlet differs so much from Oedipus.
DeleteThis is a perspective I had no thought of but makes sense to me that Hamlet would be pretending in order for people to not see the plan of confronting Claudius about the murder of hamlet's father. Like the scene with Ophelia. He goes from being all sweet to being a complete lunatic. He said, " If tho dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as Chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, Farewell (3.1 146-149). I can see how you interpreted these lines as him knowing that there were people listening in but I saw this scene as more of Hamlet feeling mistrust. You see he thought of Ophelia as the one person that he could turn to in a time of need and she told him to leave her alone. I feel that the literature is important just as you said because thousands of books have been written even lion king is a spin off of Hamlet. Where Mufasa is killed by his own brother Scar to claim the kingdom. But what did your research tell you about Oedipus and Hamlet? Also do not forget your references! Good post though!
DeleteI agree Hamlet is one of the best characters Shakespeare has created. I do not believe Hamlet is pretending to be crazy. I truly believe with all the trauma and changes going on around him he could be suffering with a mental illness and trying to learn how to cope. There is too much going on in his life all at once. I do not believe he is trying to distract others by acting crazy, I believe these are his true emotions and everyone around him is ignoring the fact that he needs help and he is hurting.
DeleteI think that you are saying the Hamlet does not have mental illness and if so, I agree with you. I do disagree with the idea of Hamlet pretending to be crazy. He yells and plays with his words a lot but I do not believe he is pretending, I think it is more of that he is sad and is trying to figure out the truth rather then just pointing fingers at who killed his father, and for me being the audience of the play Oedipus and Hamlet, I learned from Oedipus to not put the blame on anyone else and to figure out the truth before getting revenge. So in this case, Hamlet is being smart by playing mind games. I also believe Hamlet is hoping the play and words (mind games) he uses will eventually make the murderer admit to the killing of his father.
DeleteI am not sure if you are siding with the side of Hamlet being mentally ill or not. But I disagree with you saying Hamlet faking to be crazy. There is no valid reason why he would, and I do not think anyone would even want to be known as "crazy" let alone trying to fake it. If anything he is just trying to express himself and prove to everyone that his uncle murdered his father. Along with the death of his father and grief from that,I believe that has turned into more of an illness. Hamlet states "I am alone" (Shakespear, 1958, 2.2.555) which assures me that is why he is mentally ill. Since his father died he feels as if he has no one, then when Ophelia is forced to leave him, he feels as if he had hit rock bottom.
DeletePros, your topic is unique in how you talk about Hamlet's uniqueness compared to other literary characters of Shakespeare and your quote is from a scene where he acts unusual. The cons, the grammar does not flow and is wrong in some places, your post seems to split from talking about Hamlet being a unique character to just focusing on his madness, and you talk about your research and examples but do not add any of it into your blog. To make this post better, you need to have more factual evidence, proper grammar, and a introduction without "sort of," this weakens your stand immediately.
Delete@hurati-o
DeleteI like how you mention that he takes his time and is methodic with how he goes about his revenge. I think the fact that he sets up a play just to confirm what the "ghost" told him really exemplifies this side of him. I, like many other repliers, am skeptical of the proposition that Hamlet is faking his insanity. What purpose would faking being insane serve him? Wouldn't acting normal cause Claudius to be even more surprised when he sees the play, as he wouldn't expect anything strange?
@Hurati-o, It wouldn't mean that everyone is crazy. When the Queen of England dies I am willing to bet money that everyone will grief for the Queen. The same is happening for the people in Denmark. They have lost a King, someone very important to them. What I believe is happening in Denmark is widespread grief. Marcellus and Bernardo both though they saw a ghost and to rationalize it in both of their heads came to the conclusion that the ghost might be the recently (as recently as two months) deceased King.
DeleteAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IGNORE THE ABOVE COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteReferences
DeleteBali, S. (2014). Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear. IUP Journal of English Studies, 9(4), 81–92. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s6944278&db=lfh&AN=100310815&site=ehost-live&scope=site
@ rosencrantz I don't see hamlet really wanting the throne as much as he wants justice for his fathers murder. So I do believe he is just pretending to be crazy to draw in the attention from others and create sort of an allusion to his real thoughts. Now I will say some of that crazy may be true because he did see his fathers ghost and talk to him and that type of thing makes the reader view him as insane due to the simple fact ghosts aren't real but as the story go on and we see that what the ghost told him is true then that alone should show the ghost is real and not just a figment of his imagination.
DeleteThe death of any relative can be detrimental, especially someone as close as a father. Hamlet underwent this traumatic loss, and was then forced to accept the new relationship between his newly widowed mother and his uncle only two months after the death of his father. “But two months dead-” (1.2.142)
ReplyDeleteThere are many conspiracies regarding whether Hamlet is mentally ill, and although I can see the opposing sides point. The loss of a loved one and the natural course of grieving can make a person act completely different. If Hamlet was mentally ill and hallucinating, then why did the guards both see the ghost in the beginning of the play? Barnardo, one of the guards, also pointed out the key observation that it looked like Hamlets deceased father. “In the same figure like the King that’s dead.” (1.1.48) Previously in the play Hamlet talks to the ghost and that is when he finds out that his uncle was the person who murdered Hamlet senior, if Hamlet was mentally unstable he would have immediately killed his uncle. However Hamlet creates a plan to find proof, which is a very intelligent approach. “I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks; I’ll tend him to the quick. If he do blench, I know my course.” (2.2.623-627)
The new king arranges for Hamlet’s old classmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to impersonate a friendship persona and figure out why he is acting so “odd.” “To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather so much as from occasion.” (2.2.15-16) It is shocking to see how differently these people dealt with death, of course a son so soon after his father’s death is going to act odd. I believe that Hamlet is portrayed to be mentally ill by the people around him, I truly do not understand why the characters make him seem to be mentally ill when he has just lost a parent. Polonius tells his daughter, Ophelia, that she can not be with Hamlet, but why? He sets up a meeting for them to have their final goodbyes and watches them as they do so. Ophelia is told to break up with Hamlet and give him all of the love letters back that he wrote for her. “My lord I have remembrances of yours that I have longed to redeliver.” (3.1.102-103) Now a days in a time of crisis and need, like the loss of a parent, people are often very generous and want to be there for the grieving person. However, it is clear to see that avoiding a conversation regardings one's feelings is how they prefered it.
Hamlet junior is also known for his play on words, and suggesting ideas without directly stating them. Examples of this are “A little more than kin and less than kind” (1.2.67) and “So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr” (1.2.143-144) Hamlet also called Polonius a“fishmonger” which is quite humorous because Polonius did not understand that he was being made fun of. In the research that I found Jean Starobinski studied the metaphors and found out how using metalanguage can change the whole interpretation of the conversation. He said in his research “The mind thinks itself in language and its representations, and as language is always a borrowing, a citation, our attempts to know are always relative.” Perhaps the misconception that Hamlet is mentally ill comes from the lack of understanding to the text.
DeleteControl is what differs between the two plays. Seemingly in Oedipus, he held all control. When he heard about the murder of the king he took it upon himself to find out who did it, and was very determined to get an answer. Despite finding out later that he was the one to have done it, he still remained in control because he kept his promise to banish the murderer and even though it was him, he still kept his promise. Hamlet on the other hand seems to possess no control whatsoever. When the king dies, the oldest child is who takes the throne. But clearly it was given to the uncle. Hamlet is not even able to control something that has been a tradition for years, the kingdom should be his but feels as though there is no way to take it back.
References:
Database:
Starobinski, J. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://litguide-press-jhu-edu.snc.idm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/view.cgi?eid=292&query=hamlet criticism
Shakespeare, Simon & Schuster. (2012). Hamlet. New York. The Folger Shakespeare Library
thats me ^
DeleteI agree with the differences in the Sophocles and Shakespeare tragedies. The differential in control is quite obvious. But I disagree that Hamlet is not mentally ill. The ghost did not speak to anyone except Hamlet. Horatio states in the first scene when he sees a dark figure in the night, "Stay! speak! speak! I charge thee, speak!" (1.1.61). But the figure does not stay to talk. Then when Hamlet leaves his friends to chase the figure, in a different scene, no one hears the conversation between the figure and Hamlet, even though they are in the same woods.
DeleteYou said "if Hamlet was mentally unstable he would have immediately killed his uncle" which is necessarily not true. Not all mentally ill people are murders. And you also stated "make him seem to be mentally ill when he has just lost a parent." Which is not the reason he is mentally ill. I believe that his fathers death triggered him to make him act up. But I think Hamlet was always ill and the death just made it visible to everyone. I think Hamlet kept to himself about a lot of his feelings until the ghost told him that king Claudis murdered his father.
Deleteoops thats me ^
ReplyDeleteHamlet, a character of classic literature that still has people guessing. It has been argued many times what the play means, how Hamlet thought, and if he was even sane. He lived a very different life. His father died, killed by his Hamlet’s uncle according to a ghost, and that very same uncle was marrying his mother and becoming king. This undoubtedly had mental strain on Hamlet and these initial events most definitely set the road map for the future actions and interpretations of the play. Hamlet is in fact mentally ill, this was made obvious by the actions he took and the words he used.
ReplyDeleteIt is apparent that Hamlet is stricken with some sort of mental illness. To understand what makes this as obvious as it is, you must first know the meaning of the term. To be mentally ill is to have a condition that affects your own mood, thinking, and/or behavior. Depression is a common example of a mental illness. The death of the previous king, Hamlet’s father, affected many people, however, none had the same reaction as Hamlet did. His sadness affected his daily life. His clothes were black and he would not even join the king and queen next to the thrones. Hamlet is seen as mentally ill due to his actions and words.
Even with the apparent proof, Hamlet can be peeled back further, revealing more to his complex character design. In The Journal of General Education from Penn State University Press, an editorial comment was made by Ben Euwema on Hamlet. This editorial comment was called “ The Universal in Hamlet” and discussed different scenes, the meanings behind actions, the symbolic nature of characters, and more. Euwema stated, “This is the basis for Hamlet’s apparent agnosticism and obvious pessimism. To the ontological question Hamlet gives at best an equivocal answer, for Hamlet says in effect: ‘The world is out of joint, probably permanently and fundamentally. The reality is as bad as the appearance’”(Euwema, 1964). This context speaks of Hamlet’s distaste for the world. Hamlet believes nothing can be known of the universe because everything is wrong. His mindset is negative to his very beliefs in the universe. The cause being his mental illness. The depths of his sick mentality run deep.
The true question is why Shakespeare would add a character like Hamlet? Hamlet is the symbol that represents what the world is doing to people. Hamlet is the result of mistrust, grief, love, hate, and vengeance. He loses his father, doubts his mother, is vengeful towards his uncle, unsure of a ghost’s words, and lost in who to give his trust too. The world hit Hamlet hard, and as a result, he has the symptoms of one who is mentally ill. He is desperate and depressed, doubting all those around him and only wishing for what he sees as right. “Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd” (Shakespeare, 3.1.111-112, 1963). This is spoken by Hamlet after finding out his love would have nothing more to do with him. This was a trust formed by love, and that trust was broken for Hamlet. It is one of the many events that formed Hamlet into what he was. Hamlet is a symbol of what becomes of those who lived in the cruel world.
DeleteHamlet was a tool. This tool was used by Shakespeare to convey a message of what the world was and what it did to people. Due to his fate, Hamlet was rendered mentally ill. All the pain, suffering, and betrayal hurt Hamlet psychologically. He lived a life devoid of trust, love, and happiness.
References:
Euwema, B. (1964, April). Editorial comment: the universal in hamlet. Retrieved from
https://www-jstor-org.snc.idm.oclc.org/stable/27795904?Search=yes&resultItemClick=tru
e&searchText=hamlet&searchText=sane&searchUri=/action/
doAdvancedSearch?q0=hamlet&f0=all&c1=AND&q1=sane&f1=all&c2=AND&q2=&f2=all
&c3=AND&q3=&f3=all&c4=AND&q4=&f4=all&c5=AND&q5=&f5=all&c6=AND&q6=
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SYC-4802/control&refreqid=search:310b7e6e174b2386869a18102c9325df&
seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents.
Shakespeare, W. (1963). The tragedy of hamlet prince of denmark. (E. Hubler, Ed.). Chicago,
IL: Signet Classic .
I agree with you that Hamlet has experienced many different emotions and is dealing with the lost of everyone close to him. This includes, his father, mother, uncle, and his love Ophelia. It is no wonder he is having a great deal of mistrust but I do not think Hamlet is showing signs of being mentally ill. I think the people around him are going crazy because whose parents reads your letters from your love intrest or kills their brother in cold blood and marry there wife? I feel as if the world around Hamlet are aspiring to try to make him follow the wrong path.
DeleteHamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare. The play’s main character is a young man named Hamlet Jr. who is portrayed as a rebellious and grief-stricken prince of Denmark. He is the son of the King who was supposedly murdered by his own brother Claudius. The Ghost of Hamlet’s father said,” Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebona in a vial and in the porches of my ears did pour”(1.5.69-70). He is suggesting that hamlet’s uncle has taken poison and put it in his father’s ear when he was sleeping causing his blood to curdles like milk when it has expired, ultimately resulting in death. We should care about the play Hamlet because it’s revenge plot can teach us a lot about what can happen when greed takes over. Like even the cold-blooded murder of King Hamlet by his own brother because he wanted his wife and kingdom. Hamlet often uses symbolic language in his lines causing the play to have a deeper meaning. An example is hamlet’s line, “ But my uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived (2.2.399-400). What I interpret from this line is that Hamlet is angered by his mother marrying his uncle in just two months. So he makes the remark that his mother is now also his aunt just like his uncle is now his father.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare’s tragedy is different from Sophocles’s because unlike Oedipus, Hamlet is trying to fix a problem instead of creating the problem. In Oedipus Sophocles, has Oedipus be his own enemy causing a huge foreshadowing throughout the play, where Hamlet is more suspenseful. Oedipus toward the begin was told by Teiresias that he was the cause of Laius’ death. Teiresias said,” I say yo our the murderer of the king whose murderer you seek” (Sophocles, 2010, Line 362). Hamlet though has left me not being able to predict the end of the play like Oedipus. All I have inquired from Hamlet is, his father has passed at the hands of his uncle Claudius causing his Uncle to take the throne and marry the Queen. Plus, Hamlet has talked to his father’s ghost and agrees to avenge his death, just like Oedipus had without knowing it! The Ghost said,” Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange, and Unnatural.” Hamlet then said,” Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift. As meditation or the thoughts of love May sweep to my revenge. (1.5.33- 37) So will Hamlet face the same fate as Oedipus or will he come out on top of the Kingdom? I hope to have an answer soon!
As for Hamlet’s mental health, I believe he is not mentally ill I think that he may be struggling with the death of his father but with it only being two months before I believe it is normal behavior for someone who has just lost someone so important. When he is seeing the ghost of the father I think he is really seeing him because even the Marcellus and Barnardo see the dark figure. “ Peace, break thee off! Look where it comes again. In the same figure like the King that’s dead. (1.1.47- 48) The guards believe it to be the old king, so I think the ghost is real and is not just a figment of your imagination. He also takes caution when the ghost tells Hamlet to kill Claudius and does not just trust him and act he wants proof. “ This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murdered, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab, A stallion!” (2.2.611-614) This is why I believe he is not ill, he is just upset with the death of his father and the rushed marriage of his mother to his uncle.
I looked at research about the Ghost character, He is portrayed as the apparition of Hamlet’s dead father that only speaks to Hamlet. The Ghost character is very mysterious, he comes to Hamlet and tells him to revenge his death but if the murder had occurred when he was sleeping how did he know Claudius is the one to blame? I believe Hamlet has picked up on the sketchiness of the situation. He is thinking about the ghost as lying or even a monster from hell trying to convince him to do wrong. The ghosts even said,” I am thy father’s spirit/Doomed for a certain term to walk the night/And for the day confined to fast in fires.” (1.5.9-11) When I hear the words “ fast in fires” I think of hell and the eternal flames. In my research the text I read compared the Ghost to a text called Of Ghosts and Spirits Walking By Night (1572) by Lewes Lavater’s. He states that” most appear especially in the night, and before midnight in our first sleep” (Murphy, 2014) The ghost definitely only comes at night because he said I walk at night and this gives me confidence that Hamlet is not going crazy but is actually seeing his father!
DeleteReferences:
Murphy, B. E. (2014, January 1). Sulphurous and Tormenting Flames: Understanding the Ghost in Hamlet. Retrieved December 10, 2019, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=4c70d4ea-2248-4401-b25b-28bde9fad85b@sessionmgr101.
Shakespeare, W. (2012). Hamlet . New York, NY: Simon and Schuster paperback edition.
Sophocles, Clay, D., & Berg, S. (2010). Oedipus the king. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Delete@Ghostly I disagree with why you think Hamlet differs from Oedipus. Throughout the whole play Oedipus' main goal is to find the murderer. If you were told that you'd killed the king and couldn't remember it then you would also be hesitant to believe them. But even when Oedipus finally believed that he was the killer, he still kept his promise to banish the criminal. Not once throughout the play did I think Oedipus was trying to create a problem.
Delete@rosencrantz Yes Oedipus does try and find the murder the whole play and he is disagreeing that he is the killer but Hamlet is told from a ghost of his father that he has been murdered. Both are in denial about what they have been told but Hamlet is fighting his family where Oedipus is fighting himself. But I do understand where you are coming from!
DeleteIn the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is the main character of the play. I think we should care about him because he is the son of the ghost who was the former king, he seems like he is not mentally stable, and I predict that Hamlet is going to do something important. Personally, I think Hamlet is mentally ill, not just pretending. For example, Hamlet sees and follows a ghost in the night. He has a conversation with the ghost and then goes back to talk to Horatio and Marcellus. Hamlet told them he talked to the ghost and told them not to tell anyone that they saw it. The problem here is that Horatio and Marcellus never actually saw the ghost. “There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave to tell us this,” said Horatio. (1.5.139-140). Hamlet gets offended and tells Horatio, “And much offense, too. Touching this vision here, It is an honest ghost--that let me tell you.” (1.5.153-154). Hamlet asks Horatio and Marcellus to swear by his sword to keep the secret of the ghost between them, and they did to make Hamlet happy. This scene may show that Hamlet is not mentally stable because he is seeing and talking to a ghost that nobody else could notice. This implies that Hamlet may be a little delusional and mentally ill. To add to this, the ghost told Hamlet that he was killed by his own brother, Claudius. Now Hamlet wants to prove it was his own uncle that killed his father to steal the crown. I kind of feel bad for Hamlet, his father gets murdered and had no time to mourn his loss, and his psychological state is not stable. It is no question if Hamlet is going to want revenge on Claudius. I think the “ghost”, or should I say, “Hamlets brain”, is going to get Hamlet to do some very bad things, that might just hurt him in the end.(1/2)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that hamlet is mentally unstable and most likely has something wrong with him. I also agree with you that he is the only one to see the ghost, although i'm still unsure if its real or a piece of his imagination. I agree that Hamlet is going to do something important, but what? Will it be positive or negative, good or bad? I would guess bad, that seems to be the direction the young prince is heading.
DeleteHow could Hamlet be the only one who sees the ghost if Marcellus and Horatio both saw it as well. although I would agree with the statement that maybe Hamlet is the only one who can hear and see the face of the ghost.
DeleteIn the database I have found, a man by the name of Sigmund Freud, saw himself as a systematic scientific explorer of the human unconscious. In simple terms he was a neuropathologist. He had a theory of the unconscious. He believes the brain/the unconscious is the root of creativity for the production of art and how we receive and analyze any information. “Given the belief in psychic universality, the pleasure the viewer or reader derives from art must be directly linked to that of its creator: "Kindly nature has given the artist the ability to express his most secret mental impulses, which are hidden even from himself, by means of the works that he creates; and these works have a powerful effect on others who are strangers to the artist, and who are themselves unaware of the source of their emotion " (11:107).” Although Hamlet is a made-up character I think this quote fits him perfectly. He as the artist is having “secret mental impulses” which he does not even know. Hamlets brain or “ghost” is leading him to have the mental impulses which he does not even know where exactly all those emotions are coming from. Hamlet could be imagining the ghost because he is experiencing pain and grief which can evidently cause mental issues. Mental problems are a big issue across these tragedies. For example, in Oedipus by Sophocles, it was not clear if Oedipus had mental issues. At the end of the play we found out that Oedipus killed his own father and married his mother. I believe Oedipus had some kind of mental problem causing him to forget things that have happened in the past. This situation is kind of the opposite for Hamlet. Hamlet lost his father and he was very hurt from it, which I believe caused some problems for him in the beginning. Although different, the plays are kind of similar too. With Oedipus, he was not mentally stable and he ended up ruining his own life because of it. I believe that is going to happen to Hamlet. I think his brain will convince him to do something that will ruin his life, just like Oedipus.(2/2)
ReplyDeleteReferences
Database: Sigmund Freud, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (ed. James Strachey, trans. Strachey et al., 24 vols., 1953–74). Retrieved from https://litguide-press-jhu-edu.snc.idm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/view.cgi?eid=111&query=hamlet%20mental#top
Play: Shakespeare, Simon & Schuster. (2012). Hamlet. New York. The Folger Shakespeare Library
I disagree with you saying that Horatio and Marcellus did not see the ghost and just swore on the sword to make Hamlet happy. They may not have sen the ghost because I do not think the ghost is real but they definitely saw something hat spooked them because they told Hamlet as soon as they could and if they actually did not see anything why would they go tell Hamlet that they saw his father?
DeleteI also disagree with you saying Marcellus and Horatio did not see the ghost. They obviously saw something. They may not have seen his face, but they definitely saw his figure. It would be a huge coincidence that all three of these people all swore they saw the same thing.
DeleteThe main character is Hamlet, who is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, senior. In the royal chain of succession, after the King has passed, the eldest son is supposed to take over the responsibilities and duties of the king. In the play, this did not happen. Just a few weeks after the death of the leader of Denmark, the Queen remarried to Hamlet senior’s brother, the new King named Claudias. It is evident that Claudias had planned everything that happened so he could become King and rule Denmark. Hamlet is not in agreeance with his mother and uncle to get married. It seems Hamlet thinks Claudias is rude and manipulative.“[Aside] A little more kin, and a less than kind.” (Shakespeare, 2012, 1.2.68-69). Hamlet says this quote after the new king calls him his son. This lets the audience know how he feels about his uncle being his new stepfather.
ReplyDeleteThe King and Queen both think that Hamlet is being overly dramatic. It is also thought that Hamlet may have some sort of mental illness. I do not agree with this statement. During the Queen and Clauidas’s wedding, Hamlet sat aloof from all the other people. It also mentions that Hamlet is dressed all in black which symbolizes death and mourning, while everyone else attending the wedding is dressed in bright happy colors. Now, this is not uncommon for a teenager to rebel and be angry with a parent who remarries after the loss of another. In the time period that this play takes place, it was more normal for people's feelings to be hidden away. Showing emotions was frowned upon. It showed your personal and family weakness.
According to the database I have found, Shakespeare has not always written about tragedies. But during the time that this play was written, it seems that Shakespeare had gone through some traumatic “It seems likely that Shakespeare in middle life underwent at least two nervous crises that shook his work to its heart.” (Berryman, Bauer, 1999).
Symptoms of mental illness are not present in this play. What is present in this play is a sad, young, confused, teen who just lost his father. Nothing that Hamlet does, sets off red flags to tell the world that he is sick. The King and Queen both act as if Hamlet should ignore the fact that his father was murdered and he should just accept his uncle, his FAMILY, would betray him that way and take the throne right out from underneath him. When the ghost makes his arrival, Hamlet is not the first person to see it. The first two people to see the ghost are Bernardo and Francisco. The ghost will not talk or show his face to them, nor Marcellus and Horatio. If the ghost was not actually there, then only Hamlet would be able to see it. But multiple people see it.
DeleteI personally believe in spirits and how can we tell if ghosts are real or not. We can’t so why would people judge him for it. “Peace, break thee off; look, where it comes again!” (Shakespere, 2012, 1.1.49). “In the same figure, like the king that’s dead. (Shakespere, 2012, 1.1.50). Everyone is assuming that Hamlet may have some sort of mental illness simply because he is showing his emotions. Not every single person is going to show emotions in the same way. Some people cry, some people yell, and others use snarky remarks when talking to others. “Excellent well; you are a fishmonger.” (Shakespere, 2012, 2.2.192).
Overall I see absolutely nothing hinting to Hamlet having a mental illness. Now in Sophocles Oedipus, I do believe that Oedipus had a mental illness. How could he have killed so many people and not remember unless there was something wrong with him? All that is happening right now in the play Hamlet is a young teenager experiencing life-changing events and dealing with the emotions that come with them.
References
Database:
Berryman, J., & Bauer, J. (1999). The Crisis. American Poetry Review, 28(1), 11–18. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s6944278&db=lfh&AN=1417732&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Shakespeare, W. (1958). Hamlet. NY, N.Y.: Washington Square Press Publication of Pocket Books.
Sophocles. (1942). Oedipus the king. Chicago, I.L.: University of Chicago.
It is interesting that you found in the database that Shakespeare writes more than just tragedies. But I disagee with you stating Hamelt is not mentally ill. Hamlet definitely has something wrong with him and his thoughts.He is very hostile and does nothold anything back. Hamlet said "I say, we will have no more marriges: those that are married already, all but one, shall live"(Shakespeare, 1958,3.1.156). Talking about his uncle, and how he wants him dead. Just because his father died and he himself did not take over as king, he should not wish death upon him. Hamlet even states that he is "revengefull." And he is planning to have a play act out "something like murder of my father Before mine uncle" (Shakespeare, 1958, 2.2.603) Which to me is stepping over the line and proves that he is sick in his head.
DeleteI agree that there is no mental illnesses in this play. I think that Hamlet is just trying to get over his fathers death. The ghost is making it harder for Hamlet to get over his dads death. He tells Hamlet that his dad was murdered by his uncle who is currently married to his mother.
Delete@Queen, Grief makes people do strange things. Hamlet is in a very different, difficult, unusual situation. Just because someone gets angry and yells makes them mentally ill??
Delete@Classic Shakesphere, I sort of agree with you and sort of don't agree with your statement about the ghost making it harder on him. One of the hardest things for people after someone dies is the fact that they will never see them again. With the ghost visiting him, it could be comforting to Hamlet that he is seeing his father. Now I do agree that it could be harder at the same time because it is as if the situation is being dragged on and on.
Delete@ham ball no, Hamlet shows many other characteristics of being mentally ill. I just think that him yelling was him going through an episode like state. Hamlet shows tons of emotion but for him not really trusting anyone and standing apart from people shows more than just being angry. He even admits he feels alone.
Delete@Queen, He probably feels alone cause his father just died and his mother remarried two weeks later. To his uncle. Feeling down is different than being depressed.
DeleteCan we all just take a minute and reflect on the fact that both plays we have been reading this year has incest...
DeleteThe character Hamlet can be interpreted in many ways. I think of him as very quiet and secretive, but at the same time emotional and sensitive. My database research supports this by saying “Hamlet is presented as a sensitive gentleman scholar disillusioned in his social contacts and oppressed with the villainy and the futility of life” (Harold R. Walley, Page 778). Hamlet is the son of the most recent king, Hamlet Senior. After Hamlet Sr. died Hamlet should have been named king, but instead his uncle would be named king, after marrying Hamlets mother. Obviously, this was a lot for hamlet to deal with after coming back from being away at school. Not to mention they had the wedding just a few months after the death of Hamlet Sr. Hamlet was still in mourning and had many things to contemplate and deal with at one time. Hamlet does not like the marriage between his two family members, and considers it strange and unnatural. He shows this by dressing in all black and staying aside during his mother and uncle's wedding. Showing his grief and disapproval. “Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly. These indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play.” (Shakespeare, 2012, Act 1.2, Line 85-87)
ReplyDeleteHamlet appears to be struggling with a mental illness of some kind. He seems to switch moods suddenly and deal with his problems alone, not speaking to anyone about them, something that is discouraged in todays society for anyone having mental issues like anxiety or depression. He can go from calm to angry in a matter of seconds, and comes across as being depressed, although most characters seem to just attribute that with the death of his father. I think he has deeper issues mentally affecting him. “For this effect defective comes by cause” (Shakespeare, 2012, Act 2.2, Line 111-112). Another factor pointing to Hamlet being mentally ill is the fact that he has had conversations with the ghost of his father, a figure only he has seen. I think Hamlet has manifested this in his head, and none of it is real.
Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is much different than Sophocles Oedipus the King. The most important difference I have seen is Oedius starts the story with everything he wants, but Hamlet has nothing in the beginning. We start the story off learning of his misery and loss, he lost his father and may be dealing with depression. Sophocles tragedy is more orthadox. A standard tale of a man losing everything. Shakespeare's play is less standard. So far its told the tale of a man who feels he has nothing left to lose. They are similar in the way that both main characters are searching for something. Oedipus searched for answers, wanting to know if he fulfilled the prophecy he was given. I think Hamlet will seek vengeance for his father, which will in turn make things worse. “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right!” (Shakespeare, 2012, Act 1.5, Line 210-212)
My database research explained how Shakespeare may have felt about Hamlet and what he could have meant by Hamlet's actions and thoughts. Walley explains that Shakespeare might have projected some of his own attitude into Hamlet. It is possible considering Hamlet is Shakespeare's more philosophical play. “Thus whatever Madness Hamlet exhibits is an integral part of his own mental attitude” ((Harold R. Walley, Page 779).
References
Database: https://www-jstor-org.snc.idm.oclc.org/stable/pdf/458341.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-4802%252Ftest2&refreqid=excelsior%3Aae0e3db24ec2edda41002deb243a4cd4
Shakespeare, Barbara A. Mowat & Paul Werstine, (2012). Hamlet. New York: The Folger Shakespeare Library
I agree with you where you say that Hamlet changes his moods often. When Ophelia gave Hamlet back the letters, he was calm at first then got very mad and started yelling at her and dragging her around. This is very weird for someone to be perfectly fine then turn and try to hurt her.
DeleteI understand where you are coming from with Hamlet being secretive and sensitive. Your research backs up your claim very well. I do disagree with you saying Oedipus is MUCH different than Hamlet. My research shows similarities in the plot and schemes of both plays.
DeleteIn the play, “Hamlet” from William Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet may seem weary to the audience at first. Others may think that Hamlet seems like a great guy that is just mourning his father’s recent, brutal death. To clear up any gray areas people may think of him, many may need some backed up theories of the character to gain a better understanding of his life and actions. To start with some thought-changing concepts, Sigmund Frued, a deceased Australian neurologist, said he saw “Oedipal schemes” in Hamlet. With the ideology in “Oedipus” written by Sophocles, starts with a brutal death of a king which ends up being Oedipus’s father. To add suspense, nobody knows who the King’s killer is. In “Hamlet” the play starts off with a mysterious ghostly figure confusing soldiers guarding the castle. Later on in the first act, the reader learns that the ghost ends up being Hamlet’s deceased father, who was brutally killed before the play started. Oedipus also has a wife that he dearly loves and ends up having kids with, which is considered incest. When Hamlet confronts the ghost, the ghost describes his wife’s wedding with his brother as an incestuous act, following with an act of sex that the bachelors and bachelorettes witness and cheer on.
ReplyDeleteIs the comparison and I would say it is a good one but you didn't really say much on Hamlet's importance and who he is. Good job at describing the story and it's back plot but I didn't catch those two things.
DeleteThank you! I'm going to add more later tonight but I appreciate the feedback.
DeleteHamlet is a very important character from the play written by Shakesphere. He is the son of the king that died in the beginning of the play. Hamlet should of been the next king but his uncle married Hamlet's mother so he could be king insteads. We should care about Hamlet because he just lost his father and is going through a lot of stress. Hamlet says “Die two months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there’s hope a great man’s memory may outlive his life half a year. But, by’r Lady ‘a must build churches then, or else shall ‘a suffer not thinking on, with the hobbyhorse, whose epitaph is ‘For O, for O, the hobbyhorse is forgot”. (3.2.135-140). Hamlet says this because he wants to forget about his father and that this could be a way that he could if he has a place to mourn him. The ghost of Hamlet's father told Hamlet that his father was murdered and that his uncle killed him. This information makes Hamlet very mad and concerned. Hamlet then writes a play called Mouse Trap and it gets performed in front of the king and queen. Hamlet writes in the play making the queen say “Make us again count o’er ere love be done! But woe is me, you are so sick of late, So far from cheer and from your former state, that I distrust you, my lord, it nothing must. For women fear too much, even as they love, and women fear and love hold quantity, in neither aught, or in extremity. Now what my love is, proof hath made you know, and as my love is so. Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear; where little fears grow great, great love grows there.” (3.2.166-177). Hamlet is starting to pay attention to the king's reaction because he is trying to find out if the ghost is telling the truth about his father's death. The queen in the play also says, “The instances that second marriage move are base respects of thrift, but none of love. A second time I kill my husband dead when second husband kisses me in bed.” (3.2.188-191). Hamlet writes this in his play because he needs to know if his uncle killed his father. I do not think that Hamlet has a mental problem, he is just trying to get over his father's death. Hamlet is very important because there are several different viewpoints on the play itself. In my database search I found out that Freude says “The unconscious as the root of artistic creativity held certain implications not only for the production of art but also for the theory of its reception. Kindly nature has given the artist the ability to express his most secret mental impulses, which are hidden even from himself, by means of the works that he creates; and these works have a powerful effect on others who are strangers to the artist, and who are themselves unaware of the source of their emotions.” he is explaining that Shakesphere is expressing his mental state through the plays that he is writing. I do not agree with Freud because I do not think that Hamlet has mental issues.
ReplyDeleteReferences: Sigmund Freud, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (ed. James Strachey, trans. Strachey et al., 24 vols., 1953–74)
Link: https://litguide-press-jhu-edu.snc.idm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/view.cgi?eid=111&query=hamlet%20mental
I disagree that Hamlet does not have a mental illness. It is quite extreme to use a play to find out if someone killed your father. Also Hamlet's actions and language used during the play has a distraught person written all over it. Hamlet begins by talking to Ophelia in a sick way making untasteful jokes to then asking his mother, "Madam, how like you this play?" (3.2.253). The play is literally a play off of her present husband murdering her past husband. Hamlet's quick wit and puns hide his true emotions which hold a mental illness.
DeleteI believe that Hamlet is mentally ill, it id easy for you to say that he is not just because of grief. But Hamlet acts out in many other ways assuring me that he has an illness. For an example having the play Mouse Trap being acted out infront of everyone is not how you would deal with drief. If Hamlet is only upset because of the death of his father why would he have a play reenacting his whole death? And if he is only upset because of his fathers death why would he make a big disruptive scene when Ophelia gives his love notes back? And say to her "I did love you once." (Shakespeare, 1958, 3.1.125)
DeletePros, you included a synopsis and you speak of the deeper levels of character design at the end of the post. Cons, Improper grammar and I believe you have misunderstood a basic premise of the story. Hamlet is upset that his father died and is angry at everyone for getting over him so soon. He does not have the goal of forgetting his father. The quote is him speaking sarcastically about how people forget the dead so easily that the can not be remembered for even a half a year after the decease's lifetime.
DeleteI completely agree with you that Hamlet does not have any mental illnesses. @Whip-a-tesla how is it extreme that Hamlet used a play to figure out if his uncle was the true criminal? I personally believe that it is pretty mature, if he had just approached his uncle then he would have obviously denied it. By using the play, he can actually have proof which by what we watched in class, Hamlet got the answer that he was looking for.
DeleteI agree with you saying Hamlet is not mentally ill. I think you had a lot of opportunity to add in more quotes and more description but it was very basic. As @Tele Tub Pro mentioned, it seems you may have slightly misunderstood some parts and sort of jumped around.
DeleteHamlet is not mentaly ill. Grief is what is making Hamlet act this way. The death of his father, his mother moving on to Hamlet's uncle, and recently the loss of his girlfriend Ophelia are all stressors that cause your brain to make irrational decisions. More than likely some of you have experienced an auditory hallucination. Someone calling your name when they aren’t their, two voices arguing, or just someone saying a phrase that you haven't heard in years. All of these auditory hallucinations would have occured when stressed. It doesn't make sense to you, but it makes sense to the brain.
ReplyDeleteTowards the beginning of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Marcellus, Horatio, and Barnardo encounter “The ghost”. The trio believe that the ghost is the recently deceased king, Hamlet's father. After telling Hamlet that they all believe they saw the previous King, Hamlet immediately latches on to that idea. After all, it makes perfect sense! Hamlet later encounters the ghost, but only speaks to the ghost alone. Giving the idea that Hamlet may actually be talking to himself.
“The spirit I have seen may be a , and the hath power…” (2.2. 627-628). In this line it gives the watcher/ and or reader insight to what Hamlet is believing. Hamlet is griefing, he just saw his dad, believes his uncle-dad killed the King to take the throne, and even if the “spirit” is the devil Hamlet is going to trust it because Hamlet believes that if he gets uncle-dad to admit to killing the previous king Hamlet will have closure. Hamlet is dramatic, open, and a grieving man.
Complicated grief. (2017, October 5). Retrieved December 11, 2019, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/complicated-grief/symptoms-causes/syc-20360374.
Shakespeare, W. (2012). (B. A. Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
I see why you would think he is just hallucinating and it makes sense but at the beginning of the play we see that Marcellus and Bernardo both see the ghost and start yelling at him as a reaction. Then again they didn't see his face because he was wearing armour but they did see his figure and were the first in the story to do so. Would this mean they're crazy too?
DeleteI really like your approach to the question of if he is mentally ill or not, and I completely agree with you. Like you said grief can bring an immense amount of stress onto someone and our brains work in weird ways sometimes.
Delete@Hurati-o, It wouldn't mean that everyone is crazy. When the Queen of England dies I am willing to bet money that everyone will grief for the Queen. The same is happening for the people in Denmark. They have lost a King, someone very important to them. What I believe is happening in Denmark is widespread grief. Marcellus and Bernardo both though they saw a ghost and to rationalize it in both of their heads came to the conclusion that the ghost might be the recently (as recently as two months) deceased King.
DeleteSo you are saying that it doesn't make everyone crazy. So are you saying that only Hamlet is crazy for seeing the ghost? Why id Marcellus and Bernardo not crazy for seeing too?
DeleteThe tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark differs from Oedipus Rex by the absence of godly powers. In Oedipus Rex you have the prophecy to worry about. Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother because the gods said so. Leading to Oedipus to lose everything and live in banishment. In Hamlet Prince of Denmark the only person we have to worry about is Hamlet. There is no destiny, prophesy or any gods telling Hamlet what to do. Only a ghost that may or may not be real. Hamlet comes to the conclusion that his uncle-dad killed his father and acts accordingly. The only downfall in Hamlet is Hamlet himself.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare, W. (2012). (B. A. Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
Sophocles, & Greene, D. (2010). Oedipus Rex: (Oedipus the king). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is a story about the power of grief. Hamlet suffers from grief after the recent loss of his father. And reasonably so! “There is every reason in reality, for a son to be troubled and decomposed by the appetite of a mother who betrays his father’s memory by her incestuous marriage within a month, to his brother, and murderer, and there is surely more than reason for a son to be obsessed for a time with a father who literally returns from the grave to haunt him” (Kirsch, 21). Grief can cause strange things to happen. It can make you come to odd conclusions, it can make you believe in things you know are not true, and it can make you believe someone is with you when they are not there. All of these things are present in Hamlet Prince of Denmark as well as in Hamlet himself.
ReplyDeleteHamlet is grieving over the loss of his father and when presented with the idea that his father came back as a ghost, Hamlet latches on to that idea. If you were to lose someone very dear to you, someone who has been with you on all of your ups and downs throughout life you would not question if they came back as a ghost. If anything you would be glad to have your friend back! Hamlet truly believes his father came back, and starts to question how all of this happened.
It is no secret Hamlet is a smart man. With the love for poetry and plays it is obvious that Hamlet has a very good understanding of how the world works around him. “For your intent in going back to school in Wittenberg” (1.2.116-117) “Hamlet. I pray thee, stay with us. Go not to Wittenburg.” (1.2.122-123). Hamlet wants to go back to school because it makes him happy compared to being in Denmark with his new uncle-dad and mother-aunt, in which Hamlet compares Denmark to a prison. Although in class we have not figured out if the King killed the previous King, it would not surprise me if Hamlet saw through everything and figured out if the King had indeed killed the previous king for power. So it makes sense for Hamlet to imagine talking to his father and believing that the King killed for power.
@anon
DeleteIf you're saying that the ghost is in fact not real, how would Hamlet have come to the conclusion that his father was killed by Claudius? Not only did he know that the murder happened, he knew exactly how it occured! When he had the actors reenact the killing, you can tell that Claudius recognises it as his murder! I could understand coming to the conclusion that his dad was murdered by Claudius, but how would Hamlet get all the details right without ghostly help?
I agree with your points of the grief causing the mental issues. Hamlet had to do through the dead of his father all alone and his brain/conscious is not in the right places. Also I believe that Claudius did kill his father, which gives Hamlet the drive to find out for sure and to get revenge. I also agree that Hamlet is a smart man. He made it a mission to watch Claudius during the play to see if he could get any reactions out of him. I think Hamlet will find out the truth on who killed his father even though his brain is not in the right place right now- but maybe that is a good thing.
DeleteHamlet perceives himself as a very honorable man. Afterall, he is the son of the recently murdered King of Denmark. Regardless of what the character himself thinks, the audience has different thoughts on his own actions and expressions. Hamlet is quite possibly going through a severe stage of mourning, knowing he lost his loving father two months ago. In the second scene of act three, Hamlet expresses the way he feels by calling out his new stepfather, Claudius, about the murder of King Hamlet. Hamlet says during the play, “This play is the image of a murder done in Vienna. Gonzago is the duke’s name, his wife Baptista. You shall see anon. ‘Tis a knavish piece of work, but what of that? Your Majesty and we that have free souls, it touches us not. Let the galled jade wince; our withers are unwrung.” Hamlet is obviously hinting at his uncle’s violent killing of the former King in front of the whole audience of the play. I would not say Hamlet is being delusional, but coping as a normal man would for a father’s death.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Hamlet is an honorable man that is just going through a rough time in his life. I think you should have added more details on what makes him an honorable man. I actually disagree with Hamlet being delusional. I think he is a bit delusional from grieving his father so much while no one else was.
DeleteI was using the word delusional as a was of saying he was not making a false judgment, not necessarily as a mental issue. Thank you for the feedback though, it is nice hearing what others input is on my ideas.
DeleteThe play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare can mean many things. One of the key themes in the play is the theme of revenge. Ever since the murder of his father happened, the character Hamlet was never the same. It drove him to dark places in his mind and made him practically go insane. Another key theme in the play is the mystery of death. No one knows what death is like other than the dead. In the play there are is a key character that eludes to this point and that is the Ghost. People then had the thought that there was an afterlife that has to deal with ghosts and the “walking” dead. The last key point in the playwright is the “Hamlet” is how the notion of mental illness is perceived. There are a few characters in the story that have gone “mad” in a sense. The characters that this idea is portrayed in Hamlet and Ophelia. The madness that is driven into these characters is caused by the death of the former King. Hamlet became abusive in parts of the play and had major personality changes that made Ophelia uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you saying how he is in a dark place. That is a good explanation of whats going on. It also shows some symbolism of that "dark place" by Hamlet wearing all black.
DeleteI like your point on Hamlet, how grieving his father made him go into a dark place and go insane. I agree with this statement because I think the death of his father really messed with his brain, especially how he was grieving alone.
DeleteThat was me^
DeleteThank you guys for the positivity, greatly appreciated!
DeleteI like how you took the approach of the dead only knowing what it is like to be dead, I haven't seen that idea yet. I also agree that many issues occurred after the death of the former king.
DeleteReferences:
ReplyDeleteWillbern, D. (2005). Psychoanalytic Theory and Criticism. Retrieved from https://litguide-press-jhu-edu.snc.idm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/view.cgi?eid=215&query=hamlet.
Mowat, B. A., & Werstine, P. (1992). Hamlet. New York, NY: The Folger Shakespeare Library.