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. You are also required to refer to information Dr. Richmond used in her presentation (if it occurs).
*Answer the question/s and/or create your own argument to at LEAST one of the following
*What does Shakespeare's question of "Who's there?" or "To be or not to be?" symbolize for how both you and Hamlet view death and the afterlife?
*How has his tragedy changed from the times of Sophocles (religiously/character/etc.)
*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 12/18. 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 12/16 with the encroaching Christmas vacation.
Hamlet is a young man in a life crowns and betrayal. Though we have not gotten far in Hamlet, the story is much more complex and full of mental problems that we have not seen in past tragedies. A particular aspect of Hamlet is the slow deterioration of Hamlet’s mind. From his father’s funeral on the same day as his mother's wedding to now, when he sees his father’s ghost, Hamlet lets loose a lot of emotion. “A little more kin and less than kind” (Sophocles, line 67) Show that Hamlet is not pleased with his mother’s re-marrying as he also states, “But I have that within which passes show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe". (Sophocles, lines 88-89) show his beginning state of peril. Here hamlet is, grieving for the loss of his father, the previous KING of the city, and his mother is having a wedding on the same day. In Dr. Richmonds presentation, we discussed the signs of mental illness within the writing. I believe the line “Tears in eyes...a broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit” (Sophocles, lines 582-584) shows Hamlet understanding that he is not mentally steady. The raw emotions that he is admitting too could not possibly be faked. The mental struggles he is having within himself are real. “The situation is one of great stress: he has just seen a mysterious (and mysteriously silent) Ghost that looks like his father in arms, appearing at a time when all hell seems literally to have broken loose” (Spinrad, 2005) Seeing the ghost of your father and hearing that it was your uncle who killed would be traumatizing in the least.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare, W. (2012). Hamlet. New York, NY: The Folger Shakespeare Library.
Spinrad, P. S. (2005, May). The Fall of the Sparrow and the Map of Hamlet’s Mind. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www-jstor-org.snc.idm.oclc.org/stable/pdf/10.1086/433209.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-5187_SYC-5188%252F5187&refreqid=excelsior%3Aa11f5bce9aa9439acddd91501639a279
I agree with you in the sense that this is much more than we have seen in past tragedies. You can tell by Hamlet's tone and the way he speaks that his mind is slowly deteriorating, from his fathers death to his mothers remarriage. Your quotes do a great job emphasizing the mental illness in the story.
DeleteI disagree that Hamlet sees that he has an illness or that anything is wrong with him. I think Hamlet is grieving over his father and acknowledges that, but doesn't see how bad he's gotten. During his mother wedding while the kingdom is celebrating Hamlet is in a separate room by himself and sees nothing wrong with this. Hamlet clearly knows his father is dead but believes that he is actually talking to his ghost. I think hamlet made up the ghost and just wants closure on his fathers death since he wasn't there when he died so he makes up the part where his uncle murdered him
DeleteI feel as though Hamlet may be blind to his own problems. He views this as mourning for his father, and because of the ghost he no longer wants closure, he wants revenge for him. Hamlet, depressed and unorganized, has the mindset to set up a 'trap' during a play to possibly catch his uncle's guilt? Hamlet has obviously lost it and the ghost just added more to his plate.
DeleteDo you feel Hamlet is mentally ill or just pretending?
ReplyDeleteIn my own opinion, Hamlet is not pretending he is mentally ill; he is obviously suffering from bipolar disorder and depression. His moods constantly change and that is a sign of bipolar disorder. He snapped at Ophelia because she gave back his love letters, only because she was told to. He used unnecessarily harsh and rude words, words that hurt Ophelia’s feelings. The use of harsh and mean words could also eventually lead to mental illness in Ophelia, potentially making her think that she is not enough for him and not a good enough woman. Gertrude also mentions potential reasons for Hamlet’s depression. "His father's death and our hasty marriage" (Shakespeare, Scene 2, Act 2).
In Dr. Richmond’s presentation, she mentioned how 18.6% of adults in 2016 had some type of mental disorder. I know that obviously Hamlet did not take place in 2016, but I can imagine that in past years depression was worse than it is today because of gender issues, race issues, and feminism. My point is that if depression is in 18.6% of adults today, it is likely to be worse in the past. In her presentation, she mentioned that paying attention to the tone of the person is a way we can figure out if they have a mental illness. Hamlet’s tone when he talks in a lot of Hamlet (the movie) is very sad and upset. He basically does not sound happy at all.
The database I found was suggesting that there is toxic masculinity in Hamlet. I disagree, only because I believe that no matter the gender, they all had depression in Hamlet. It also mentions that Shakespeare often writes about depression, which I agree with. This database helped me by showing me the toxic traits in Hamlet, and all the mental illnesses.
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=6&sid=251845f7-f4f8-4273-9793-c8f0fe3e3547%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=133588131&db=a9h
I disagree that there was no toxic masculinity in Hamlet. Ophelia is told to stay away from Hamlet by her brother and father not even considering she is her own person. She never had her own opinions or right to do anything so I think in her own way she had mental illnesses in a different way than the men.
DeleteI agree that hamlet is certainly suffering from some mental illness, whether it be manic depression or bipolar disorder. Not only does Hamlet snap and turn angry, but he also gets abusive in a way, calling Ophelia names like wretch (something you would not necessarily call someone you love).
DeleteHamlet seems to also struggle to control his emotional outbursts. During (and after) his 'to be or not to be' speech, he repeats multiple times that Ophelia "get thee to a nunnery" (Shakespeare, 3.1.131), suggesting that because she no longer is with him (she gave back his love letters) she is a whore and belongs in a brothel. Again, not something a mentally sane person would say to a loved one.
DeleteI think that there is a lot of toxic masculinity in Hamlet. From the women being treated like garbage, to the king asking why Hamlet is sad as he marries his recently widowed mother shortly after his father's funeral. I also think that people have the ability to be sad and angry but not mentally ill. Hamlet seems to be just responding to his very bad environment and things like Ophelia breaking up with him do push him closer to the edge of some sort of mental illness. While he did speak harshly to Ophelia, what could one expect of someone who just lost their father and is currently falling down the rabbit-hole of a possible regicide.
DeleteAlexis,
DeleteI disagree with the idea that Hamlet clearly has a bipolar disorder only based off the fact he has mood swings. Mood changes hundreds of times per day as a reaction to the circumstances presented. Especially when Hamlet is fighting with passion over Ophelia. His mood changes might seem sudden to an outside audience but I'm sure once we watch the film we will see Hamlet reacts in a violent, but warranted way when the love of his life is breaking his heart.
Throughout the first quarter of Hamlet, young hamlet seems to have a mental illness. Not only does he believe he can see the ghost of his father, he believes that he can communicate with him. He believes his father is speaking to him to convince Hamlet to become King of Denmark. Hamlet has to be imagining this , in the film we see Hamlet's father as a statue showing he has clearly died at this point. Hamlet also clearly has depression. When the infamous line “to be or not to be” comes in Hamlet is thinking about suicide. He talks to himself considering if his life is worth it, or if he is happy enough to continue on. Hamlet is depressed and has no self worth at this point, thinking he is all alone with the passing of his father and not seeing Ophelia. While Hamlet is “talking” to the ghost, Hamlet’s father explains that he was murdered by his brother, or Hamlet's uncle. This raises the question of how the ghost would know this, if he has died how would he know how he died or who killed him. I think this is hamlet needing closure and making up his own ways to get that.
ReplyDeleteMy database is focused on Hamlet's mental illness and how Hamlet was simply undiagnosed but showed all of the signs. Hamlet was always isolated from other people, either physically or emotionally. In most of the scenes in the film, Hamlet is the only one wearing dark, buttoned-up clothes. The rest of the kingdom is celebrating while Hamlet sits in a room by himself. Hamlet was an outsider with a mental illness. The database states “Denmark is a prison in which the disorder of Hamlet's subjective state is both conjoined and in conflict with the community into which he is being dis-integrated. He has that in common with some young adults in the twenty-first century.” Hamlet never had any support in Denmark after he lost his father. He was away at school when his father was “murdered”, leaving him with no real family to come back to. When he actually arrives in Denmark, his uncle has forced Ophelia, the only constant in his life to leave him. When Hamlet finds out Ophelia is leaving him and returns his love letters he acts almost bipolar. He seems angry at times then starts laughing out of nowhere. Denmark really is where Hamlet’s mental illnesses start and end.
During Dr. Richmonds presentation, she gave examples of mental illness being hidden in texts. She read an excerpt where addiction was the illness. The author referred to cocaine as moon, making the reader think about the addiction not making it obvious. The characters in this story acknowledged what they were doing was wrong and bad for them, where Hamlet doesn’t notice anything. Like in the database, every illness has a start. Hamlet started with Denmark not being healthy for him, while the highschoolers in the story came from their parents. Dr. Richmond listed traits of illnesses, anxiety, depression, lack of self worth,or being suicidal. Analyzing these we can see Hamlet is certainly not healthy and has many illnesses.
https://snc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=133588131&site=ehost-live&scope=site
While I do not entirely agree with Hamlet in imagining the ghost, I do agree that he is depressed and has been lost in the idea of "is living really worth it". He definitely need to get some "closure" on the matter or an understanding of what happened but when he sees the ghost and kind of gets that, he just spirals so maybe that isn't actually what he needs?
DeleteThe line "to be or not to be" is a very strong line, and I have never thought about it meaning suicide before. But that is most defiantly what Hamlet is referring to. I agree with you that Hamlet has depression. He is for sure imagining his father. The fact that Hamlet was undiagnosed is sad but true. Depression was probably not as accepted in the earlier years as it is today. If Hamlet was diagnosed, he would have been able to cope with his depression better and not imagine his father as a ghost.
DeleteDo you feel Hamlet is mentally ill or just faking it?
ReplyDeleteHamlet is a young prince, grieving the recent (and sudden) loss of his father, the former King. We have only gotten about halfway through the play, but it is obvious from the very beginning that Hamlet is struggling to grasp his emotions. He continues to deteriorate as the story goes on, with barely any support from others. The king asks, “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” (Shakespeare, 1.2.68), as if to tell him he is grieving too long. “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off” (Shakespeare, 1.2.70). His mother says these words, suggesting also to change his clothes, too dark for the joyous day of her wedding/husband's funeral. In a time of dire need for Hamlet, he is stigmatized. Perhaps because his elders do not understand, seeing as young adults ages 18-25 are more likely to have a mental illness (Dr. Richmonds slides), it may be hard to understand what you have yet to experience.
During our meeting with Dr. Richmond, one conversation that I disagreed with was that mental illness was obvious and distinguishable by symptoms alone. Mental illness is a spectrum, there are no specific criteria distinguishing it and it affects everyone differently. “No such criteria exist because there is no such distinction to be made. There are no conditions that can properly be called ‘mental illness’ or ‘mental health.’”(Brown, 1977). Shakespeare created Hamlet to be no different.
Throughout the play, Hamlet’s mood swings seem unpredictable. One second he is angry with his mother’s behavior, the next he's overjoyed to see his friend, Horatio. His actions are no more organized. In Act I, Scene IV, Hamlet follows his presumed father’s ghost, thoughtlessly (according to the belief in his time that the apparition of a ghost could have condemned his soul). Horatio tries with all his might to stop him and Hamlet responds, “Why, what should be the fear?/ I do not set my life at a pin’s fee” (1.4.72-73); he considers his life less worth than a pin. Hamlet is careless about what his actions may cause: he shows lack of judgement, mood swings, and excessive self-esteem; symptoms of depression. As Dr. Richmond had stated in her presentation, having a mental illness is not something to be ashamed of, it is something to own.
Shakespeare, W. (2012). Hamlet. New York, NY: The Folger Shakespeare Library.
Brown, R. (1977). Physical Illness and Mental Health. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 7(1), 17-38. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265122
Third paragraph was suppose to say:
Delete“Why, what should be the fear?/ I do not set my life at a pin’s fee” (Shakespeare, 1.4.72-73)
I absolutely agree that Hamlet is struggling with his emotions and has no support. Mental illness is not always easy to recognize which is likely, in part, why no one else has come to help him. The lack of empathy his mother has (as exampled by your quote) is also astounding.
DeleteI agree that Hamlet is being stigmatized by his mother and the king, and having nobody to be there for him during what is obviously a tough time for him must be really hard. I also agree that there are no set of symptoms for mental illness. And the (for lack of a better word)"extremeness" of the mental illness can vary. Some cases are visible to the eye, and others could be hard to distinguish.
DeleteI don’t remember specifically who brought it up but I think it was Cole, during Dr. Richmonds presentation he said something among the lines that speculating on mental health while being severely underqualified to speak on such a matter only adds to the stigmatization of said mental health. So with this in mind, everything I am about to say is coming from the perspective of someone who is drastically out of his league in the mental health department. That being said here is my perspective on Hamlet’s mental health situation. While we never get an exact age on hamlet (or at least haven't yet… to my knowledge) I presume he can’t be much older than 20 years old. I make this observation because of his behavior throughout the story, it just doesn’t come across as incredibly mature. When Polonius says “Do you know me, my lord?” (2- 2 - 191) Hamlet’s immediate response is “Excellent well. You are a fishmonger.” (2 - 2 - 192). What I do know about mental health is it affects younger people at a higher rate meaning Hamlet could also be in an age range (where due to hormones and the like) he is prone to depression. Another thing that leads me to believe this is Hamlet is clearly mentally ill is his coping with his father’s passing. Instead of embracing his death, hamlet instead has coped by “talking to his father”. Any bystander would see hamlet merely talking to himself leading me to believe hamlet might even have schizophrenia to some extent, even though he is lacking some key symptoms. Seeing hamlet say “Speak I am bound to hear” (1 - 5 - 11) would tell you all you needed to know regarding Hamlets mental state, especially if that bystander knew Hamlet was actually listening to no one give him details about his father’s death, ESPECIALLY if they knew he was going to act on the information he received from no one but his own mind. Lastly, several pieces of Hamlet’s dialog stick out as “down” but with the incredibly hard diction of Hamlet here is a quote I feel I can best break down that shows the extent of Hamlet’s self-loathing. “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt…. His cannon “gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world….”(1 - 2 - 135-140) Starting off, I believe this is Hamlets way of saying “My father got eliminated.” After expressing why he feels this way he then expressed just how truly down the death of his father has him by using downer phrases to explain his world like weary, stale, and unprofitable showing how discontent Hamlet actually is.
ReplyDeleteI read the abstract on an article I really liked about Hamlet melancholy but our St. Norbert’s login didn’t get me access to it so this isn’t my first choice but it is second. The author gives his own thoughts on Hamlet’s mental illness which run in line with mine however Douglas Trevor is more certain and has an abundance of quotes backing up his arguments. I have to say I am more convinced of Hamlet’s mental illness now than I was before reading through the pieces about Hamlet in this book.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EUIXcaYjr-gC&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=hamlet+melancholy&ots=jUy_-lm1Dd&sig=YSIjRZ2pzMYCYyRf5d_D_SoLZ2s#v=onepage&q=hamlet%20melancholy&f=false
I think that the ghost could be some sort of symptom of schizophrenia but the paranoia that Claudius could have killed his father is the real kicker so I agree with you that it looks like schizophrenia. However, Mrs. Nayback has consistently brought up that Shakespeare was struggling with the idea of death so I think that the ghost is real because of this. Also, with the king's reaction to the play I do think he killed Hamlet senior and Hamlet junior isn't experiencing schizophrenia.
DeleteFor APA, citing Shakespeare in the parenthetical citation isn't necessary since it is understood we are all reading Hamlet. Act, scene, line is fine. Also, some good posting already about Dr. Richmond's points, some good support from the play, and excellent for those of you going to a database to solidify your arguments!
ReplyDeleteHamlet is the Prince of Denmark and the son of Queen Gertrude and late King Hamlet. Hamlet is the protagonist in the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. In the play, Hamlet has a mental illness. Schizophrenia could be something he is dealing with in the play. This mental illness “involves involuntary symptoms (hallucinations), and produces intense emotional suffering, increased risk of early mortality (heightened suicide risk), diminished fertility, social and occupational impairment, disturbances in cognitive functioning (reasoning, language), delusions, and high heritability.”(McNally, 2011) Hamlet has many of these qualities at the beginning of the play. For example, he sees and talks to his dead father as a ghost, and he also tends to get mad very quickly. Hamlet manages to seem he’s suffering emotionally in many ways. I also think Hamlet could have bipolar disorder and or depression. In the play, Hamlet says, “as I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on”(Shakespeare, Scene 5, Act 1). This line implies that hamlet will act mad, but if you are pretending to be crazy, you must have something mentally wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhen Shakespeare says, “to be or not to be” I see it as him saying to live or not to live. Hamlet seems to question death. Hamlet describes death as sleeping “To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocksThat flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream.” (Shakespeare, Scene 1, Act 3) Hamlet thinks all death is, is sleeping. He also thinks death ends all hurt and heartache. Death is a goal to Hamlet.
During the discussion with Dr. Richmond, she talked about many different types of mental illnesses, and I think hamlet could potentially have a few Mental illnesses mentioned. When kids were asked what word they thought of when they think of mental illness, many of the examples they gave could in some way describe Hamlet.
McNally, R. J. (2011). What Is Mental Illness? Harvard University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snorcol-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3300897
I found this top link in the St. Norbert Databases.
https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/MTEwNzA1ODI0ODM5/a/MjQ0MDY3OTgzMzE0/details
I feel as though i can understand how you may see schizophrenia and hallucinations, but Hamlet is not the only one who sees the ghost. Marcellus says, "Peace, break thee off! Look where it comes again." and Barnardo responds, "In the same figure like the King that's dead." (1.1.47-48) So, is Hamlet imagining that his friends saw and told him about the ghost as well? It is a good though, I would have said more likely manic depression.
DeleteI agree Hamlet is suffering from Schizophrenia but for slightly different reasons. We agree that the ghost is a hallucination (at least that's how it comes across), but to me the schizophrenia is cause for most if not all of Hamlets big mental problems. The expectation I could see to this is the "to be or not to be" line where Hamlet does come across as about to kill himself.
DeleteIn the play, Hamlet seems to be struggling with a combination of mental illnesses. Though they are never clearly defined, we can assume these are anger issues and possibly bipolar. Hamlet also questions his existential existence multiple times just in the first half. Looking in the mirror after everyone has left he says "To be or not to be, that is the question" (3.1.64). But Hamlet seems to be no different than anyone else. His place of power may lead him to be slightly more ignorant or rude to his inferiors but there is no evidence that he is manic. To comment on the overall idea of mental illness portrayed in literature I can only see damage being done when broad, vauge ties are made between mild outburts over passion and an unstable brain. Going so far to say Hamlet is bipolar just based on his slight anger towards Ophelia is absurd. And using Hamlets actions as a benchmark for mental illness in the real world is just as evil. Saying Hamlet suffers from a broad "mental illness" and comparing his actions to those of real people who have real illnesses only increases the toxic stigmas around their behavior.
ReplyDeleteDr. Richmonds book, The Lion and the Unicorn, analyzes 10 different mental illnesses, which are portrayed in different books for teens, as they are defined by the DSM-5. The DSM-5 is a set of diagnosing guidlines released by the American Psyciatric Association for all mental illnesses. Metrics like these are essential for the safe classification of different mental struggles. With so much of the media and literature portraying mental illness in an unaccurate fashion assesments like Dr. Richmonds should be more heavily considered than specualtion from the crowd.
In the Journal of Popular Culture, Anastasia Wickham published a paper titled "It is All in Your Head". In it she walks through the representation of mental illness in young adult books. Wickham claims early on that "one out of five adolescents has a diagnosable mental health disorder, and nerly one third shows symptoms of depression." These claims are simply outrageous. Before children are aloud to make desicions for themselves they are already labled as mentally unfit. The over diagnosing of mental illnesses only hurts those who truly suffer. I know, and unfortunately have known, many people who suffer from depression. Some of their lives cut short by their own mind. It is tragedy that so many children under 15 can be put into the same category as those who truly suffer. How offensive it must be to categorize an incredibly difficult battle in ones mind, with the petty unsatisfaction displayed in our youth. Surely our childrens happiness is what everyone strives for. But the fact is our narrow minded children have vastly different expierences of self, mind, and social interaction than any human of even high school age. Blurring the lines between a mental illness and general unhappiness only leads to the future of children being brought up thinking 1 out of their 3 friends is depressed. Coupling over diagnossing with the portrayal depression in media means every child then questions "maybe I am depressed too" and "maybe there is something wrong with me". Conditioning the next generation to be open about their struggles and managing the true symptoms and effects of a mental illness are two aspects that need to remain in a critical balance.
Sources-
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.snc.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=0d5b94d0-94af-40d3-b6c5-38de413226f9%40sdc-v-sessmgr01
https://muse-jhu-edu.snc.idm.oclc.org/article/766826?
For some reason I have never interpreted the "to be or not to be" line in that way but agree 100% that is hamlet questioning his existential existence, my initial thought is the line was said in regards to his kingly status, but I like your interpretation much more.
DeleteMitchell, I agree with you that Hamlet is definitely fighting with himself at some points in the play. However I disagree that he is just like everyone else. He has suffered the loss of a father, his mother has remarried almost instantly, and he has nobody there for him in the hard times. And above that Hamlet has seen signs of paranormal activity. He almost attempts murder on the king and ends up killing Polonius. I would say Hamlet is the most different out of anyone in the play.
DeleteIs Hamlet actually mentally ill or is he faking it?
ReplyDeleteThroughout the play Hamlet shows many symptoms of being mentally ill. More specifically he shows a strong symptom of being bi-polar. Hamlet shows constant mood swings, one moment he can be completely calm and then the next he can be yelling and even having physical outbursts. When Ophelia breaks up with Hamlet and is giving his things back at first Hamlet is just talking normally and then he gets upset and just starts throwing Ophelia around the room. This could also be a sign of anger issues.
Hamlet could also be depressed, I mean his father died and he just broke up with Ophelia. The King asked, "How is it that the clouds still hang on you?"(Shakespeare, 1.2.68). This is showing that Hamlet has been depressed for a long period of time. Hamlet is having a hard time keeping up with the emotions that he is having. "The combination of extreme grief and madness is an essential design for the character of Hamlet."(Hamada, 1996). This shows that Hamlet's issues are very important to the way that the play is performed and executed. If Hamlet did not suffer from depression and mental illnesses then the play would not be as good. It could be that his head is all over the place because he is so sad and angry. I see that Hamlet is a very passionate person also. Everything he does and believes he does it to the max.
We can also tell a lot about how Hamlet is feeling by the words and text that is being used. When he uses words like cold, dark, dreary. These words can tell us that he is in a dark state of mind and that he may be depressed and most likely is. It is okay to be depressed. Depression is one of the most common words used when people think of mental illness(Dr. Richmond slides). This means that there are a lot of people who suffer from depression.
Shakespeare, W. (2012). Hamlet. New York, NY: The Folger Shakespeare Library.
Hamada, S. (1996). Kôjin and Hamlet: The Madness of Hamlet, Ophelia, and Ichirô. Comparative Literature Studies, 33(1), 59-68. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40247038
Etan,
DeleteIf Hamlet truly does suffer from depression, and/or bipolar disorder, the severity of his case should warrent more time for recovery. If his mother and others around him are critiquing his bad mood and saying things like "How is it the clouds still hang on you?" (Shakespeare, 1.2.68) then no wonder he feels isolated and misunderstood. His father recently died and is now visting as a ghost and his love interest, Ophelia, just ended things with him he has the right to be upset. Mental illness can sometimes be confused with a healthy reaction to a bad situation. We could say there is something wrong with Hamlet if, after his fathers death and girlfriends loss, he was completely normal. He clearly is unhappy with his current situation and thats 'OK' because it inspires a change.
In just the first half of the play, we have seen multiple signs of mental illness in Hamlet. From hallucinating, to questioning his own existence. When we first watched Hamlet's interaction with the ghost, I thought it was all in his head. Hamlet strays away from his group and after a minute a ghost appears and tells the story of Hamlet Sr's death. And when Hamlet rejoins his group the ghost is gone. But after seeing the way the king reacted to Hamlet's play, I'm starting to believe that was real all along. Hamlet still seems to have signs of being bipolar and having "anger issues". At times he will go from having a civil conversation, to being enraged when something sets him off. When Hamlet says "to be or not to be"(3.1.64) I see that as Hamlet not being afraid of death. He questions his own existence and purpose. Is this a sign of depression? Anxiety? It isn't clear enough to diagnose but in my opinion, Hamlet has a mental illness of some sort.
ReplyDeleteAnalyzing "Beneath a meth moon" with Dr. Richmond really opened my eyes for how being bipolar really works. In the beginning she states "Sometimes the evil came fast to him – one minute smiling and the next, his face twisting into some kind of rage nobody saw coming." Fits of sudden rage like this remind me of Hamlet and his interaction with Ophelia when she gives back the gifts Hamlet gave her. If he is faking these mental illnesses or not I can't tell.
The database I found attempts to decode Hamlet's madness using psychiatry. They point out that Hamlet's madness seems "purposeless" and it hinders his ability to get revenge for his father. The authors of the article use select landmarks in psychiatry's history to describe Hamlet's madness. Although these methods put labels on Hamlet's mental illness, none of them accurately diagnose it.
Rotstein, S. (2018). Hamlet and psychiatry intertwined. Australasian Psychiatry : Bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, 26(6), 648–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856218779142
I agree with you. I thought the ghost was all in his head at first too but after getting deeper into the play and once I realized he was the only one that could see it and how the ghost disappeared when the rest of the group came I am starting to think that the ghost was not just in his head. I also agree how his mood changes very fast and he does not even realize it. Good points!
DeleteHamlet wasn't the only one who saw the ghost Bernardo, Marcellus, and harioto also see the ghost. So are they all hullincating? Also Hamlet mentions revenge. Sounds like he's acting like he mentally ill so maybe he can get away with the murder of the King. If he get the chance.
DeleteDo you feel like Hamlet has a mental illness or is just faking it?
ReplyDeleteI do not think Hamlet is acting, there is something wrong. He has just lost his father who was the former king to a tragic death. Even though he is the prince I do believe he has some type of mental illness. Hamlet is not good at expressing his emotions. His mood changes with the snap of a finger. When Ophelia tries to give Hamlet his stuff back Hamlet gets very upset. "Get thee to a nunnery! Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?..."(3 - 1 -131-140) Hamlet says that to Ophelia.
Hamlet always has to be different than everyone else. At the wedding everyone was wearing happy colors like red, white, etc.. but Hamlet was wearing black. I think that symbolizes that Hamlet is depressed. Hamlet also sees and talks to a ghost of his father. I feel this also symbolizes depression. I think it symbolizes that depression because no normal person sees a ghost and believes everything from that ghost and the ghost being his father right after his death, no normal person sees and talks to the ghost of someone that just had died.
In the meeting we had with Dr. Richmond she had us read a short story type of thing and she helped us find different ways mental illness can be expressed without actually saying they have a mental illness and if we did that with Hamlet we would find a lot of different ways mental illness is expressed throughout the play.
Wilson, S. (2018). Literary clinical practice: desire, depression and toxic masculinity in Hamlet. Journal for Cultural Research, 22(3), 278–292. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2018.1545451
yes he is dealing with the lost of his father, but hamlet was supposed to be the new king after his father's death. So with that disagree with you about how Hamlet is mentally ill. I think he is seeking vengeance.
DeleteIs Hamlet truly mentally ill or is he faking and planning his revenge on his father's death. Yes Hamlet does have symptoms of having bipolar disorder and depression but I believe he is faking. Hamlet's behavior throughout the play so far has been very odd. He pushes Ophelia away, and when he returned from school in england he came back to his father's death and his Mother marrying his father's brother. Hamlet was supposed to be the next in line for the crown, now he seeks vengeance for his father's death and wants what he was supposed to have. With everything that Dr.Richmond said yesterday, i believe that Hamlet is just seeking vengeance for the murder of his father.
ReplyDeleteWhen shakespeare uses the line "To be or not to be" I think he implies that his characters do not fear death they welcome it same with the afterlife.
Knapp, J. (2016). Hamlet and the Sovereignty of Reasons. The Review of Politics, 78(4), 645-662. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24890022
I agree, at times it seems as though his actions are forced or exaggerated for the purpose of making people think he is crazy. Everything he does is deliberate, much like the play to get a rise out of the king and bring his guilt to light.
DeleteI agree with you when you say Hamlet has bipolar disorder and depression. But I think he has many more mental illnesses than just that. If someone went through what he has, yes, they would definitely want vengeance. Hamlet has to have several different diseases to follow through with retaliation. And to fake being crazy is a whole other type of crazy. You have to be genuinely insane to put yourself through something like that.
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ReplyDeleteThe idea that Hamlet could be mentally ill is an interesting take to me. I believe that Hamlet is not mentally ill but may be struggling with grief over the loss of his beloved father. In contrast, Hamlet does display some mental illness symptoms, such as isolating himself and possibly speaking to things that aren't there. Which we, as the reader, are not even sure are hallucinations or truly paranormal activity. Even so, that doesn't simply allow the reader to classify him as mentally ill. Dr. Richmond was adamant in her belief of a stigma surrounding mental illness, but I propose that there could be another form of stigma which engulfs Hamlet and his particular plight. Hamlet was an emotional mess after the death of his father and the stigma that men cannot be emotional leads to the idea that Hamlet must be mentally ill and not just a man processing. The death of a parent can obviously lead to depression. Still, would that indeed be a mental illness, or would he just simply be in the grasp of a depressive episode and not a victim of Major Depressive Disorder? A study conducted by the McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that chemical imbalances and inherited genes usually cause major Depressive Disorder. Major Depressive disorder is generally long-term and recurring. As far as I could tell, Hamlet doesn’t seem to have a history of mental illness and is just responding to his current environment’s particular obstacles and malevolence.
ReplyDeleteKing Claudius also seems to be exceptionally insensitive to Hamlet’s loss, saying, "How is it that the clouds still hang on you?" (1-2-68). This is remarkably insensitive of King Claudius. While this may also be interpreted as a history of mental illness, it isn’t a quick process to grieve the loss of a parent and a king. Hamlet even says, “The funeral baked meats” (1-2-180). Implying that the wedding was held so shortly after the funeral, they could have used the funeral’s leftovers for the wedding, leaving minimal time for him to grieve. While Hamlet could very well be mentally ill, I believe that he is simply upset that his uncle murdered his father, proceeded to marry his mother, and stole the throne out from under him. If someone has an excuse to be acting irrationally or strange, it is Hamlet. To me, Hamlet is not acting on the urges of mental illness, but anger, immature/petty behavior, and the lust to avenge his late father.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.061
Stressors and chemical imbalances: Beliefs about the causes of depression in an acute psychiatric treatment sample
Found on the Science Direct College Edition database.
Do you feel Hamlet is mentally ill or just pretending?
ReplyDeleteThroughout the play, Hamlet shows many characteristics of madness. In the beginning, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father. Seeing a ghost could prove he is already mad. The ghost says Claudius had murdered him, leaving Hamlet wanting vengeance. This causes him to react with irregular behavior, showing he has gone mad while avenging his father. Hamlet also becomes exceptionally depressed over the murder of his father, then questions his own life as a result. While Hamlet is trying to avenge his father, he also worries that the ghost is “a devil who will betray his soul” (Shakespeare, Act 2, Scene 2) and not the ghost of his father. Causing Hamlet to become uncertain of what to do, driving him even further to madness. A prime example of Hamlet's depression is his famous “to be or not to be” (Shakespeare, Act 3, Scene 1). In that monologue, Hamlet contemplates the meaning of life and death and whether or not he's better off taking his own life. Hamlet's madness comes from an actual mental illness, most likely a depressive illness.
In Doctor Richmond’s presentation, while we discussed Hamlet, it was brought to our attention that Hamlet says or hints at him having this more profound sadness. As he is under the moon in darkness and he's always in dark attire.
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=eefe8abc-4bd3-4545-87e0-b7b25f2e5818%40sdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=137926015&db=edb
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DeleteI do agree with you that Hamlet has a depressive illness I also believe he could have more than just that. I think Hamlet could potentially have another type of mental illness than just depression.
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