A Critical Analysis of Shakespeare's Hamlet
Dave Beaston
Hamlet. Is he an insane madman or a revengeful, scheming, genius? There
are many conflicting ideas and theories on this subject, and hopefully this
paper may be of some assistance in clearing up the confusion. The paper is
divided into three separate analytic sections beginning with the beginning of
Hamlet's so called madness, and why it may have occurred. Next, is an analysis
of why Hamlet delays revenging his father's death. To conclude the paper,
Hamlet's incestuous acts towards his mother are discussed, in William
Shakespeare's Hamlet.
In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind
throughout all five scenes. It is in the second scene where the audience begins
to see a change in his character. Ophelia meets with Polonius and recalls the
meeting she had previously with Hamlet. She tells her father that Hamlet came
to her disheveled and in a shaken state of mind, speaking of "horrors." (Act 2
Scene 2 line 94). Her father immediately believes that he is "Mad for thy
love?" (Act 2 Scene 2 line 95). Opelia answers a question posed by Polonius by
which she replied that she had told Hamlet that she could not see or communicate
with him any more. Her father makes reference to Hamlet's madness once again by
proclaiming that what his daughter said, "... hath made him (Hamlet) mad." (Act
2 Scene 2 line 123).
The argument of whether Hamlet is insane because of his love for Ophelia is
often debated, but a more confusing and complex situation is the struggle within
Hamlet's mind. His personal struggle is revealed to the audience in scene one
of the third act. In this scene Hamlet recites his famous "To be or not to be-
that is the question:" (Act 3 Scene 1 line 64) speech. Here the the audience
truly realizes that Hamlet is torn two ways in his life. To be or not to be,
essentially is Hamlet debating on whether he should toil the pains of living in
such a harsh... [continues]
Dave Beaston
Hamlet. Is he an insane madman or a revengeful, scheming, genius? There
are many conflicting ideas and theories on this subject, and hopefully this
paper may be of some assistance in clearing up the confusion. The paper is
divided into three separate analytic sections beginning with the beginning of
Hamlet's so called madness, and why it may have occurred. Next, is an analysis
of why Hamlet delays revenging his father's death. To conclude the paper,
Hamlet's incestuous acts towards his mother are discussed, in William
Shakespeare's Hamlet.
In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind
throughout all five scenes. It is in the second scene where the audience begins
to see a change in his character. Ophelia meets with Polonius and recalls the
meeting she had previously with Hamlet. She tells her father that Hamlet came
to her disheveled and in a shaken state of mind, speaking of "horrors." (Act 2
Scene 2 line 94). Her father immediately believes that he is "Mad for thy
love?" (Act 2 Scene 2 line 95). Opelia answers a question posed by Polonius by
which she replied that she had told Hamlet that she could not see or communicate
with him any more. Her father makes reference to Hamlet's madness once again by
proclaiming that what his daughter said, "... hath made him (Hamlet) mad." (Act
2 Scene 2 line 123).
The argument of whether Hamlet is insane because of his love for Ophelia is
often debated, but a more confusing and complex situation is the struggle within
Hamlet's mind. His personal struggle is revealed to the audience in scene one
of the third act. In this scene Hamlet recites his famous "To be or not to be-
that is the question:" (Act 3 Scene 1 line 64) speech. Here the the audience
truly realizes that Hamlet is torn two ways in his life. To be or not to be,
essentially is Hamlet debating on whether he should toil the pains of living in
such a harsh... [continues]
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