Preview

Hamlet - Mad Man?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
538 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet - Mad Man?
Puckett 1
Glenda Puckett
Tina Shelby
English 1302
7 November 2012
Hamlet – Mad Man?
From Shakespeare’s description of Hamlet, one can envision him as an intense brooding character. After all he is dressed in all black because he is mourning the death of his father. Some may think that he has pale skin, messy hair with deep, brooding eyes. Hamlet is clearly intense. At times, Hamlet is consumed with outrage about his father’s murder. He exhibits recklessness and various moods from intense mourning to brooding.
One might think that Hamlet is strictly acting out of mourning. However, he has faults in his personality. There are times that he exhibits the qualities of obsession, hatred, quick to act, and violence. Even so, Hamlet is considered to be a prince among men. He is a hero, albeit a tragic hero. All in all Hamlet is a complex character.
Consider that Hamlet is, also, at times cynical. His words were often cruel. Hamlet seemed to have a dislike for things that would bring others pleasure. He finds pleasurable things detestable. Singing, dancing, and drinking are all vices in his frame of mind. Maybe, he felt that way

Puckett 2 because of the intense grief that he was suffering. Maybe, he was always moody, but, the grief intensified the mood.
Some would say that Hamlet was a mad man. Consider the fact that he treats his love with blatant disrespect and complete harshness. Hamlet has a love – hate relationship with Ophelia. At times, he wants to bed her. Other times, Hamlet has cruel words for her. He starts to mistreat Ophelia. Surely, Ophelia was confused by Hamlet’s treatment of her. Hamlet even has problems connecting with his mother. Even though, he and his mother should be comforting each other after the tragic death of his father, he is unable to comfort her. Hamlet no longer has the ability to be intimate with any woman. He does not trust women. Therefore, he finds it easy to mistreat women. His mother is no


Cited: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/hamletcharacter.html
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Critical Analysis Of Hamlet
    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Critical Analysis Of Hamlet

    The play Hamlet, is about dealing with life and death as well as understanding the purpose of one's existence. This is seen through the infamous character Hamlet. Hamlet's mind is tumultuous, with its ups and downs and abrupt turn a rounds. There are many sides to him; only through his soliloquies does Hamlet reveal his true thoughts and feelings. In his soliloquies, Hamlet insists that he is an individual with many psychological and philosophical sides. He also shows he has difficulty understanding and accepting these layers. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is full of self doubt. He gradually experiences emotional despair and bouts of anger and eventually…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    HAMLET INSANE OR NOT
    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages

    HAMLET INSANE OR NOT

    In this monologue, Hamlet clearly expresses that he “wishes his body would melt”, for he cannot bear the burden of his father’s death and his mother’s re-marriage. This state could be referred to as a state of strong melancholy, in which one loses his purpose, and may slowly fall into…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet Character Analysis
    • 1996 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hamlet Character Analysis

    In Hamlet, many think of Hamlet as being the main or only tragically flawed character within the play. However, in actuality, the play contains many other characters that possess varying severities of imperfection, some of which put the shortcomings of Hamlet, the title character of Hamlet, to shame. Despite the tragically flawed nature of Hamlet’s character, other characters in the play are clearly more flawed in comparison to Hamlet. As a result of this character’s imperfection, many of the characters within the play Hamlet are considered tragic; however, those in which this trait is predominant are Claudius, Laertes and Gertrude.…

    • 1996 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Hamlet
    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hamlet

    Hamlet is one of the most complex characters and stories in western literature. Shakespeare has loaded this play to the brim with philosophy and ideas far beyond his years. Hamlet himself can be dissected and interpreted in thousands of different ways; but most notably he is dramatic. Dramatic in every sense of the word, he enjoys acting and plays and he is extremely animated in all of his interactions. The same drama that impassions him, tortures him; so much so that he often contemplates suicide. Possibly the most significant drama in the play and in Hamlet surrounds the sanctity of the, and specifically, Hamlet’s mind. Hamlet doesn’t allow anyone to intrude his mind for many reason none more important then the other. The reasons that seem the most profound all surround the validity of his own sexuality and the judgments of the gender relationships he is apart of. Hamlet seemingly blames his mother for parts of his fathers death. He knows she didn’t actually kill him but he blames her for her lack of grief and also her marriage to the swine that is Claudius. He even goes as far as to say to her “aye madam, it is common” right after Gertrude told him about how all life ends he basically calls her a hooker. (I, ii, 13) It is peculiar that he has such a reaction to a mother trying to comfort her grieving son. Throughout the play Hamlet comes up against many trials but none greater then the challenge of accepting who he is versus what he is trying to be. All of Hamlet’s greatness and all of his flaws come from the same source his extreme aversion to the gender relationships posed in his world. In order for us to truly understand hamlet we have to penetrate what he so actively tries to protect; which in Hamlet’s case is his mind and his understanding of love, and his own sexuality.…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Agamemnon, Hamlet and ALfred prufrock compasion essay
    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Agamemnon, Hamlet and ALfred prufrock compasion essay

    Detail 1: To begin with, Prince Hamlet in “Hamlet” is considered to be a scholar, a thinker, and the kind of person who would not act without thoroughly analysing the circumstances. Hamlet’s flaws as a central character become evident when the intrigue begins to take shape. The intrigue in “Hamlet” shows Hamlet’s father coming to him, as a ghost, and pleads revenge for his death. Hamlet becomes aware that his uncle, Claudius,…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet vs Sr Thomas More.
    • 901 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hamlet vs Sr Thomas More.

    In the play "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is described as daring, brave, loyal, and intelligent, but he is consumed by his own thoughts. Hamlet's duty to take revenge for his father's murder. This leads Hamlet, a philosopher not a killer, to search deep within himself for the solution to his plight. Hamlet's "pale cast of thoughts" has constantly undermined his resolution, resulting in his inaction, which, in turn, causes him deep unrest and depression. Hamlet's indecisive pursuit in avenging his father's death is shown as evidence of his tragic flaw. Hamlet repeatedly rationalizes and analyzes the ineffectiveness of his actions. Due to the uncertainty of the truth, Hamlet feels…

    • 901 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet's Emotions
    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hamlet's Emotions

    In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet is seen as a very emotional person. His emotions change all the time throughout the play so he attempts to act crazy so nobody knows what’s going on with him. When he acts crazy to hide his emotions, it affects everyone else but, Hamlet does not realize it. The emotions that he shows in the play are sorrow, anger and guilt.…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Tragedy and the Common Man in Hamlet
    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Tragedy and the Common Man in Hamlet

    Arthur Miller notes that, “The tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing—his sense of personal dignity” (1). This characteristic seen in most tragedies is definitely evident in the character of Prince Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. The moment that Hamlet learns from the ghost that Claudius has committed regicide, his goal becomes clear: he has to avenge the death of his father by murdering his uncle. Hamlet could not stand idly by while the assassin of his saintly father had an affair with his mother Gertrude and lied to the people of Denmark. However, Hamlet’s tragic flaw prevents him from taking action quickly. During the course of the play, the prince notes that he has yet to perform any action against his uncle Claudius, and he wonders why this is. The character of Hamlet is prone to reasoning and long soliloquies, not action; this, in my opinion, is his tragic flaw.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet's Paranoia
    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Hamlet's Paranoia

    Hamlet once saw his mother as the epitome of virtue. This image is dashed against the rocks when he finds her married, incestuously, to his uncle less than two months following his father’s death. Having only seen his mother with his father, Hamlet perceives that he has lost her after she marries Claudius. Hamlet has, “All his life he has believed in her, we may be sure, as such a son would” (Bradley, 98). Hamlet looks down upon his mother’s second marriage as disrespect to the memory of his father. Hamlet cries out “O, most wicked speed to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (I. 2. 161-62). Now alone save for Horatio, Hamlet’s madness is left to grow unchecked.…

    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Hamlet: The Mender of a Broken Family
    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hamlet: The Mender of a Broken Family

    In Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet, Hamlet is driven by a singular goal; to exact revenge on his uncle for his father’s murder, and by achieving this goal, to set his broken world right again. His revenge is slow, meticulous, and well thought through. If his revenge is not done at the right moment, Hamlet will not be able to achieve his goal: Not only wants to make Claudius pay for his father’s murder, but he wants to punish him in the worst way he knows: eternal damnation. He wants Claudius to suffer in the worst way he knows, and in the same way his father was forced to suffer. Hamlet’s extravagant plan on vengeance is an attempt to right the wrong that Claudius has set on him.…

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Betrayal in Hamlet
    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Betrayal in Hamlet

    Hamlet’s plot to act as though he is mad causes him to deceive and harm his family members and peers, primarily Ophelia. By denying his love for Ophelia, he leaves her confused and broken hearted. She didn’t understand why the man she loved was now acting as though he was disgusted by her and as if he never cared for her at all. Hamlet’s hasty actions continue when he abruptly murders Polonius, Ophelia’s father. This drives Ophelia into madness. Hamlet truly loves Ophelia, but she will never know because of his deceptive processes.…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Being Human Analysis
    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hamlet Being Human Analysis

    Hamlet, himself, exhibits faults in his personality, often acting volatile and reckless in situations beyond his control. In Act 1, Scene 3, Ophelia describes Hamlet as an admirer who had ‘made many tenders of his affection’ to her but later on, in Act 3, Scene 1, when they confront each other about their feelings, Hamlet angrily shouts ‘Get thee to a nunnery’, insulting her and not realising the possible consequences of his actions. Ophelia isn’t without flaws, herself, as shown by her tendency to be influenced by the men around her. Whilst it was common for the women during Shakespeare’s time to be obedient to their men, Ophelia’s submissiveness eventually drives her to insanity and leads to her suicide. Furthermore, Ophelia’s father, Polonius, is also a fatally flawed character, with his peripeteia being his nosiness and propensity to pry, which then leads to his death. Shakespeare uses the weaknesses of each character to emphasise that human beings are flawed to warn his audience that if these flaws are not recognised, they may, and often will, bring…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Revenge Without Guilt In Hamlet
    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Revenge Without Guilt In Hamlet

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the intensely introspective character, Hamlet, purposely uses an internal dialogue and calculatingly waits and plots to cope with the moral issues, draw out his enemies and manipulate the situation to exact revenge without guilt, all while feigning madness.…

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet's Second Soliloquy Analysis
    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hamlet's Second Soliloquy Analysis

    Hamlet begins by stating that he has become a “rogue and peasant slave” to his grief. [2.2, 561] Hamlet has seen true passion in the players recount of Hecuba and now questions why he cannot have the same passion over his butchered father. Hamlet feels the power of his grief yet is unable to take action for it. Hamlet considers what the passionate player would do if he could feel Hamlet’s grief and the answer is unfathomable. Shakespeare’s use of hyperbole illuminates that the player’s reaction is unknown to…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet's Emotions in the First Soliloquy
    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hamlet's Emotions in the First Soliloquy

    In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare creates a rich emotional fabric in Hamlet's first soliloquy. From the first lines of the soliloquy, we can find such emotions as depression, disillusion, anger, and even the hatred and disgust for Hamlet's mother and uncle. The first line in the soliloquy shows us depression: "O! that this too too solid flesh would melt,/Thaw and resolve itself into a dew" (Shakespeare 42). Hamlet's depressive spirit is explained by that he is tired of life and wants to die. The reason for this is that all of the events, like King Hamlet's death or Claudius's marriage with Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, which happens with the Prince press on him. As for the being disillusion about the Queen, when she marries Claudius, Hamlet asks himself "why, she would hang on him,/As if increase of appetite had grown" (Shakespeare 42). Hamlet feels disillusioned about his mother because after two months when his father dead, she married Claudius. In Hamlet's opinion his mother betrayed his fathers love. Also Hamlet feels too angry with his uncle, so he compares Claudius with his father, who was "so excellent a king" and says about the new king "that was, to this,/Hyperion to a satyr" (Shakespeare 42). The young Prince can't understand how his uncle can be a better king than his father. Hamlet is angry with Claudius because that "satyr" married his mother and called Hamlet his son, without asking his opinion or wish. Hamlet is not only angry with his uncle, but also he hates Claudius: "My father's brother, …/within a month,/Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears/Had left the flushing in her galled eyes" (Shakespeare 44). Hamlet hates his uncle because Claudius seduced his mother. But the strongest emotion Hamlet has in my mind is disgust about his mother: "a beast, that wants discourse of reason" (Shakespeare 42). Young Hamlet thinks that his mother betrayed his father love while marrying Claudius. Also Prince thinks that his mother is like all other women, he…

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics