Hamlet Madness Essay

Hamlet: Method in the Madness Method in the Madness: Hamlet’s Sanity Supported Through HisRelation to Ophelia and Edgar’s Relation to Lear In both Hamlet and King Lear, Shakespeare incorporates a theme ofmadness with two characters: one truly mad, and one only actingmad to serve a motive. The madness of Hamlet is frequentlydisputed. This paper argues that the contrapuntal character ineach play, namely Ophelia in Hamlet and Edgar in King Lear, actsas a balancing argument to the other character’s madness orsanity. King Lear’s more decisive distinction between Lear’sfrailty of mind and Edgar’s contrived madness works to betterdefine the relationship between Ophelia’s breakdown and Hamlet’s “north-north-west”
(I.v.84-5)” Later, when Hamlet sees the ghost again in his mothers room,her amazement at his madness is quite convincing. Yet one musttake into consideration the careful planning of the ghost’scredibility earlier in the play.After his first meeting with the ghost, Hamlet greets his friendscheerfully and acts as if the news is good rather than thedevastation it really is.Horatio: What news, my lord?Hamlet: O, wonderful!Horatio: Good my lord, tell it.Hamlet: No, you will reveal it. (I.v.118-21)This is the first glimpse of Hamlet’s ability and inclination to manipulate his behavior to achieve effect. Clearly Hamlet is notfeeling cheerful at this moment, but if he lets the guards knowthe severity of the news, they might suspect its nature. Anotherinstance of Hamlet’s behavior manipulation is his meeting withOphelia while his uncle and Polonius are hiding behind a curtain.Hamlet’s affection for Ophelia has already been established inI.iii., and his complete rejection of her and what has transpiredbetween them is clearly a hoax. Hamlet somehow suspects theeavesdroppers, just as he guesses that Guildenstern andRosencrantz are sent by the King and Queen to question him and investigate the cause of his supposed madness in II.ii.Hamlet’s actions in the play after meeting the ghost lead
For example, Hamlet questionshis conduct in his soliloquy at the end of II.ii, but aftercareful consideration decides to go with his instinct and prove tohimself without a doubt the King’s guilt before proceeding rashly.Even after the King’s guilt is proven with Horatio as witness,Hamlet again reflects and uses his better judgement in the soliloquy at the end of III.ii. before seeing his mother. Herecognizes his passionate feelings, but tells himself to “speakdaggers to her, but use none,” as his father’s ghost instructed.Again, when in the King’s chamber, Hamlet could perform themurder, but decides not to in his better judgement to ensure thathe doesn’t go to heaven by dying while praying. As Hamlet tells Guildenstern in II.ii., “I am but mad north-north-west: when thewind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.” This statementreveals out-right Hamlet’s intent to fool people with his oddbehavior. This is after Polonius’ enlightened comment earlier inthe same scene, “though this be madness, yet there is