How Does Shakespeare Present Madness In Hamlet

“Hamlet,” is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. During the Elizabethan era, Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) was in throne, the era in which Shakespeare flourished because England emerged as the leading naval and commercial power of the western world. The play is set in the Kingdom of Denmark, which recounts Prince Hamlet’s revenge toward his uncle Claudius for the murdering of the old King Hamlet, Claudius’s own brother. Claudius murdered old King Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear while he was snoozing in his garden. At night, Hamlet would see apparitions of his deceased father in the ramparts of Elsinore Castle. Therefore in the encounters, the ghost complains that he is unable to rest in
As early as in Act 1, Hamlet’s soliloquy is portraying his apparent madness towards the remarriage of her mother with Claudius “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt/ Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!/ Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd/ His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!” (Act1. Sc2 lines 132-136). In these lines, Hamlet expresses his suicidal thoughts because he is unable to stand the fact that her mother has fallen in love with the man who killed his father, Claudius. Hamlet expresses his melancholy when he desires for his “flesh” to “melt” and dissolve into “dew” and wishing that God did not make “self-slaughter” a sin. Readers can visualize the mental state that Hamlet is currently in, as Hamlet speaks of these inflicting words to himself. Hamlet’s madness is also aroused by the presence of the ghost, “The spirit that I have seen/ May be the devil: and the devil hath power/ To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps/ Out of my weakness and my melancholy,” (Act2. Sc2 lines 627-630). Hamlet is indecisive, he is concerned that the ghost may be “the devil” and is trying to tempt him to murder Claudius. He feels that his “weakness” and “melancholy” is making him hallucinate. The fact that he sees apparitions of his father is rather odd; Hamlet’s confusion on whether the ghost is truly giving reliable information is another thing. The inquiry of Marcellus about the
Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but soon he finds out that Polonius is using her as bait to spy on him as she has to obey her father’s rule. Unfortunately, Ophelia has no control over her body, her relationships, or her choices. Hamlet's madness is only apparent when he is in the presence of certain characters. For instance, Polonius believes that Hamlet has gone insane when he contemplates what Hamlet said to him, “He knew me not at first; he said I/ was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and/ truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for/ love; very near this” (Act2. Sc2 lines 205-208). Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is "far gone, far gone" in his love for Ophelia. Hamlet calls Polonius a "fishmonger," which seems clear that Hamlet is mocking Polonius and merely playing the part of an "antic" (clown figure). Polonius believes that Hamlet simply doesn't recognize him, but Hamlet is literally making a bawdy joke. A "fishmonger" is slang for "pimp," and Hamlet seems to be saying that because he knows Polonius is using his daughter (like a pimp would use a prostitute) to spy on Hamlet and curry favor with King Claudius. Hamlet’s apparent madness only comes from the fact that those who are by Claudius side, will fall into the trap into believing that he is really