A Method in Hamlet Madness
In Hamlet, Shakespeare brings together a theme of madness with two characters, one truly mad, and one only acting mad to serve a motive. We can see this point through two characters namely Hamlet and Ophelia. The madness of Hamlet is frequently disputed. Ophelia's breakdown and Hamlet's brand of insanity argue for Hamlet having a method to his seeming insanity. The play offers a character on each side of sanity. While Shakespeare does not directly put Ophelia's insanity, or breakdown, against Hamlet's own madness, there is indeed a clear accuracy in Ophelia's condition and a clear uncertainty in Hamlet's madness. Obviously, Hamlet's character offers more evidences, while Ophelia's breakdown is quick, but more conclusive in its precision.
Shakespeare offers clear evidence pointing to Hamlet's sanity beginning with the first scene of the play. Hamlet begins with guards whose main importance in the play is to give credibility to the ghost. If Hamlet......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 858
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |