Mental health is an essential component of overall well-being, and its importance cannot be overstated. If left unchecked, trauma and emotions can be overwhelming, which can devastate individuals and those around them. This can be seen in Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. The tragic hero and other characters' suddenly acquire stress and it affects their lives drastically. Each character in the play responds to stress and trauma in their own unique way; some can overcome it well, others make it their downfall. William Shakespeare's Hamlet explores the theme of mental health through Hamlet senior, Hamlet's theatrics, and Ophelia, ultimately showcasing Hamlet's journey through madness and his eventual return to sanity by the play's end. Former King …show more content…
The new king, his uncle Claudius, has just married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, yet he mentions “Hamlet our dear brother's death”. (Shakespeare 1.2.1). The situation sets the stage by starting with an absence of a father figure for Hamlet as well as his uncle marrying Hamlet's mother who was recently widowed. Shortly after this introduction, Hamlet is given word from his friends that a ghost that resembles his father has appeared which prompts the sorrowful character to seek answers. Outside the castle, Hamlet finds the apparition, who speaks about how Claudius is the one who murders him, and wants Hamlet to get revenge. This ordeal confuses and enrages Hamlet where he beckons, “O all you host of heaven! O Earth! what else?/ and shall I couple hell?” (1.5.92-93). This confrontation between father and son has Hamlet questioning the heavens, the earth, hell, and even his own mind due to the fact he saw a ghost, let alone his father as an apparition. After the first act is when Hamlet’s madness starts to set in, he doesn't know what to believe anymore and has to deal with the mental consequences of acting on vengeance. When Hamlet decides to confront his mother, the occurrence of this ghost appearing before him is repeated. While he conveys his anger towards his …show more content…
Through their stories, the play portrays Hamlet's descent into madness and his eventual restoration to sanity by the end of the play. Hamlet is haunted by his father and the task he is given by him, his ghostly presence and vengeance serve as a catalyst for the play's exploration of the tragic hero’s mental health and its effects on individuals and their families. Hamlet's erratic behavior and feigned madness are his attempts to cope with the trauma of his father's murder and the events that follow while confusing his enemies. Through his speeches and actions, the play highlights the thin line between sanity and madness, and the toll that emotional turmoil can take on the human psyche. Ophelia's descent into madness after the death of her father showcases the devastating effects of trauma and the lack of support for those struggling with mental health. Her story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of neglecting one's emotional well-being. In conclusion, William Shakespeare's play Hamlet offers a powerful exploration of mental health and its effects on individuals and their families. The characters of Hamlet senior, Hamlet, and Ophelia all grapple with trauma and the thin line between sanity and
Hamlet's emotions are just continually fluctuating which is another side effect of depression. So in conclusion Hamlet definitely has a lot of mental disorders but the most important one in my opinion is depression. I think this because all of the traumatic events that he has went through in his life. Hamlet has had to deal with death and betrayal at such a young age. Throughout this paper I have learned that mental disorders are a very serious thing.
Mental illness was highly disregarded and an under-researched element in the Elizabethan Era. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet, the main character, is commonly analyzed and discussed regarding his mental state. However, another important character with a questionable mental state is Ophelia. Shakespeare utilizes the indirect characterization of Ophelia and the theme of patriarchal conflicts in order to comment on Elizabethans’ views on madness in women. He emphasizes the suppression of women and the detrimental effects associated with said suppression.
By verbally harassing Ophelia and estranging himself from her, Hamlet provides the apparent image of losing his prior care without a great amount of consideration. Additionally, Hamlet further displays his anger for his father’s death through this display. By dissolving his relationship with Ophelia, Hamlet furthers his image of insanity to further illustrate himself as incapable within Claudius’s eyes while still communicating distaste for his loss of his father. With Hamlet’s intentionally swift change of heart for Ophelia, Hamlet’s procedure warrants a certain level of sanity. Regardless of the sudden nature, Hamlet’s continual barring from Ophelia possesses procedure which causes further doubt of Hamlet’s mental instability from the audience of the
Demetri Bichara Ap Literature and Composition Mrs. Heppard 23 January 2023 Ap Exam 2023: Hamlet’s inability The theme of royalty in literature explores what many readers may wonder about, the mortality and ability of kings to properly govern their nations. However, the prominence of mental illness in people of royal status is something that is often overlooked. While heavy, this angle is important for examining ability and discussing mortality. People with mental illness deserve help and should not be neglected and subjected to the responsibility of major positions of power, even if they want it.
The play begins by having Hamlet's uncle marry Hamlet's recently-widowed mother in order to become the new King of Denmark. Hamlet, while mourning the death of this father, is disappointed at his mothers lack of loyalty at the same time. The guards of Denmark's Elsinore castle see a ghost that resembles Hamlet's deceased father and decide to tell Hamlet. In act 1 scene 5 the ghost appears to Hamlet, stating that he is the ghost of his father, and that Hamlet's uncle murdered him. This is a huge turning point in the play as Hamlet swears vengeance for his father.
Hamlet Journal 1 In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet, appears to be insane, but his mistrust for his uncle and desire for revenge drives him “To put on an antic disposition on— / That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,” (I.v.181). He succeeds in convincing almost everyone around him that he is truly a mad man whose only cure is execution; however, he is enigmatic and ambiguous. By having an appearance of insanity and madness, Hamlet is able to use it to his advantage to achieve his own purpose of ridding his father’s murderer.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the perspective of Hamlet’s mental health is depicted through his actions and thoughts by pretending to be mad, and how other characters view him. The key theme of this play is that one’s mental health can cause an uproar of problems. I chose this as the theme because throughout the play you watch Hamlet make deranged decisions in his actions and the things he says to certain people. You also watch Hamlet go through his own grieving process by doing things that are mainly driven by his emotions from his father's passing, his mother Gertrude marrying his uncle, Claudius, and other conflicts he has with other characters throughout the play. Starting off in Act 1, Hamlet is struggling with the passing of his Father and
A few soldiers on guard report to him that his father’s ghost has been seen, and he sees the ghost when he goes with them the next night. The ghost tells him that his uncle killed him to get his crown and his wife, and makes Hamlet swear to avenge his death. Hamlet decides to pretend to be
There are moments in this world where someone can be so depressed that they do not want to live any longer. Many teenagers experience the same stress as Hamlet did in the play from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The character Hamlet is under stressed due to the death of his father who he loved a lot, and the early remarriage of his mother with his uncle. In addition, Hamlet is even more stressed out when the ghost presented itself as Hamlet’s father and wanted Hamlet to revenge for his father’s death. Even though Hamlet is under stress he remained between the state of sane or temporarily insane throughout the play.
It was hard for Hamlet to act crazy because he was still grieving over his father 's death and his mother not showing that she cares. Hamlet also lost Ophelia which makes his situation even worse than it was because he has no one in his. No family, no girlfriend, no one. Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother and feels like he can 't trust anyone. Shakespeare gives Hamlet these struggles in the play to amplify the mental and psychological events that make the reader feel bad about what all happened to Hamlet.
Hamlet is the main character in Shakespeare's play who endures various emotional states and is often analyzed for his interesting psychological attitudes. Throughout the play, Hamlet goes through the complex mental states of passive-aggressive personality and bipolar disorder. Hamlet’s bipolar disorder is quickly revealed because of the situations and personal issues he faces. He experiences extreme mood swings and is often in states of mind where he is low and depressed, while other times he is energetic and full of excitement. For example, in Act II, Scene II, Hamlet explains, “What a piece of work is a man…Man delights not me, nor woman neither.”
The ghost also reveals that his death was no accident and was murdered by his brother Claudius and should be revenged. These events challenged Hamlet and cast’s a burden to his moral faith. Hamlet decides to not act quickly with his plans of revenge considering there was no evidence to prove that Claudius killed his
King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning and two other times throughout the play. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death.
The ghost’s appearance has a significant impact on Hamlet’s behaviors and forms his decisions through the play. Hamlet, who is suffering from depression since he is dealing with his father’s death and the hasty marriage of his mother with Claudius, his uncle, became obsessed with the concept of life and death after seeing his father’s ghost. In the first appearance of the ghost, he reveals the truth about the how the king has been murdered, which drives Hamlet to seek revenge, and by revenge killing his uncle. The ghost establishes a dilemma and gives Hamlet time to think about his father’s request. But Hamlet has an uncertainty about the existence of the ghost as he notes “the spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T ' assume a pleasing shape” (2.2.561–563) here, Hamlet is concerned that the ghost may be the devil and questions the motivation of the ghost for killing Claudius.
In the play of Hamlet, Hamlet, the main character, is the son of the King that has just recently died and Hamlet’s mother quickly thereafter remarried the Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. There is a night that comes, where Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his deceased