Written at the outset of the seventeenth century and based on accounts of several centuries earlier, Hamlet is often regarded as remarkably modern in its treatment of themes concerning mental health, political health, and spiritual health. Choose one character, and using textual evidence from acts III, IV, and V, show their decline in any area of health listed above. Try to select a different character if one or two are being favored.
-Emily and Erin
While there are many characters in "Hamlet" that can be considered as developing a mental illness or going mad in the course of the play, probably the most important character who goes mad is Hamlet himself. In Act III, Scene 4, Hamlet enters his mothers room and stabs at the curtain, where he believes the King, Claudius, to be hiding. Unfortunately Hamlet was mistaken, and he ends up killing Polonius, Ophelia's father. As the scene progresses, Hamlet confronts his mother, criticizing her hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. During this conversation, the Ghost appears, but this time only to Hamlet. Their conversation continues:
ReplyDelete"How is it with you, lady?/ Alas, how is 't with you,/ That you do bend your eye on vacancy/ And with th' incorporal air do hold discourse?/ Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep,/ And, as the sleeping soldiers in th' alarm,/ Your bedded hair, like life in excrements,/ Start up and stand on end. O gentle son,/ Upon the flame of thy distemper/ Sprinkle cool patience! Whereupon do you look?" (III. iv. 132-141).
Hamlet appears to be the only person who can actually see the Ghost in this scene, compared to the scene at the beginning of the play when Horatio and Hamlet's other friends could see it as well. This detail that Shakespeare includes contributes to Hamlet's deteriorating mental health over the course of the play, as the reader must decide if Hamlet really is going crazy. It can be speculated in this specific scene that Hamlet is indeed going crazy, as Gertrude claims to not be able to see the Ghost and the Ghost merely reminds Hamlet of his true task, to avenge his death, meaning that the reminder could possibly be just a figment of his imagination.
Most of the characters in "Hamlet" would by today's terms be described as crazy but I think that Hamlet himself takes the largest portion of crazy. His constant worry of his love for Ophelia and his want to seek revenge on his uncle for killing his father has him acting as if he is mad and this may actually lead him to be mad by the end of the play when he finally commits suicide. As Hamlet is talking to Rosencranz and Guildenstern in Act III, he goes form speaking to them seriously saying they cannot play him like a musical instrument and control his every action, though he admits to lacking ambitions, he switches to talking about the clouds saying they look like a "camel" or "whale". These observations make Hamlet seem absolutely random and mad but of course Rosencranz and Guildstern will agree with him so they can stay on their master's good side so he doesn't go crazy on them. Hamlet is so worried with the things he is holding inside his mind that he drives himself to insanity.
ReplyDeleteIn Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, there is a reoccurring theme in the decline in health of many characters, mental or physical, especially nearing the end of the play in acts III, IV, and V. After Laertes learns about the death of his father, he is seen as a character whom begins to lose his mental state of health. Upon learning of his recent loss, Laertes begins to act extremely out of character using vulgarity and ranting. As Laertes says, “ O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt, burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye” (IV, v, 152-154). While this is not a common form of expression for Laertes which already makes the reader question his sanity, He is say that he wish for the salt, which can be seen as a symbol for his father’s death, which he wishes to “burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye”, which can be interpreted that Laertes wishes for the death of his father to remove his virtue from his soul, because the eyes are the window to one’s soul, allowing Laertes to seek vengence for his father’s death, without guilt. To cope with the pain of his loss, Laertes uses revenge to compensate, making rash decisions which drives the declination of his sanity. As Laertes’ need to avenge the death of his father becomes his priority, he losses sight of everything else until he suffers the ultimate consequence of death for his loss of sanity.
ReplyDeleteIn Shakespeare’s Hamlet, deteriorating health is a major theme throughout. The protagonist, Hamlet’s health is not deteriorating, but he puts on a façade that it is. He wants people to think he is mad so that when he plans his revenge to kill his uncle, he wants to catch people off guard. He shows his mental health is “compromised” by calling Polonious a “fishmonger” which makes no sense in the context. He goes on to say “for if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion.” Polonious is the father of Ophelia with who Hamlet is in love with. When speaking with Polonious, Hamlet asks if he has a daughter, which, obviously, he knows he does. Hamlet is speaking very metaphorically and Polonious is too much of an idiot to realize that Hamlet is, and Polonious calls it “madness.” As far as spiritual health Hamlet is very indecisive. He cannot decide how to plan his revenge. Hamlet admits that he has been “one part wisdom / And ever three parts coward” but he soon gets over his indecision and decides to act by saying “my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth.” Hamlet’s façade of deteriorating health fools everyone and keeps them off guard just as Hamlet intended.
ReplyDeleteThe human mind, scarcely defined in Shakespearian times, seems to have an overwhelming presence in "Hamlet." Now most of the characters see Hamlet as being mad throughout the play, but the person with the biggest change in mental health would be Ophelia. In the beginning she was the light of Hamlet's eye, but after the death of her father, Polonious, her light goes out. After the death of her father she comes to the castle for a visit, and almost every line is sung. She speaks with her brother of "rosemary for remembrance," and "there is pansies for thoughts (IV.v. 172-173)" Her brother, astounded by her words sees her actions as signs of, "madness, thoughts and remembrance fitted (IV. v. 174)" It is not long after this scene when she commits her own suicide, an unspeakable act in the Shakespearian times. Her death warrants no funeral because the act is seen as vile. The queen has to inform Laertes of his sister's death as she, "fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide," she laid there, "Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay/ To muddy death (IV.vii. 172-180)" She fell into the water and did not try to save herself, instead she lay dormant letting the water engulf her into her eternal rest. Her madness had finally taken it's toll on Ophelia, and her only escape was death.
ReplyDeleteHamlet, although written long ago, is in some aspects very relatable to problems in our own lives. As with any play, the characters change and evolve as the play goes on. This is the case of Claudius, the father of Hamlet, who murdered his brother in order to gain power. Throughout the play he uses deception in order to trick Gertrude about his love for Hamlet. In the beginning he is able to hide his guilt of murder (which we find he is guilty of through the ghost). As the play moves forward it becomes harder for Claudius to not show his sin. This remorse comes to a head when Hamlet has the players act out a play that reflect his own life. At the end of this play, which he forces Claudius to see if he truly killed his father, Claudius is begging for light, “Give me some light. Away!” (III.ii.245). This culpability has forced a mental deterioration that makes him feels true remorse for what he has done, “Oh my offense is rank, it smells to heaven;/ It hath the primal eldes curse upon’t,/ A brother’s murder…./My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent” III.iii.36-40). As with many other characters in this play, Claudius's mental health deteriorates by the end of this tragic play.
ReplyDeleteDan - I enjoyed your clearly well-written post! I also think it is interesting that Shakespeare left Hamlet's mental state up for discussion.
ReplyDeleteVirginia - I love that you tied this post in with one of the funnier scenes in the play!
Jessica - Ophelia is my favorite character in "Hamlet" and I love that you mention her plotline. I agree that her only escape from the madness in her life was death, thus the suicide.
Allison - Interesting thoughts on Claudius. I honestly think that he felt guilt the entire time but it was just easier to put on a "poker face" early on.
All characters suffer in Denmark. With the massive amounts of corruption and tragedy in the court, all of the people in Hamlet suffer health issues mentally and emotionally. While there are obvious characters like Hamlet or Ophelia that one might choose to analyize their state of health, one character that suffers just as much as the rest is Gertrude. Gerture suffers greatly because her only son, Hamlet, makes her and everyone else believe that he has gone mad. Hamlet also does not fail in revealing to his mother his distain for her actions against his father. He boldly acuses her of "Such an act/ That blurs the grace and blush of modesty" with her marriage to Hamlet's uncle after the death of his father (III.iv.49-50.). With her son's indescripable and confonding actions and the tragedies of the people within the court, her ladyship Gertrude does decline in heath as the play goes on. Hamlet's words and actions "hast cleft my [Gertrude's] heart in twain". Mentally and spiritually Hamlet's deeds and their consequences are slowing killing his mother. She herself even admits that " if words be made of breath/ And breath of life, I have no life to breathe/ What thou hast said to me" (III.iv. 219-221). And even though Gertrude retains her title as Queen of Denmark, it means little to her now. Eventually that title becomes useless since the royal family all dies in the end. While Gertrude may not seem like a character that goes through a lot of suffering in the play, she most certainly does. In fact she might be a character that goes through the most suffering of guilt from the marriage to her brother-in-law, broken heart from the loss of her son's love, and watching the decline and tragedy of her kingdom, its people, her family, and everything she has ever known in her life.
ReplyDeleteThough it is said that Shakespeare seemed to write in a more modern style concerning the issues of mental, physical, and spiritual health in humans, these themes are reoccurring and therefore are neither modern nor ancient. In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, all of the characters are suffering for different reasons. The character that underwent the most change occurs in Ophelia’s mental health.
ReplyDeleteOphelia has always been dedicated to the requests of others ahead of her own wants and needs. As a result, she faded from being the difference in Hamlet’s life to being someone he accuses of being two- faced. The fading of her individuality was greatly influenced by the death of her father. In Act IV Scene V line 162, Ophelia is in the presence of the King and Laertes singing “hey non nonny, nonny”. These are old English nonsense words, proving that Ophelia’s mental state is degrading rapidly at this point in the story. Also, in this scene, instead of engaging in normal conversation with her brother and Claudius, Ophelia sings. At the end of Act IV Scene VII, Ophelia commits suicide by drowning herself. Though suicides are often unexplainable happenings, there is evidence that Ophelia’s mental state had declines since the beginning of the story. She found that she could only live in peace through death.
William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is centered around the theme of the degeneration of mental health in the title character. Prince Hamlet causes much controversy throughout the play with his declining mental health. It has been debated that his father's murder lead him to madness. However it has also been argued that Hamlet is simply pretending to be mad in order to carry out his plan of revenge on Claudius. This is a huge focus throughout the play. However, much less attention is paid to the fact that Hamlet also seems to be declining in his spiritual health. When his mother Gertrude hastily marries his uncle Claudius following his father's sudden death, Hamlet loses all faith in his mother. Gertrude selfishly marries Claudius in an effort to maintain her status and the level of power that comes with being the Queen of Denmark. Hamlet loses all levels of trust with his mother when she selfishly marries Claudius and therefore begins to lose faith in everyone. When one's mother, their biggest role model, does such a selfish act, it is difficult to have faith in their actions any longer. This is the beginning of Hamlet's spiritual decline and he continues to decline throughout the rest of the play.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Hamlet is written in the outset of the seventeenth century, in many aspects it possesses modern traits in the focus on topics concerning mental health, political health, and spiritual health. Hamlet's mental health throughout the play is controversial. Some believe he was actually crazy and some believe have was merely pretending the whole time. At one point Hamlet was actually pretending to be mad, however near the end this become questionable as to whether or not he was actually crazy. The death of his father, King Hamlet, along with his mother's sexuality can both be to blame for this. He perpetuates an obsession for proving his uncle, Claudius, guilty of his father's death. It is also very clear that he is indicisive, impulsive, and mentally unstable in general. He comtemplates the idea of suicide several times. He is heavily burdened with the questions of the afterlife and what really happens, mainly because suicide is a religious sin and he is torn between being miserable either way. In the famous words the character of Hamlet, he wuestions "To be, or not to be"(III,i,56). He experiences an empty existence. His extreme indeciciveness causes him to go crazy. His inner struggles overcome his outwardly. Rosencrantz and Guildenstren realize he has gone mad, however they chose to just go along with it and they become the comic relief. These ideologies are more modern than the other ideas being written during this time.
ReplyDeleteLindsey - I really like how you discussed a less "popular" character. I definitely agree with your argument - she may not be the most talked about, but Gertrude's mental health is definitely a mess by the end of the play. I also like your point that she married Claudius to retain her title but ultimately dies anyway.
ReplyDeleteChristiana - Another good study of Ophelia. Great job!
Sarah - I definitely agree that the ideologies found in "Hamlet" are more modern than their counterparts in other plays.
We are getting a lot of posts about mental health - how about the next few people to post talk about political health? We haven't heard anything about that yet.
In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Shakespeare shows a keen understanding of physical, mental and spiritual health for his time period, especially as the play progresses. From death, to mental insanity, Shakespeare covers all the basis of declining health in the play, including a decline in spiritual health as well. Both Hamlet and Ophelia lose their sanity by the end of the play and both make a huge impact on the physical health of others around them. The two almost decline together throughout the play. In Act IV, scene v, Ophelia enters the scene “distracted” and utters of her father’s death “He is gone, he is gone/ and we cast away moan:/ God ha’ mercy on his soul!/ And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God be wi’ you” (IV, v, 190-194). This clearly shows that Ophelia has gone crazy, and shortly after Hamlet kills Claudius, his mother on accident, and himself.
ReplyDeleteWritten in the seventeenth century, Shakespeare pioneered into character themes that had not yet been dissected before. He focuses on a character's state of being, and in this particular tragedy called Hamlet, the character's ultimate dissension. Gertrude and Claudius show a major decline in their overall political health. It is seen that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (I.iv.90) when the decay of the country is onset by the new political changes brought about by the new king, Claudius. Because he is corrupt himself, this reflects back onto the people of the country, and therefore brings down the way of life in his realm. His mental state affects his political health, and thus his overall his ruling of the people. It is also seen that due to Gertrude's decline in mental health, it reflects into her political health, when she takes haste in accepting the hand of her brother in law. It is questioned whether she vowed unto him out of love, or out of power. As king Claudius says "my crown, mine own ambition and my queen" (III.iii.54), it is seen that he too is driven to marry Gertrude out of a thirst for power, stopping at nothing to win the crown. The political health of both king Claudius and queen Gertrude significantly decline throughout the play, thus leaving its rulings in a "wretched state!"(III.iii.68).
ReplyDeleteBrooks - I like your argument that Hamlet and Ophelia declined together throughout the play.
ReplyDeleteCiara - Thank you for posting something different! I would agree that Gertrude's decline in mental health plays into the overall political decline of Denmark.
That's it for this week's blog, everyone! Thank you for posting - a new question should be posted soon!