After Hamlet has discovered the truth about his father, he goes through a very traumatic period, which is interpreted as madness by readers and characters. With the death of his father and the hasty, incestuous remarriage of his mother to his uncle, Hamlet is thrown into a suicidal frame of mind in which "the uses of this world" seem to him "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable." No man in his right state contemplates suicide and would take his life due to human frailty. Ophelia tells us that before the events of the play Hamlet was a model courtier, soldier and scholar, "The glass of fashion and the mould of form,/ The observed of all observers." A modern boy scout to say the least, but as the play unwinds, his actions and thoughts catch him and slowly turn him insane. Not to say that he was a crazed madman out of touch with reality as was Ophelia, but a man driven crazy by thought. Hamlet's

Madness seems to be a common bond in these two Shakespearean plays. Hamlets madness is driven by his quest for revenge, and Macbeths madness is driven by his love for his wife and his lust for power, helped by the wonderful witches. The end result in both of these plays is also the same, every mad person ends up dead in the end, along with a couple innocent by-standers.

In Macbeth the witches are the main reason for madness. Here's one simple reason the witches could foretell the future, if they'd never spoken to Macbeth he still would have become king but it would have come to him in a less violent way. Macbeth creates his own misery when he kills people. This causes him and his wife to become insecure, because of the reasons for his actions, which in turn causes him to commit more murders. The witches give great enticement, but in the end, it's Macbeth's decision to fall for the temptation. The three Witches are only responsible for introducing the ideas to Macbeth, and putting the ideas in his head, but they are not responsible for his actions throughout the play. However I wonder if we should blame Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's ambition, and his own responsibilities for his madness, not the witches. Lady Macbeth is shown early as an ambitious woman who can manipulate Macbeth easily. This is shown in the line "That I may pour my spirits in thine ear"(MI,V,26). She is selfless, and wants what is best for her husband. Before the speech that Lady Macbeth gives in act one scene five, Macbeth does not want to go through with the killing of the king. She manipulates Macbeth's self-esteem by playing on his manliness and his bravery. Macbeth has the final say in whether or not to go through with the killing, but he loves Lady Macbeth and wants to make her happy. Lady Macbeth is the dominating individual in the relationship. It seems that she can convince him to do anything as long as she pushes the right buttons. Macbeth's ambition is present before the witch's prophesies. He would never have thought seriously about killing Duncan without the witches. But the combination of his ambitious and the witch's prophecies leads him to kill the king. Lady Macbeth even says, "Thou wouldst be great/ Art not without ambition."(MI,V,80-81). Macbeth also says, "his besetting sin: I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but

Some common words found in the essay are:
HIV III, Shakespeare Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, HV II, Lady Macbeth's, HI V166-180, HIII IV, Macbeth Thou, Laertes Ophelia's, Macbeth Hamlet, lady macbeth, throughout play, macbeth's ambition, play hamlet, witches lady, macbeth's madness, madness common, ophelia's grave, witches lady macbeth, madness driven,
Approximate Word count = 1578
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)