Madness of Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Madness of Hamlet

The madness of Hamlet has always been a topic of controversy when

discussing William Shakespeare's Tragedy of Hamlet. In this play, the tragic

hero contemplates his own concepts of moral judgment and, in the process, may

be considered mad. Hamlet both feigns madness and actually has some

characteristics of a madman. His madness is defined by his inability to

decide between right and wrong and to make appropriate decisions based on

standards of society. Hamlet's mere circumstances at the opening of the play

are a major contributing factor to his madness. His father, King Hamlet, has

just been murdered; his mother, Gertrude, has married his uncle Claudius only

a month after her late husband died, stripping Hamlet from his natural right

to the throne. The loss of his father, as well as his uncle's new role as

King of Denmark and father to Hamlet, contribute to Hamlet's disturbed mental

state. The play illuminates this trapped position Hamlet experiences, both in

circumstances and in his own mental state.

The first sign the audience receives that Hamlet may be mad is after his

encounter with Ophelia. Ophelia is Hamlet's secret love and her father has

forbidden her to see Hamlet any more. She must discontinue he

the bidding of the ghost. Throughout the entire play, these words haunt

dust./ Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,/Passing through

trifle/ And meant to wrack [Ophelia]" (81). Hamlet's state of mind is

dismayed to learn that his own mother, the "seeming-virtuous queen,"

Guildenstern who are later executed by the order of Hamlet, where he will be

One major contribution to Hamlet's confused state of mind is the

Hamlet's actual madness. His extraordinary circumstances are cause to make a

later in the play when the ghost appears again, increasing Hamlet's state of

learns that he is to be sent to England, accompanied by Rosencrantz and

bear it not./ Let not the royal bed of Denmark be/ A couch for luxury and

Approximate Word count = 1027
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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