Insanity can be utilized to convey the characters’ tragedy and self-destruction. Shakespeare employed madness to express the disillusionment and hopelessness surrounding the heroes, driving them to impulsive and self-destructive actions. The play balances insanity and rationality, faithlessness and honor, the yearning for vengeance, and the desire not to act prematurely via the intricate complexity of its layers. Shakespeare also compares Hamlet’s madness to Ophelia’s insanity and her loss of identity. As a result, the paper investigates the mechanics of madness in Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet.”
The central character in the tragedy is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and the depth of his character contributes much to the play’s emotional power. Hamlet is depressed due to his father’s sudden death and his mother’s hasty marriage to the new King, his father’s brother Claudius. Hamlet’s sadness is exacerbated when he learns that his father’s soul has been spotted roaming on the castle’s battlements. The Ghost informs Hamlet that he was killed by Claudius and encourages him to pursue justice for his “foul and most unnatural murder” (Shakespeare, 2008, I.V.25). After his encounter with the Ghost, Hamlet resolves to acquire evidence of his uncle’s hostility. He intends to “put on an antic disposition” (Shakespeare, 2008, I.V.172), hoping that no one would suspect him of conspiring to assassinate the King. As the play progresses, Hamlet’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre, and neither the audience nor Hamlet’s other figures can be particular if Hamlet is truly insane.
Despite their father’s death, Hamlet’s breakdown was influenced by his mother’s rushed remarriage. The decision questioned the mythical nature of Hamlet’s vision of his parents and their marriage and might have revealed more pernicious parts of family philosophy. His significant other is suddenly shown as an unfaithful, superficial woman whose affections are based on her fleeting delights and convenience. Claudius and Gertrude are skeptical about Hamlet’s madness, while Gertrude also feels his “transformation” (Shakespeare, 2008, II.V.5) is the outcome of “his father’s death” and her hasty decision on marriage (Shakespeare, 2008, II.V.57). Polonius believes that Hamlet has gone insane as a result of his unrequited love for Ophelia. Nevertheless, while Claudius and Gertrude would like to believe in this explanation, Hamlet’s conduct with Ophelia persuades them that Ophelia is not the principal cause of Hamlet’s disorder.
Hamlet appears to alternate between the rational melancholy of his monologues and spontaneous, unanticipated bursts of anger or rage. At several moments throughout the play, Hamlet seems out of control of his actions. For instance, his conduct at the graveyard brings his sanity into doubt. As he finds Ophelia is no longer alive, he dives into her grave, declaring that his love is stronger than that of any brother: “Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum” (Shakespeare, 2008, V.I.264—6). Although Hamlet may have loved Ophelia, his behavior toward her was unlike that of a sympathetic lover. Nonetheless, his acts in the cemetery are frantic and hysterical, indicating a lack of control rather than deep-rooted compassion.
The protagonist’s emotions had overtaken his logic, resulting in his agonizing scream. It is indeed challenging to be certain about Hamlet’s sanity. After his experience with the Ghost, he told Horatio that he would act insane. Later, he declares, “I am but mad north-north-west” (Shakespeare, 2008, II.II.374). Nonetheless, he apologizes to Laertes for his uncontrollable behavior: “Who does it then? His madness” (Shakespeare, 2008, V.II.233). Hamlet can be gentle and violent, loving and malicious, a profoundly thoughtful introvert, and a person able to act on instinct all at the same time.
Ophelia is another character in “Hamlet” who might be seen as insane. Her image has symbolic meaning, formed by her conduct, looks, and gestures. Polonius refers to Ophelia as a “green girl” (Shakespeare, 2008, I.III.101), whereas Laertes alludes to her as a “rose of May” (Shakespeare, 2008, VI.V.157). These analogies connote youth and maidenly hope. She is a passive, obedient, dependent, naïve, and innocent young lady. Her father, deceitful Polonius, communicates a persistent sense of suspicion and skepticism of other people’s motivations. He questions Hamlet’s motivations toward Ophelia and instructs his daughter not to have anything to do with Hamlet soon before he goes insane. She speaks very little and never exhibits a good attitude toward Hamlet. Her father’s identity is her identity, and her loss of identity drove her mad. Ophelia’s response to Polonius is a declaration of Hamlet’s love for her, but there is no mention of her love for him. Words from the play indicate that Ophelia was thought to have committed suicide: “Laer. Must there no more be done? Priest. No more be done” (Shakespeare, 2008, V.I.228—229). In her insanity, she portrays a dual picture of female sexuality; that is, she may be both innocent and filthy.
Her insanity, in the end, reflects a sequence of conflicting Ophelias who alternate between powerful and weak, virginal and sensual. When her father dies, she loses a significant part of herself. The madness, precipitated by her lover murdering her father, shows her underlying ideation, and she can properly be regarded as Hamlet’s dynamic counterpart. Ophelia’s lack of a unique identity, her identity vanishes together with the disappearance of masculine domination. As a result of her insanity, she is unable to identify herself as an autonomous individual in the absence of these powerful male characters. Ophelia committed suicide because she had no goal of living without Polonius and Hamlet, who provided her with a sense of self-worth.
Hamlet and Ophelia believe they have been abandoned by the one they love, and both have lost their fathers via murder. Her father’s death drives Ophelia insane, and she suffers and drowns herself, while Hamlet pretends to be insane and is taken across the sea to England. Both of them eventually die prematurely, and their tales parallel one another. Ophelia has no identity and is shown as Hamlet’s reflection. Their madness serves a similar function in that they can only expose their deepest feelings and demands when they are no longer rational. Ophelia is inextricably tied to the character of Hamlet, and their existences are permanently intertwined.
To conclude, the paper examines the mechanics of insanity in Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” and compares Hamlet to Ophelia. Hamlet’s insanity is motivated by his father’s death and his desire for vengeance on the man who murdered him. Ophelia’s insanity arises from a loss of identity and a sense of powerlessness over her future and existence. Thus, while Hamlet’s father’s death made him angry enough to seek vengeance, Ophelia absorbed her father’s death as a loss of self-identity. Both were insane, died young, and their stories parallel one another.
Reference
Shakespeare, W. (2008). Hamlet (S. Greenblatt, Ed.). W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. (Original work published 1603).