Hamlets madness - Lecture notes 11 PDF

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notes on Hamlet's madness insanity ...

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Tasnia Ahmed Professor James Regan English 220 3 March 2016 A Case for Madness The question of Prince Hamlet’s madness has divided Shakespeare’s audience into two sides; one side where the readers believe he is putting up an act and the other side believes he has completely cracked. His portrayal of a madman is so intense that many believe he missteps into insanity at certain times in the play. I believe that Hamlet feigned his insanity to deceive Claudius from his true intentions, while he examines the King’s guilt and prompts a plan to avenge his father. He chose to act absurdly around Ophelia and his mother to keep up appearances. If Hamlet did not put up an insanity act, Claudius would become aware that his nephew was plotting against him, and have him killed earlier on in the play. It is essential for the audience to look at the language Shakespeare chose for Hamlet and the other characters to say, while determining his sanity. There is evidence throughout the play that Hamlet deliberately pretended he was insane to confuse Claudius and the others. To determine whether he is insane or not, it is important to define the word first. The term insane is defined as a state of mind that prevents normal perception and behavior. When he first learned about his father’s murder, he acted unusual and Horatio said he spoke “wild and whirling words.” (1.5.133134) However, Hamlet apologizes to his friend and tells him what he discovered. Hamlet says “ How strange or odd some’er I bear myself. As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on.” (1.5.170-172) In those lines he is telling Horatio, his

only loyal companion that he is going to put on a show and act “strange” or “odd” in front of the King. Hamlet’s madness exhibits itself only in the presence of certain characters. He behaves irrationally in front of Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius and Ophelia. When he is around Horatio, Bernardo, Francisco, the Players, and the Gravediggers, he is rational and seems to know what he is talking about. While Hamlet and Horatio were completing arrangements for the play, Hamlet tells Horatio “They are coming to the play, I must be idle” (3.2.92) when he sees his mother and Claudius coming. He declared his intention to act foolish just for the King and Queen, which is a sign that he is pretending. It was just moments before, that he was lecturing the players on how to act out the parts he wrote for them. He instructed them to “Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue. But if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand thus, but use all gently.” Hamlet seems to have experience with dramas and plays, which means he has a skill in acting. He knows how to convince others with words without overstating his speech. He tells the Players to perform the speech he taught them smoothly and not exaggerate the words. He does not recommend for them to use too many hand gestures and tells them to just be gentle. Hamlet also praised Horatio and expressed his fondness of Horatio’s mind and manner, and standard of self-control. If someone’s insanity only manifests itself for certain people and not others, does that prove that they are really insane? He spoke to Horatio and the Players reasonably and only continued to act mad when his mother and stepfather entered the scene.

The people who consider Hamlet as a madman are Claudius, Gertrude and the King’s henchmen. Polonius was the first to declare Hamlet as insane, believing it was out of the madness of his love for Ophelia. The King and Polonius decide to spy on Hamlet’s confrontation with Ophelia and determine if his lovesickness is the reason for his madness. His behavior towards Ophelia when she returns his gifts and letters is selfdestructive. He tells her he does not love her now but he did love her once. Readers know that Hamlet says the opposite of what he means to keep up his madman act. Many may question his behavior in this scene because they believe he is unaware that Polonius and Claudius are watching. Let us not underestimate Hamlet’s intelligence, from his use of puns, to his clever use of words with double meanings, all the way to his ability to manipulate those around him. Hamlet is smart enough to know that Ophelia is not an independent woman who can act and think for herself. She is dependent on the men in her life (Polonius and Laertes) that allows them to assume a position of authority over her. I believe Hamlet knew Ophelia was told to confront him by her father and there was more to the story. When he asks her “Where’s your father?” (3.1.130-134), he is confirming that Polonius is there at the scene as well. After Ophelia replies that her father is at home, Hamlet says “ Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool nowhere but in’s own house,” he is knowingly insulting Polonius so he could hear him. He says for Polonius to remain behind the shut doors in his house and be an imbecile there. While we saw Hamlet’s capability of cruelty when tells Ophelia to go to the nunnery, I believe we can interpret this as keeping up the madman act. He also intentionally removed Ophelia from the equation in his life because he did not want her

involved. Having a love life on the side while on the mission towards revenge may cause distractions or ruin the plan altogether. King Claudius has his doubts about Hamlet’s madness and confesses that he believes Hamlet’s actions stem from something else. Claudius said “Love? His affections do not that way tend. Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, was not like madness. There’s something in his soul O'er which his melancholy sits on brood, And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose will be some danger.” (3.1.165-170) Claudius believes Hamlet’s feelings are not moving towards the direction of love and that his words were not crazy even though they were disorderly. He believes Hamlet is hatching something else from his depression and it is very dangerous. He decides to send Hamlet away to England, for the King’s own protection. Claudius was never fully convinced because after Polonius revelation, he still sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet and figure out his intentions. One of the most argued reasons for Hamlet’s madness is the scene in Gertrude’s private chamber (3.4.103-106) where the Ghost appears. When Hamlet speaks to the Ghost who Gertrude cannot see, she says Hamlet is mad (“Alas, hes mad”). Readers that believe Hamlet has completely cracked may use this scene as evidence and question the existence of the ghost altogether. We cannot forget that Bernado, Marcellus and Horatio also saw the ghost. I believe Gertrude is unable to see the ghost because she no longer remembers the memory of her deceased husband when he was alive. Visions of the ghost are followed by the recollection of King Hamlet. Those that can see the ghost are able to identify it by how they remember the King. Barnardo says “In the same figure, like the king that’s dead.” (1.1.41) believing that it is the ghost of the King right away. Marcellus

asks “Is it not like the King?” (1.4.58), where he agrees it looks like the late King Hamlet. Horatio answered, “As thou art to thyself. Such was the ambitious Norway combated. So frowned he once when, in an angry parle, He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.” (1.1.60-63) He compares the Ghost’s appearances to the King, to Marcellus’s appearances to Marcellus. He remembers the King wearing the same armor in his battle against the King of Norway and even remembers the King’s frown when he attacked the Poles. Therefore it is not justifiable to call Hamlet insane for seeing the ghost, when his mother does not see it at all because others have seen the ghost as well. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet reflects that his mother has failed to mourn his father’s memory. He said, “a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer.” (1.2.150-151) This is the reason Gertrude cannot see the ghost, while Hamlet, Horatio, Barnardo and Marcellus can. Hamlet also admits to his mother that he is not deranged, but only acting. Hamlet’s madness is purposely emphasized throughout much of the play that it seems unusual to just conclude he has actually lost his mind. If he were to be insane, everything in the play would not go the way it did. When Hamlet speaks and his language is erratic, we read beneath those words and find observations of his sane mind working to confuse certain people and conceal his intentions. Hamlet was only pretending to be insane to confirm that Claudius killed his father. His mission was to avenge his father, and to do so he had to be one step ahead of Claudius. More importantly, Hamlet believed in his sanity and made sure to think everything through before taking action....