The Madness of Love Does love possess the power to drive someone mad? In the play, “Hamlet,” the King of Denmark illustrates the theme that love is dangerous. Before his death, King Hamlet was adored by his family and the entire country of Denmark. Consequently it wasn’t until jealousy overruled his brother, Claudius, that the King was murdered. The murder portrayed the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory is defined by: a cumulative effect produced when one event initiates a succession of similar events. After the death of King Hamlet, the leaders of the Elsinore castle began to fall. Counsellor, Polonius, was the victim of Hamlet’s sword. His daughter, Ophelia, drowned herself in a nearby river. Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern …show more content…
Ophelia and Hamlet were in love which in turn made it burdensome for her to forgive him for killing her father. Similarly to Hamlet, Ophelia went “mad” when her father was killed. Specifically, Gertrude said, “Her clothes spread wide, And, mermaid-like awhile they bore her up, Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds, As one incapable of her own distress Or like a creature native and endued Unto that element” (Hamlet 4.7.172-175). Ophelia had to be bored up because she couldn’t handle the distress that she was feeling. Ophelia’s madness was easily seen with her actions and appearance. Her madness stemmed from Hamlet’s killing of her father, and Hamlet’s madness came from the death of his father. When Ophelia found out about Polonius’s death, she sang, “He is dead and gone, lady, He is dead and gone, At his head a grass-green turf, At his heels a stone. Oh, ho!” (Hamlet 4.5.25-26). Ophelia’s insane tune convinced the King and Queen that she was mad. Simultaneously, Ophelia was thrusting the ground and running around the castle. She had gone mad and it was all because of Hamlet’s madness caused from King Hamlet’s death. She loved Hamlet and Polonius, so their troubles caused her to go
Then Hamlet lies to her saying he never really loved her which made her situation worse. And she was set up to see why hamlet is acting crazy and is spied on by Claudius to see where hamlet is week. So, as you can see Ophelia is put
When Ophelia returns all his letters and gifts he tells her that he has never loved her and that she should “get thyself to a nunnery.” This is one example how his mood changes throughout the play. Then after all this her father, Polinous, is murdered by Hamlet. The Hamlet is sent away to England All of these actions result in her feeling such stress that she becomes insane in the end.
This is where we first see Ophelia deteriorating a person. The next thing that drove her off a cliff was her father being murdered. Claudius said “O, this is the poison of deep grief;
Madness was a reoccurring theme throughout the play and these were the two characters which portrayed it more than others. In Act 3 Scene 1 Hamlet encounters Ophelia and calls her “fair”, creating a calm atmosphere. Later Hamlet rapidly changes his attitude, raging towards Ophelia and telling her “Get thee to a nunnery” implying he loved her once but now denies her love. Hamlet was acting mad in front of her in an aggressive manner and says “God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another”, Hamlet is suggesting that all women are two faced. Hamlet finds out that this was a setup of Claudius and Polonius to spy on him, so they can find out if he is truly mad.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet assumes the disguise of a man that has lost his mind. Hamlet uses this madness to masquerade around in such a way as to not draw attention to his true plan, to avenge his murdered father. Many readers debate as to whether Hamlet is truly mad, or whether he is fully aware of his actions and what he is doing. However, both sides of the debate can agree that Hamlet’s apparent madness is a key element of the play, Hamlet. There are many reasons as to why readers debate Hamlet’s madness.
Ophelia tells the King goodbye and “thank you for your good counsel”(4.5.76) through her father’s death. Polonius dying was just the icing on the cake to send Ophelia into a pit of despair. Shakespeare is trying to show exactly how
Ophelia goes mad throughout the story. She is overwhelmed by the loss of her father and the rejection of Hamlet. Her character is seen spiraling down a dark path that also ends in death. Ophelia is depicted as not having control over her actions; speaking and acting erratically. While Hamlet is speaking erratically and behaving oddly, he still maintains control over his actions and movement throughout the story.
But Ophelia also had some madness of her own that caused her suicide. Ophelia was also grieving over her father's, Polonius, death. Ophelia's death results from Hamlet's madness and his telling Ophelia that she needs to go to a nunnery. The cause of Ophelia's suicide was mainly from Hamlet's madness.
Hamlet has come to see his mother, Queen Gertrude, and ends up stabbing Lord Polonius, which ultimately leads to his death. Lord Polonius’ final words include “O, I am slain!” Even though this provides a slight amount of comic relief to the reader, it has a reverse effect on Ophelia’s mental state. Her father’s death seems to be the potent punch in this fight because she officially goes mad after this final event. This is apparent in Scene IV Act I, when Laertes has come back to visit his sister and check on her well being.
Insanity is an idea that has been examined for a long time in numerous mediums such as films, music, plays, and even works of literature. William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is no exception to that rule. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex characters, and many scholars have been debating for centuries whether or not Hamlet is truly insane, or whether there is a particular reason for his odd behavior. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet merely pretends to be mad but in reality is sane.
William Shakespeare tells the tale of a troubled man in his masterpiece, Hamlet. Imagine your beloved father dying and your mother marrying his brother shortly after. You’re left to grieve on your own. Instead of consoling you, your mother and uncle have a wedding and begin to share the same bed. This is what Hamlet suffers through in the play.
Polonius claims that Hamlet “fell into a sadness, then into a fast… and, by this declension, into the madness wherein now he raves” (2.2.156-159). Ophelia’s rejection and Hamlet’s lust for Ophelia are the sole causes of his madness. Polonius expresses that this kind of madness is very common among others as well for “in [his] youth [he] suffered much extremity for love, very near this” (2.2.206-208). However, the play depicts Polonius as inept and foolish. By hastily concluding the cause of Hamlet’s madness without regarding other tumultuous events such as King Hamlet’s death or Claudius’ marriage, Polonius seems ignorant and less credible.
Hamlet has not only become distraught from his conniving and lying stepfather but also his mother, Queen Gertrude as well. The unfaithfulness that Gertrude shows to Hamlet’s father and Hamlet has a toll on him and plays a part in his insanity. The facade that Hamlet displays slowly leads to his insanity, causing him to show mistreated love towards Ophelia. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia displays a very honest
In “Hamlet” a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, the death of a character is an occurring event. William Shakespeare uses imagery and allusion to demonstrate the result of manipulation from other characters upon Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, and leading up to her death. Her death was not the consequence of disgraceful actions of her own, but rather by the involvement of others and their influence on her life. Hamlet’s apparent rejection of her love and her father’s personal vindictive leads up to her simple-minded state, entering a world of madness. She has now gone mad, singings nonsense songs and giving people flowers that she has picked from the garden.
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, there are a series of events that causes Hamlet to act abnormally. He has to deal with his father’s death, mother’s remarriage, and his lover Ophelia. However, it is often argued whether Hamlet’s madness is real or fake. Throughout the tragedy, he is over-exaggerating his madness for his plan of revenge.