...Hamlet’s Unwilling Descent into Madness William Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains many instances when a problem of interpretation allows for different stances, but perhaps one of the most prominent questions is Hamlet’s descent into madness and to what degree he controls this madness or if it consumes him. This question is of great importance because it allows the reader to either justify or condemn Hamlet’s actions. In the 1990 Kevin Kline version of Hamlet, Hamlet’s interactions with others and his numerous soliloquies show that his madness is not an act; rather, he cracked under the extreme circumstances of his surroundings. Losing his father and seeing his mother marry his uncle within a few short months took an uncontrollable toll on Hamlet. His heightening emotions and increasing violence show that the film takes the stance that Hamlet cannot control his actions as he succumbs to insanity rather than someone in control of their action. Different versions of Hamlet take many stances on this issue from depicting Hamlet as a plotting mastermind to a man spiraling hopelessly out of control. This film is sympathetic to Hamlet’s plight as it shows his steady and unwilling descent into madness. The numerous violent incidences with his family and his dark soliloquies depict Hamlet as a man lost to his madness. By focusing on his relationships with others, the viewer can see that the interpretive stance does not place the blame on Hamlet but rather his circumstances. For example...
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...Hamlets madness is not an act but rather a result of him suffering from schizophrenia a form of mental illness. After the death of his father Hamlets mental health began to deteriorate as a result he went into a state of depression which inevitably evolved into a mental illness. Hamlets depression is evident as he wishes not commit suicide stating, “Or that the Everlasting had not fixed / His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God!” ( Act 2 Scene 1). The death of his father devastated him, and unable to cope with the grief became depressed. Hamlets depression soon evolved into schizophrenia as he began to show all the symptoms of someone suffering from such illness. First of all he began to hallucinate as when he was in his mother chamber...
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...1) What is at stake in this decision for Carol and for Davis Press? Why? There is a lot at stake in this decision for Carol and Davis Press. Let’s take a look at what would happen if the book “Meccan Madness” were to be published. Referring to the past and what had happen to Rushdie when his book “The Satanic Verse” was released, it was mayhem. Death threats were issued, Rushdie was wanted dead for several years, and innocent people were killed and much more were injured. If Carol decides to publish Taajwar’s book, there is a possibility history could repeat itself, which includes Davis Press making high profits by selling the book, but also losing millions of dollars that went towards the security of employees. If Carol decided not to publish the book, it is obvious they will lose on the chance of making high profits. However, all the employees will remain safe and not have to fear what will happen to them if “Meccan Madness” is published. 2) Who are the stakeholders here? To whom (or what) does Davis owe her allegiance? The stakeholders in this case are the employees of Davis Press. The employees play a major role in this case because of the amount of work they do for the company. Another stakeholder in this case is the government because in the event problems occur between countries. This sort of situation happen when Rushdie’s book was published where there was issues between Britain and Iran. Carol owes her loyalty to the employees for the amount of...
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...As life goes on I’m starting to learn more and more about responsibility And I realize everything I do is affecting the people around me So I want to take this time out to apologize for things that I've done And things that haven't occurred yet And things that they don’t want to take responsibility for I’m sorry for the times that I left you home I was on the road and you were alone I’m sorry for the times that I had to go I’m sorry for the fact that I did not know That you were sitting home just wishing we Could go back to when it was just you and me I’m sorry for the times I would neglect I’m sorry for the times I disrespect I’m sorry for the wrong things that I’ve done I’m sorry I’m not always there for my sons I’m sorry for the fact that I am not aware That you can’t sleep at night when I am not there Because I'm in the streets like every day I'm sorry for the things that I did not say Like how you are the best thing in my world And how I am so proud to call you my girl I understand that there are some problems And I am not too blind to know All the pain you kept inside you Even though you might not show If I can't apologize for being wrong Then it’s just a shame on me I’ll be the reason for your pain And you can put the blame on me You can put the blame on me You can put the blame on me You can put the blame on me You can put the blame on me Said you can put the blame on me Said you can put the blame on me Said you can put...
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...’ The opera tells the story of two officers, who pretend to leave for war to test the fidelity of their lovers. The themes of madness, attitude towards the mentally ill, transformations and growth and fidelity and love are portrayed through the conventions and techniques of symbolism, play within a play, setting and characters. Readers are positioned to respond to the immediate world and the world at large with complete madness, as it seems the world at large is a world apart from society. The play explores the theme of madness through the convention of setting. The idea of an inside world and outside world is shown through the symbolism and paranoia of society. The dark, derelict burnt out theatre is a metaphor for the world at large, and the drama that is enacted on its charred surface is a reflection of the larger dramas taking place outside. The outside world is noticed to have fear about the spread of communism, the mass casualties and the war crimes, for example the massacre of civilians, the torture of people and the rape. Readers respond to the absolute madness at times with confusion, as it’s hard to understand what it means exactly to be ‘normal.’ This I often shown through the troubled vision of the ‘abnormal’ characters being perhaps saner than those outside of the institution. Another theme explored within the performance is madness of a play within a play. The insanity of putting on a sexist play in the 1970’s about love and fidelity during the period of the...
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...EXTRA EXTRA! Prince Hamlet Fakes Insanity! HRH Prince Hamlet has faked insanity since the untimely passing of his father, the King of Denmark. Whilst everyone in the kingdom just thinks that Hamlet has simply gone mad, our sources reveal that this was merely just a ruse. Doting Polonius quite concerned of Hamlet and the discovery of the root to the madness states: ‘Madam, I swear I use no art at all. That he is mad, tis true: tis true tis pity; And pity tis true: a foolish figure; But farewell it, for I will use no art. Mad let us grant him then: and now remains that we find out the cause of this effect; Or rather say, the cause of this defect, For this effect defective comes by cause: Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.” (Act 2 Scene 2 Line 44) When our affiliates tried to reach out to Hamlet, he was quite hesitant to explain to himself but he hinted at he firmly suspects that Claudius is the main reason of his father’s tragic death. Our analysts have deducted that this adds up to the overall battle/conflict to this situation. It is quite vivid that Prince Hamlet is simply trying disarray others with his wild charade. By playing this strategically, this will allow him to attack Claudius when least expected and expose to the land that he is guilty for the murder of the late King of Denmark. Many people are aroused with excitement with Prince alleged plans and believe that he should be sole ruler of Denmark and carry out his late father’s legacy. Therefore...
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...happen to the original 911 call Zimmerman made where the dispatcher had told Zimmerman to stand back and not to pursuit the suspect that looks suspicious because the police is on the way? Why wasn’t it presented in the trial. Why didn’t Zimmerman obey the law? Well I feel because he is a neighborhood watchman who wants to be a wanna be cop. I understand Zimmerman frustration and all with the burglaries and people in their gated community being held captive in their own home by black guys and as Zimmerman stated it’s punks like him (Trayvon) who always gets away, and at that point I believe that’s when Zimmerman had taken the law into his own hands. The media play’s their role as well into the madness. Just by watching the media it can be very misleading and sometimes confusing. The media portrayed Trayvon as this innocent teenager that didn’t get into trouble or do any wrong, but as I research deeper into this for my argumentative essay I found out that Martin was not this innocent teenager, he was into a lot of things. This young man was into gang banging,...
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...JOSSO Raphaële 19/11/2014 TS1 Literature Discuss how two writers on your OIB program deal with the theme of madness It is not rare that the theme of madness whether it is feigned or not to be presented in literary works. William Shakespeare and Euripides depict this theme in their works Hamlet and Medea. Medea and Hamlet have experienced familial hardships; as a result they believe that the only way to obtain what they desire is through manipulation. Indeed both characters have become masters at the art of deceiving. In both works the theme of madness can be discussed as we cannot be certain that these personas are truly lunatics. Madness can be here considered as a tool to achieve ones end. Indeed Medea and Hamlet feign insanity in order to achieve revenge over their disloyal family. Medea and Hamlet have been betrayed by their family, the first through the murder of his father by his uncle and the marriage of his mother to the same man and the second by her husband who has agreed to marry somebody else. Both are left alone dealing with these events. As madness may be described as “mental incapacity caused by an unmentionable injury”, it is with no surprise that Hamlet or Medea would fall in the hands of insanity. However their actions and words prove the opposite. We can thus suppose that they are both feigning madness to achieve revenge. Medea thinks about the consequences before taking action “what state would take me in? What friend would offer...
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...Marijuana, which had once been considered as a lethal drug, is now seen as a mild drug and the number of people demanding it to be legalized has skyrocketed over the last couple of decades. And all this thanks to the media, which have played a pivotal role in bringing about a shift in people’s perception of marijuana. Long back, marijuana was considered as a typically lethal drug. Many movies, novels and celebrities were largely responsible for instilling in people such made up facts about marijuana. “Reefer Madness”, the 1936 cult hit, depicted marijuana as the primary cause for turning two teenagers into sex-crazed murderers. Novels such as “Badge of Evil”, “Casino Royale”, etc were used as strong propaganda against marijuana causing it to be considered as a violence inducing drug. Currently, marijuana does not have the lethal drug status anymore. If we happen to see someone smoking marijuana in a television program, we will definitely not get embarrassed. Although marijuana is illegal in many states of America, it is so popular and a recent study reveals that one in fifteen high school students smoke marijuana almost every day. The 21st Century considers marijuana as a medicine for many debilitating diseases and relief for chronic aches. No doubt, marijuana is a best remedy to increase appetite and thus resolve the weight loss problem in HIV patients. Similarly, marijuana is best to alleviate the intensity of pain in cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy. Marijuana...
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...concerns madness in the play. How we as readers view Hamlet’s sanity has a profound impact on how we see his character and how we view the play as a whole. Throughout Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet's questionable madness is explored through his real madness and feigned actions towards his madness. The first reference to madness comes in Act 1, Scene 5. Here Hamlet sets the stage for his alleged madness throughout the rest of the play by telling Horatio “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on....” (1.v. 171-72). In these lines Hamlet is telling his friend Horatio that he will play the role of a mad man so that no one will be able to discover his true purpose of avenging his father’s most foul and unnatural death. After seeing the ghost, Hamlet's mind is bombarded with thoughts of the world unseen that leave him full of emotion and desperate to know the truth. This is maybe the biggest influence on Hamlet in his life. He changes personal so much from the beginning to end, from living to dead. In some instances, Hamlet's madness can be seen as real. For example, Hamlet states as he makes a pass through the arras and kills Polonius, "How now! a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!" (3.4, 25). Hamlet's madness is no longer feigned when he does not kill Claudius and instead kills Polonius, the wrong person, in such a rash manner. Hamlet puts himself at risk and does not think about the consequences. In other instances, Hamlet's madness can be seen...
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...Hamlet Movie Scene Comparison Act II, scene 2 is the longest scene in Hamlet. In this scene, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern come to the King, Voltimand and Cornelius report the message from Norway, Polonius suggests to Claudius and Gertrude the reason of Hamlet’s madness, Hamlet calls Polonius a “fishmonger”, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern bring in the players, Hamlet decides to let the players play the Old King’s murder. Scene 2 is divided into sub-sections in a way to present the plot and the theme more clearly. The “fishmonger scene” refers to the part from Polonius’s explanation of Hamlet’s madness “Your noble son is mad” (2.2.92) to the end of Hamlet and Polonius’s first interaction “except my life” (2.2.210), initiates Hamlet’s actions on revenge and vouchsafes how other characters view his “madness”. This essay will compare the actors’ gestures and line arrangements from directors Kenneth Branagh and Franco Zeffirelli to depict the different effects in Hamlet’s madness. First, the actors’ gestures between Kenneth Branagh version and Mel Gibson version show differences to the interpretations of Hamlet’s madness. There are not many gestures in the Kenneth Branagh film, which can mean something. When Polonius talks to Claudius and Gertrude, also when he talks to Hamlet, he does not have obvious big body movement, but instead just standing straight, walking steadily, behaving perfectly like a honorable and educated man; Hamlet as the noble son of the King and Queen, and the...
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...Philip K. Dick once said that, "It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane" (brainyquote.com). This is a very controversial statement to make, since more often than not, madness is unquestionably inappropriate; for example, in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Yet, Dick is right; under specific circumstances, insanity can be righteous, such as in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. In both The Picture of Dorian Gray and Hamlet, with influence, the titular characters descend into madness. However, the similarities in their stories end there. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the nominal character is selfishly chaotic, thus, his madness can never be forgiven. Contrarily, Hamlet, in the play titled after him, becomes deranged...
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...William Shakespeare, there was quite a controversy to whether the main character, Hamlet, pretended to be mad or was indeed mad. Throughout the play, Hamlet put-on an act of madness to appear innocent, however, through Hamlets desire for revenge his illusion of madness became reality. This was shown through Hamlets change in character, his confession of madness, and his hallucination of the ghost of his father. Firstly, Hamlet’s pursuit for revenge drove him mad, which in turn changed his character. This was shown when Hamlet accidentally killed Polonius thinking that he was Claudius. Hamlet originally was an intelligent scholar, not a soldier who fought battles. Hamlet was not the type of person to commit murder and take someone’s life. Hamlet’s desire to attain revenge drove him mad with thoughts of murdering his culprit. Furthermore, after Hamlet killed Polonius he admitted to Laertes that it was madness that drove him to commit murder. In act 5, scene 2, Hamlet said to Laertes, “What I have done that your nature, honour, and exception roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness”. In Hamlet’s complete speech to Laertes, the tone was very serious. This showed that what Hamlet said was not another one of his acts of madness. Therefore, Hamlet himself admitted to his madness, which killed Polonius. Lastly, Hamlet’s hallucinations of the ghost of his father proved that Hamlet was mad. During the scene with Hamlet and Gertrude in her chamber, Hamlet accused Gertrude of betraying his father;...
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...Hello. I wrote this as an in-class essay. I'm just wondering about what I did well and what I can improve on. Thanks. Hamlet's Sanity and Insanity in William Shakespeare's The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark In the Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare, the sane Hamlet occasionally switches between the realms of sanity and insanity. When madness suits Hamlet's purpose, he puts on an "antic disposition" (I.V.173). On the other hand, when sanity proves worthy, Hamlet reverts back to being logical. Hamlet claims he is "mad north-north-west" (II.ii.376), meaning he is mad sometimes and sane other times. Therefore, to achieve his short-term goals, Hamlet shifts between sanity and insanity, which ironically, slows his overarching goal of revenge. To begin, Hamlet shifts into the realm of insanity to achieve his short-term goals. Hamlet uses his insanity as a weapon, changing insanity into the form of words or action. Furthermore, Hamlet is only insane towards his enemies or his enemy's allies. For example, Hamlet attacks Ophelia, who has allied herself with Claudius, with words: "are you honest" (III.i.104), "are you fair" (III.i.106). Hamlet "speak[s] daggers" (III.ii.387) to Gertrude, because she is an obstacle to Hamlet. Also, Hamlet slays Polonius so violently that Hamlet guarantees that Polonius is "dead, for a ducat, dead" (III.iv.25). Hamlet gravely harms both Ophelia and Gertrude with his words of insanity, while sending...
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...Professor Date Hamlet’s Insanity In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the theme of insanity is portrayed through Hamlet. Hamlet’s mental state mirrors the play’s ambiguity. Hamlet’s character elicits different hypotheses that include the following: First, Hamlet is sane throughout the play but opts to feign insanity. Secondly, Hamlet’s insanity was latent but fully developed after the play produced by the hero. Hamlet claims he will take on an “antic disposition” ( Bloom, 45). The first thing that indicates his insanity is his madness. His madness can be hypothesised as an indication of this disposition. His madness is further shown when it is stated that he was only mad after an interview with a ghost. This interview with a ghost is by all reasons, an indication of madness. Therefore, Hamlet is insane and its insinuation in the play is not a ploy. Secondly, the suicidal tendencies of Hamlet justify his insanity. When the play opens, Hamlet wishes that his, “flesh” would melt and, “dissolve” (Thiher, 39). Hamlet’s need for self-slaughter is brought out and portrayed throughout the play. Besides, the murder of his father and the betrayal of his mother make him be of the belief that the world is a very corrupt place: Of, that this too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable. (Shakespeare, 1.2.6-11) One of the factors that impair Hamlet’s sanity in a progressive...
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