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Schizophrenia In Hamlet

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In 2007, a national survey stated that 9.1% of the population is at risk to develop a personality disorder (“National Survey”). In the play Hamlet, some believe that Prince Hamlet may have had a moderate to severe form of Dissociative Personality Disorder. There are two sides to every story and Hamlet and Claudius both had very strong potential to have murdered King Hamlet.

Due to his constant paranoia and seeing beings that aren’t actually there, there is strong evidence that Hamlet had some type of mental illness. The illnesses that some believe he may have possessed are Schizophrenia and several different types of personality disorders. A theory made on Prince Hamlet is that he may have killed his father while his mind was in the hands …show more content…
The reason people theorize this is due to the scene where Hamlet saw his father’s ghost while he was with his mother, yet she didn’t see it. After the sighting, Hamlet explains the ghost’s details to his mother to which she replied, “To whom do you speak this?” (p. 95-96 lines 147). This sighting of his father may have also influenced Hamlet’s decision that his real uncle murdered his father. Both illnesses that people felt he possessed are genetic. Since royal families typically keep their own blood within their name, this means incest is …show more content…
After watching the play that Hamlet organized, he yelled, “Give me some light. Away!”(p. 82 line 284) Many see this exclamation as a sign of his guilt. His frustration at the play may very well be due to the fact that it taunts him as well, not just proves his guilt. The Queen also speaks of Claudius’ “primal eldest curse upon’t, a brother’s” (p.88 lines 39-42). This curse refers to the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible, where one brother murders another in vain. Finally, there is an arguable scene where the King can’t pray. The reason he can’t pray is because “[The King] still [possesses] those effects for which [he] did the murder.” (p. 88 lines 54-57). In this quote, the book directly states that Claudius committed this murder.Whether or not someone believes Hamlet was mentally ill is up to them. The actual evidence that proves he may have been the murderer rather than Claudius is striking. The theory holds very strong evidence that can be used to prove the point. There are many factors that could have allowed either character to have been the guilty man in the

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