Hamlet’s Madness - 1895 Words

The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about Hamlet going insane and reveals his madness through his actions and dialogue. Hamlet remains one of the most discussed literary characters of all time. This is most likely due to the complex nature of Hamlet as a character. In one scene, Hamlet appears happy, and then he is angry in another and melancholy in the next. Hamlet’s madness is a result of his father’s death which was supposedly by the hands of his uncle, Claudius. He has also discovered that this same uncle is marrying his mom. It is expected that Hamlet would be suffering from some emotional issues as result of these catastrophes. Shakespeare uses vivid language, metaphors, and imagery to highlight how Hamlet’s madness†¦show more content†¦He still does not state why, but his friends agree that they will not discuss the ghost no matter how Hamlet behaves. As they exit, Hamlet expresses grief over the fact that he has to â€Å"set it right †. His friends do not know what it is, but the readers do because of Hamlet’s dialogue with the ghost. The antic disposition scene is often used to argue that Hamlet was not mad. Researchers like Rahman and Abbad study communication in literature. In their paper, the state that Hamlet was flouting the maxim when he said that he was going to put on an antic disposition. They state that Hamlet is basically saying that he is going to fake his madness though he is doing so indirectly (Rahman Abbas, 55). However, it may be possible that Hamlet was not mad in this scene or his madness may not have been as intense. Tenney suggests that Hamlet’s madness may not have been as intense in the beginning of the play, but it intensified as the play progressed (Tenney, 632). It becomes clearer that Hamlet is truly mad as the play progresses because his madness begins to affect some of his most valuable relationships. 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Yet on Hamlets antic disposition, meaning his obviously absurd temperament or madness, Shakespeare leaves plenty of reason to believe that it is feigned, meaning that it is simply a ploy