Hamlet- A Character Comparison. Crazy? I Think Not.

In Hamlet, one may wonder if Hamlet is pretending to be mad or if he already is mad. 

Imagine this: A few months ago, your father "passed away." Only less than one short month later, your mother decides to remarry. Not only does your mother, The Queen, remarry, but she marries your father's brother. Not only does all of this happen, but one day you hear that a ghost has requested your presence. Do you go and pay this apparition a visit? Hamlet of course does and discovers that his father was murdered by the current King, Claudius. 

Would this make you a lunatic?

But then again, is it also correct to claim that Hamlet is a lunatic? Or does his circumstances, especially the fact that he is royalty, excuse him from this label?

Unfortunately, not every character in literature receives the same privileges. 

Septimus Warren Smith in The Thing They Carried endured a similar fate. He was exposed to the horrors of War and suffered the consequences. However, the people in his novel did not feel the same empathy for Septimus as they did in Hamlet's novel. 

Both authors, Shakespeare and Time O'Brien, touch on this idea of the ability a person has to feel compassionate for others. Hamlet and Septimus are similar in the way that they have both affected by their respective troubles, but the human mind is only so capable for forgiving certain characters if they feel they are worthy of it. 

Hamlet- How Sane is Ophelia's Insanity?

Okay folks, so this afternoon I'd like to discuss the character Ophelia because, common, what is going on there?

After Polonious' death, Ophelia is driven to insanity. During Act IV, she prances around a room, adorned with flowers, and professes her sorrows to the Queen and other characters. At one moment, she even attempts to pass out the imaginary flowers to her fellow audience. Along with this, in the ballad she sings she often refers to "he," or her father that is now dead; however, since Hamlet has set out for England, Ophelia's cries may also be because of her loss of another loved.

In the end, the answer in Ophelia's mind to achieving sanity is to, unfortunately, kill herself by drowning herself in a nearby river.

So the question I ask is, how sane is Ophelia's insanity?

We can clearly see that Ophelia has become loco due to her father's death and how Hamlet was also responsible for this. But how can we, or other characters in the book, declare Ophelia's mental state when almost all of the characters have also themselves become insane? The Queen remarried her husband's brother only ONE month after his passing. Laertes and The King have plotted a death with the most intricate precision, sparring no details.

Is Ophelia actually "insane?" or is just the way that others view her before she proceeded to commit suicide?

Hamlet- To Avenge or Not to Avenge?

When Hamlet speaks to the apparition at the end of Act I, he discovers that this ghost is his deceased father, Hamlet. In fact, Hamlet's father was murdered by Claudius, the current King. The ghosts says, "Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole / With juice of cursed hebona in a vial / And in the porches of my ears did pour" (I iv 68-70). The ghost then commands his son to avenge his death in order to restore the Kingdom. He does not want the land to become, "A couch for luxury and damned incest" (I iv 90). To do this, Hamlet must kill the King and assume the throne. 

Hamlet, unfortunately, is caught in a dilemma. If he kills his uncle, Claudius, he becomes a killer, whether or not if it's his wish. The other option is to disobey his father's will, and let the murderer Claudius rule the Kingdom. With a steady conscience and hopes of pleasing everyone, which of these routes will Hamlet choose? 

Hamlet- Hamlet's Love for Ophelia

In the second act of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Polonius and Laetres warn Ophelia about Hamlet's love for her and how she must refrain from any physical or mental connection with him. Similar to many other works of Shakespeare, there is this aspect of "forbidden love." Polonius is very concerned with Hamlet's affection for his daughter, and reads a love letter Hamlet send to Ophelia to the Kind and Queen. It reads, "Doubt thou stars are fire / Doubt that the sun doth move, / Doubt truth to be a liar, / But never doubt I love. / O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. I have not / art to reckon my groans, but that I love thee best, O / most best, believe it. Adieu. / Thine everyone, most dear lady, whilst / this machine is to him, Hamlet" (II ii 124-32). In the play, Ophelia feels obligated to follow the orders of her father and brother, not to love Hamlet. Some even question if Hamlet's love for Ophelia is even genuine. However, Hamlet continues to demonstrate that his love is in fact true. Some, such as Polonius, claim that this love is the root of Hamlet's madness, not his father's death. It is interesting to consider this, as love in the past has driven people to sanity. The question is, what will love do to Hamlet?