Hamlet: The Man behind the Madness Essay -- ophelia, shakespeare

What drives Hamlet to his madness? How does it relate to Ophelia’s madness? Are Hamlet and Ophelia both truly mad? These are some questions that I contemplated as I read Hamlet. The main character, Hamlet feigns madness after learning of his father’s murder; however, he becomes mad later on in the play. Is it possible that Hamlet became so wrapped up in his father’s murder that he was unable to distinguish fantasy from reality? At the beginning of the play, Hamlet has learned that his brother, the newly king, Claudius, murdered his father. In Christian Wertenbaker: What is the riddle in HAMLET? (Sirs.com, 2011) it is stated, â€Å"From then on, Hamlet has to find his own way. He has become a seeker of truth. Unless he verifies the facts for himself, he cannot do the act† (1). This shows that Hamlet can’t back away from what he is meant to do. In his eyes he sees himself as being chosen to avenge his father. In fact, Hamlet proclaims, â€Å"The time is out of joint. O, cursed sprit, That ever I was born to set it right† (I. V. 207-208)! Already Hamlet is stressed out by his misfortune. He sees no other option, but to kill his uncle. After his meeting with the ghost, Hamlet becomes obsessed with death. It is obvious that Hamlet is wrestling with the idea of whether or not he can commit the act. At this point he is capable of reasoning, but prior to this he was wily enough to invent his false madness. He has not lost his ability to discriminate right from wrong; therefore, he is not mad. To be mad a person loses total reasoning. Still he is determined to discover whether or not Claudius did really murder his father. So, Hamlet organizes a play that reveals the truth about his father’s death. This play serves as a strategy to force Claudi... ...f action have been eaten up by thought, he to whom the universe seems infinite, and himself nothing; whose bitterness [75] of soul makes him careless of consequences, and who goes to a play as his best resource is to shove off, to a second remove, the evils of life by a mock representation of them - this is the true Hamlet† (2). To me this means that Hamlet is what the audience or reader makes him to be. He is not mad, but a part of everyone. He is seen in the audience. This play contains a truth, the truth of life. Hamlet’s character contains many feelings that are shared such as sorrow, dread, and lonely. For Hamlet’s character lives through the reader. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. â€Å"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark† Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print