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- Madness may be ômental incapacity caused by an unmentionable injury.ö
- Such wounds often are not easily perceived but may be revealed in time
- of stress. HamletÆs question, ôhave you a daughter?ö(Act II. Sc2 182)
- Polonius about the PrinceÆs emotional state. What is hidden will surely
- be told to Cloudius by his adviser. LaertesÆ search for revenge is
- sharper proof that madness in degrees of publicity causes harm to the
- observers. Claudius promise ôno wind of blameö(Act IV, Sc.7,66) once
- Laertes kills Hamlet; perhaps this is what the uncle has sought all
- along for himself. Ophelia has a unique, very powerful form of madness;
- she seems caught as a ôbakerÆs daughter,"(Act IV, Sc. 5, 42) between
- memories of her father and Hamlet who ought have spokedn to her of
- events on ôValentineÆs day."(Act IV, Sc 5, 48) She is doubly hexed and
- the madness she has infects the whole court. Once a personÆs mental
- state has been studied in public, there is no telling the injuries which
- may affect the viewers.
-
-
- Ever since the death of King Hamlet young Hamlet has been what appeared
- to be in a state of madness. In a discussion between Hamlet and
- Polonius Hamlet questions Polonius by asking him ôhave you a
- daughter.ö(Act II, Sc.2, 182) In this discussion Hamlet shows antic
- behavior towards Polonius by mocking him when Hamlet would usually show
- great respect for him because of he age and heis high position in the
- court. This sudden question to Polonius has caused Polonius to believe
- that Hamlet has a form of love-sickness and that Polonius is sure to
- tell Claudius of his condition. Hamlet also accuses Polonius of being
- the ôJephthah, judge of Israel,ö(Act II,Sc.2, 399) meaning that Polonius
- would put his country in front of his daughter. Hamlet has now
- convinced Polonius that he is in a state of madness because he knows
- that Polonius cares for his daughter very much and would never put her
- second. By convincing Polonius that he has no consideration for the
- well-being of others, Hamlet is then hoping that Polonius will tell the
- court of his emotional madness.
-
- Unlike Hamlet, Laertes has developed a different kind of madness, a
- madness that is controlled by revenge. When Laertes is talking to
- Claudius, Laertes gets so much revenge building up inside him against
- Hamlet that Laertes now wants to ôcut his throat.ö(Act 4,Sc.7,125)
- LaertesÆ behavior is caused by the sudden death of his father who was
- without a due ceremony, and his sister who has been driven mad, has
- contributed to the madness that is being built up inside Laertes. This
- madness grows even stronger when Claudius promises ôno wind of
- blameö(Act IV.Sc7,66) when Laertes kills Hamlet. With Claudius being
- the puppet holder and Laertes being the puppet, Claudius turns Laertes
- into a savage beast to avenge for his fathers' death; perhaps this is
- what the Claudius has planned all along. Laertes has a form of madness
- that is escalating because Laertes knows that he has the capabilities
- and motivation to act on what he believes on.
-
- Ophelia has a unique form of madness unlike HamletÆs and LaertesÆ
- because it a mixture of love and hate. An example of hate is when she
- sings about a ôbaker's daughter.ö(Act IV,Sc.5,42) Ophelia is referring
- to the way her father used to treat her before the tragic incident of
- his death. A love within her madness is when she speaks about the
- events on ôValentineÆs day.ö(Act IV, Sc.5,48) When Ophelia speaks about
- Valentines day she is referring to the events of romance that she was
- denied. OpheliaÆs madness is brought on by her lack of being able to
- demonstrate any maturity in trying to cope with her losses and in return
- can only inflict her madness on the court.
-
- By stating that Hamlet could have controlled his fraudulent madness, he
- then had the capability of controlling his conscious mind into acting
- traditional. Where Laertes was very influential by others and had no
- real control over the mental state he was developing by the sway of
- Claudius. Ophelia was the most innocent victim of all because she was
- the side affect of everyone elseÆs actions and had no idea that she was
- mentally disintegrating. It can be noticed that within each of these
- three people there can be no reassurance on what the affect they may
- have on others due to their mental state in public.
-
-