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Dave Beaston
Dave Beaston A Critical Analysis of Shakespeareıs Hamlet 19 September, 1996 Hamlet. Is he an insane madman or a revengeful, scheming, genius? There are many conflicting ideas and theories on this subject, and hopefully this paper may be of some assistance in clearing up the confusion. The paper is divided into three separate analytic sections beginning with the beginning of Hamletıs so called madness, and why it may have occurred. Next, is an analysis of why Hamlet delays revenging his fatherıs death. To conclude the paper, Hamletıs incestuous acts towards his mother are discussed, in William Shakespeareıs Hamlet. In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind throughout all five scenes. It is in the second scene where the audience begins to see a change in his character. Ophelia meets with Polonius and recalls the meeting she had previously with Hamlet. She tells her father that Hamlet came to her disheveled and in a shaken state of mind, speaking of ³horrors.² (Act 2 Scene 2 line 94). Her father immediately believes that he is ³Mad for thy love?² (Act 2 Scene 2 line 95). Opelia answers a question posed by Polonius by which she replied that she had told Hamlet that she could not see or communicate with him any more. Her father makes reference to Hamletıs madness once again by proclaiming that what his daughter said, ³... hath made him (Hamlet) mad.² (Act 2 Scene 2 line 123). The argument of whether Hamlet is insane because of his love for Ophelia is often debated, but a more confusing and complex situation is the struggle within Hamletıs mind. His personal struggle is revealed to the audience in scene one of the third act. In this scene Hamlet recites his famous ³To be or not to be-that is the question:² (Act 3 Scene 1 line 64) speech. Here the the audience truly realizes that Hamlet is torn two ways in his life. To be or not to be, essentially is Hamlet debating on whether he should toil the pains of living in such a harsh world and fight to avenge his fatherıs murder or take his own life. Hamlet is confused as to whether he should avenge his fatherıs death when he himself, as Sigmund Freudıs ³Oedipus Rex Complex² suggests, wished to murder his father to gain all of his motherıs attention. But, in the back of Hamletıs mind, which keeps him in constant turmoil, is his loyalty to his family and moreover his father. Hamlet, in act four scene two, meets with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and he seems to be breaking down into insanity. Hamlet had just killed Polonius, and his two friends were questioning him as to where he placed the body of the dead man. The strange thing about this scene is that Hamlet seems to play with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and does not give them a straight answer. Hamlet has practically transformed into a different person and doesnıt seem to be completely sane. Next is another situation that cannot be totally explained. The situation being Hamletıs delays in avenging his fatherıs death. The first that Hamlet learns of his fatherıs death is in act one scene five, where he follows the ghost. Hamlet is told, by the ghost, that he (the ghost) is the soul of Hamletıs father, and that he was murdered by Claudius. ... This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!
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