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Definition: Starting to go insane, one who jumps to conclusions, The state
of being Mentally ill. Any of several ailments of animals marked by
frenzied behavior.
Thematic statement 1: As the story goes on we start to notice that
Hamlet starts to get more and more paranoid with trying to get his mom and
uncle to confess with the killing of his father.
(Act.Scene.Line)
Quote 1: HAMLET “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is
southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw”.
(2.2.28)
In this quote hamlet clearly states to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
that he is acting like a mad man and that he knows that his uncle and mother
have sent them to keep an eye on hamlet and he doesn’t appreciate it.
Quote 2: “Why, look you there. Look how it steals away. My father,
in his habit as he lived! Look where he goes even now out at the portal”
(3.4.138)
In this quote when hamlet is drilling his mom about his uncle killing
his father he sees the ghost of his father. When he tells his mother to look at
the ghost she tells him that she doesn’t see a thing. What this does to his
mother is make her think that hamlets obsession with trying to avenge his
father is making him go insane.
Thematic statement 2: Hamlets starts to make other people crack
and fold under the pressure that he is putting everyone under.
Quote 1: “poor Ophelia Divided from herself and her fair judgment,
Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts”
(4.5.5)
Ophelia starts to crack under pressure because her ex-boyfriend has
murdered her father. Throughout the play, Ophelia is ordered around by her
brother and her father and has no control over her social or love life. Her
own father uses her carelessly in order to spy on Hamlet, which leads to
Hamlet's ruthless attack on Ophelia's "honesty”, and now that they are both
gone she doesn’t know what to do with her self.
Quote 2: “These words like daggers enter in my ears. No more, sweet
Hamlet”
(3.4.97)
In this quote Hamlet is drilling his mom on how he knows that his
uncle has killed his father; hamlet just wants to hear his mother say it. But
while he is doing this his mother is starting to crack under the pressure
because at one point in time during this discussion she tries to shot hamlet
but instead shots Polonius. But as the conversation goes on she starts to
understand why hamlet wants to know these things from her, because all he
wants is a reason to finally be able to kill Claudius.
Written Component: In Hamlet there are many different types of
themes but I think the easiest and the one that sticks out the most is
Madness. I say this because during the book if you follow some of the
characters closely not just hamlet you will come to find that hamlets
increasing insanity starts to rub off on many of the other characters in the
book which leads to some of the deaths in the book.
One of the characters that this happens to is Ophelia, when her exboyfriend kills her father she doesn’t know what to do with herself because
all her life she has been told what to do, but when her father dies she starts to
sing to her self thinking that he father will come back until one day Claudius
finds out that She is found dead in a river. One of the other characters that
starts to go crazy is Claudius, the reason for this is because while hamlet is
making a play to tell his mother that he know what his uncle has done
Claudius is starting to feel guilt. In the play there is a section where
Claudius is talking/arguing with him self if it is even worth trying to pray to
see if he can repent his sin, if there is any thing that he can do to get himself
into heaven. While Claudius is talking to himself Hamlet is listing to see if
he confesses because if he does Hamlet is going to strike and kill Claudius.