With tragedies such as those of King Lear, Macbeth, and Hamlet, William Shakespeare’s audience is no stranger to characters going mad. However, it would take centuries for society to develop a well-rounded understanding of psychological health and break down several stigmas associated with those suffering from illnesses. In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Ophelia’s descent into complete madness contrasts with Hamlet’s inconsistent mental state and demonstrates the complexity of mental health.
Ophelia’s downward spiral depicts the archetypal result of a series of tragic events on an individual’s mental health. Ophelia shifts from being fully competent and healthy to mad within a few scenes. This outcome is not exactly …show more content…
Within the first act of the play, Hamlet discloses that he will be acting as though he his losing his mind in order to fool Claudius. His intent is to eventually avenge his father’s death, but in the process it becomes unclear as to how much of his behavior is truly acting. When speaking to his mother, Hamlet seems to believe that he had never gone mad, "That I essentially am not in madness, / But mad in craft" (III.iv.209-210). From Hamlet’s perspective, he is just pursuing his goal. However, even when he is not surrounded by anyone he is trying to deceive, Hamlet often speaks and behaves in ways characteristic of someone experiencing depression or anxiety, “No more; and by a sleep to say we end / The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation / Devoutly to be wish'd” (III.i.64-98). Ophelia makes the clear and pitiful switch from sanity to madness, while throughout the whole play Hamlet’s psychological health seems to fall in the grey area in the middle. This vague mental state certainly adds to the character’s complexity. Ophelia losing her mind serves as a reference point from which Hamlet’s condition can be distinguished. They both have plenty of reasons to go mad; murdered fathers, feelings of betrayal, and a resulting loneliness. The difference is that Ophelia undeniably loses her wits whereas Hamlet cannot be so easily described, and thus they must be understood
Ophelia’s downward spiral depicts the archetypal result of a series of tragic events on an individual’s mental health. Ophelia shifts from being fully competent and healthy to mad within a few scenes. This outcome is not exactly …show more content…
Within the first act of the play, Hamlet discloses that he will be acting as though he his losing his mind in order to fool Claudius. His intent is to eventually avenge his father’s death, but in the process it becomes unclear as to how much of his behavior is truly acting. When speaking to his mother, Hamlet seems to believe that he had never gone mad, "That I essentially am not in madness, / But mad in craft" (III.iv.209-210). From Hamlet’s perspective, he is just pursuing his goal. However, even when he is not surrounded by anyone he is trying to deceive, Hamlet often speaks and behaves in ways characteristic of someone experiencing depression or anxiety, “No more; and by a sleep to say we end / The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation / Devoutly to be wish'd” (III.i.64-98). Ophelia makes the clear and pitiful switch from sanity to madness, while throughout the whole play Hamlet’s psychological health seems to fall in the grey area in the middle. This vague mental state certainly adds to the character’s complexity. Ophelia losing her mind serves as a reference point from which Hamlet’s condition can be distinguished. They both have plenty of reasons to go mad; murdered fathers, feelings of betrayal, and a resulting loneliness. The difference is that Ophelia undeniably loses her wits whereas Hamlet cannot be so easily described, and thus they must be understood