Essay on Hamlet Madness Analyzed - 630 Words

Gabrielle Donofrio February 16, 2012 AP Literature Free Response 2001. One definition of madness is â€Å"mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.† But Emily Dickinson wrote â€Å"Much madness is divinest sense to a discerning eye.† Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a â€Å"discerning eye†. Select a novel or play in which as character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the â€Å"madness† to the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. It is safe to say that many of Shakespeare’s plays have some sort of†¦show more content†¦It was no longer an act. Ophelia was warned by her father, Polonius and her brother, Laertes to stay away from Hamlet, however, she denied their warnings. There were many attempts for Ophelia to get away from Hamlet, yet none o f them worked and Ophelia wound up dying, most likely as a suicide. Hamlet’s madness drove Ophelia mad as well and it became the downfall of her as well as many other characters in the play. While it is true that Hamlet was merely playing the role of someone who had gone mad, many people may say that Hamlet’s madness was brought upon himself simply by the fact that he was trying to fulfill the orders from his dead father yet couldn’t because of his lack of acting upon a plan. It is strongly possible that Hamlet became extremely frustrated because every chance he got to expose Claudius and capture him in this enormous secret, he failed to do so. Therefore, Hamlet’s madness could be judged as reasonable but most likely for different reasons than one may think. Rather than going mad over the concrete facts that his father died and his mother remarried his uncle less than two months afterwards, he drove himself mad over his own flaws. Hamlet’s tragic f law absolutely led to his tragic downfall as aShow MoreRelatedThe Symbolism Of Ophelia s Hamlet 1500 Words   |  6 Pagesthe text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? Text Analyzed: Shakespeare’s Hamlet Part of the Course to Which the Text Corresponds to: Part 4 Thesis: In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, Ophelia’s role would be interpreted as a plot device by a modern English woman and as a victim by an Elizabethan woman. This would occur because of their understanding of the symbolism of Ophelia’s actions in madness, the context surrounding Hamlet’s view of her, and their characterization ofRead MoreInsanity Is The Worst Human Trait939 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidered the worst human trait. 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