Hamlet- Hamlets madness Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hamlet- Hamlets madness - Research Paper Example Thesis statement: Through feigning madness to cover up for his actions, the protagonist of the play (hamlet) had really become mad in the end. First of all, Hamlet was not mad, but unexpected events in his life forced him to pretend as mad. But this pretension influenced his mind and resulted in his madness in the end. One can see that pretension, with or without reason, can influence an individual’s emotional equilibrium. Hamlet pretends to be mad because he wished to hide his deeds like communication with the ghost, revenge, motive, guilty consciousness, Oedipus complex, and to confuse his enemies. To cover up his communication: In the play, prince Hamlet is portrayed as an individual who is trying to cover up his communication with supernatural elements (say, his father’s spirit). He knows that other people will not believe him because it is difficult to prove that the ghost used to visit him. But the ghost reveals that his uncle is the mastermind behind his fatherâ €™s death. In William Shakespeare’s work, the ghost states that, â€Å"Avenge his foul and most unnatural murder† (21). From a different angle of view, one can see that he was aware of the fact that he must cover up his communication with the ghost. To be specific, the ghost is the link between the prince and his father. If the ghost did not appear, he will not know the conspiracy behind his father’s untimely death. So, Hamlet decides to cover up his communication with the ghost and pretends that he did not know the mastermind behind the conspiracy. Besides, he pretended as mad because he was aware of the fact that others will not suspect him. To cover up revenge: Prince Hamlet knew that he cannot trust anybody because he was totally confused due to the problems within his private circle. He cannot trust his mother because she co-operated with his uncle to assassinate his father. The protagonist cannot trust his uncle because he murdered his father. But he k new that his uncle is watching him because he is the one and only person who can take revenge of the king’s murder. Still, Hamlet did not give up his aim because he must take revenge of the murder. If he tries to conduct an investigation on the murder, his uncle will try to hinder him. So, Hamlet pretends that he was not aware of his uncle’s role in the conspiracy. The best possible way to prove inactive is to pretend as an insane individual. On the other side, Hamlet’s uncle did not suspect him because he considers Hamlet as an insane individual. So, one can see that pretension helped Hamlet to keep himself away from trouble and to find out the truth in the end. To cover up motive: In the play, the playwright inculcates anti-heroic elements on the protagonist (say, Hamlet) to cover up his real motive. One can see that the protagonist is different from traditional protagonists with heroic qualities. For instance, the protagonist does not try to attack his father ’s murderer. Instead, the protagonist tries to collect evidence against the murderer and traps him. This innovative method or the protagonist’s pursuit to kill the murderer is helpful for the viewer/reader to have deeper understanding of the protagonist’s motive. Marvin Rosenberg states that, â€Å"Giving such signals of pretended madness, Hamlet can still be so anguished that he is in fact on the edge of unreason, but his consciousness is