The Ghost is real. His mother reports of his insanity to the King even though just before this, he has told her he's not mad. Again, Hamlet asks if she can see the Ghost. He declares that he will send Hamlet to England, in the hope that a change of scenery might help him get over his troubles. Summary As promised, King Hamlet's Ghost reappears to Hamlet, but only Hamlet can see him. Gertrude clearly feels guilt and shame over her choicesâbut cannot do anything to change them, and wants Hamlet to stop berating her for them. Polonius, in speaking to the King and Queen, Claudius and Gertrude, seems to be in little doubt about it.
Finally, Hamlet's madness can be seen in his actions after killing Polonius. We can only assume that he is trying to ascertain what kind of a danger Hamlet is. Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2. The death of Polonius, Hamlet says, means he will have to leave even sooner. His character is always changing in some way, and he never seems to be the same person.
She promises that she will not reveal to Claudius that Hamlet is not crazy, but pretending to be. How did Gertrude betray Hamlet? A pattern also emerges on when Hamlet is "mad" and when he is not. HAMLET Come, come, and sit you down; you shall not budge. I believe that Gertrude loved Old Hamlet, and worked to preserve his legacy in Denmark. Hamlet then asks Gertrude to convince the king that he is mad. Here is your husband, like a mildewed ear 75 Blasting his wholesome brother. What does it mean? The death of his father only worsened a preexisting condition.
Perhaps it is worthwhile to ask this question: if a person in a rational state of mind decides to act as if he is crazy, to abuse the people around him regardless of whether he loves those people or hates them, and to give free expression to all of his most antisocial thoughts, when he starts to carry those actions out, will it even be possible to say at what point he stops pretending to be crazy and starts actually being crazy? But then Hamlet tells Gertrude that he is not mad crazy. He says that while Oedipus actually enacts this fantasy, Hamlet only betrays the unconscious desire to do so. Polonius insists that Hamlet has gone mad and wants to find out the cause of his condition. Order custom essay Was Hamlet Mad? Gertrude also betrays Hamlet by telling King Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius. However, it seems that the argument for Hamlet being sane is stronger. Since she goes along with this, we can assume that it is more likely that, by the end of this scene, Gertrude does not think Hamlet is mad. Hamlet thinks that remarriage in such circumstances is unacceptable.
Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1. Gertrude is to be harsh with Hamlet and try to discover the reasons behind his madness. Who would do so? Mother, for love of grace, Lay not that flattering unction to your soul That not your trespass but my madness speaks. So, again, good night. These are all strong arguments for Hamlet being mad. POLONIUS He will come straight. QUEEN Alack, I had forgot! QUEEN What wilt thou do? But at no point does he say that he is in pain or discuss why he wants to kill himself.
Hamlet feels betrayed and irritated by his mother. Hamlet is also pretending not to recognize the councilor to the king and feigning madness, allowing him to mock and ridicule Polonius. He is punning by comparing Polonius to a fisherman, since Polonius is trying to fish for answers from Hamlet. She says he is like the waves and the wind struggling in a storm. Why couldn't he be a good enough actor to convince those around him that he was mad? The Ghost tells his son to be kinder to her.
Throughout the play, Hamlet displays pessimistic thoughts and negativity. Gertrude, who apparently cannot see the ghost, shouts that Hamlet has truly gone mad. Is this evidence that he is truly mad or that he is pretending to be mad? Gertrude is a difficult character. Among the Hamlet madness quotes Act 4 uttered by Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude. HAMLET Look here upon this picture and on this, The counterfeit presentment of two brothers.
Why did Hamlet's mother betray? HAMLET , within Mother, mother, mother! In the film, Olivier, playing Hamlet opposite his wife in the role of Gertrude, staged the scene so that it was stripped of all its ambiguities. Hamlet believes in his sanity at all times. To know that Gertrude is in earnest of protecting her son, return to the previous act. Look where he goes even now out at the portal! Was Hamlet an actor or was he truly mad? Then the ghost of Hamlet's father appears, and Hamlet speaks to him. The ghost intones that it has come to remind Hamlet of his purpose, that Hamlet has not yet killed Claudius and must achieve his revenge. Noting that Gertrude is amazed and unable to see him, the ghost asks Hamlet to intercede with her.
Polonius tells her Hamlet is mad with love. However, when Hamlet is around Horatio, Bernardo, Francisco, the Players, and the Gravediggers, he behaves rationally. Or he may feel that he needs her on his side if he is to achieve justice. HAMLET Why, look you there, look how it steals away! HAMLET 150 Do you see nothing there? The first occurrence of his madness is found after his encounter with the ghost, his father. Hamlet is a complex character in the play.
Horatio speaks of the Ghost and asks Hamlet what will happen if it takes on another form and drives him mad in the play. But look at what the ghost says to Hamlet: Do not forget: this visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. She cannot and the Ghost exits. Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2. Gertrude replies that Hamlet has greatly offended his father; Hamlet retorts that it is Gertrude who has offended his father. The scene is believable played this way, especially given that Claudius will tell us shortly that Gertrude "lives almost by his looks," and because Hamlet's melodramatic reaction to his father's passing seems so wooden without that underpinning of deep emotion.