In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one of the most evident and important themes is the theme of madness. The theme is apparent throughout the play, mainly through the actions and thoughts of Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes. Madness is defined as the quality or condition of mental illness or derangement (being insane). Madness is at the center of the conflicts and problems of the play and is conveyed through Shakespeare’s elaborate use of manipulation and parallels between Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes to contribute to Hamlet’s tragic character.
All examples of madness begin and end with death. Hamlet’s madness, or feign of madness begins with the death of Old Hamlet and seeing his ghost, and Ophelia’s madness begins with the death of her father Polonius. Laertes is another example of a character within the play who demonstrates the theme of madness. Laertes’ madness is also triggered by death. His madness becomes sudden and extreme with the thought of revenge at the death of his father, Polonius, and sister, Ophelia. Laertes goes mad with revenge because of all the lies and exaggerations that Claudius feeds him.In the end, their many forms of madness get the best of them, and results in their own deaths whether by another, or by their own hand.
One example of Hamlet’s madness is how he mocks Polonius. He would not do so normally because Polonius is older than he is so he would normally treat him with a certain amount of respect which he does not do following the sighting of the ghost of Old Hamlet. The Ghost tells Hamlet of his murder, and to test the truth of what he is told, Hamlet puts on “an antic disposition”. Hamlet manages to convince Polonius that he is inconsiderate of others, knowing that with seeing this odd change in behavior, Polonius will go to the king to tell him of it. When Polonius tells the King of Hamlet’s behavior, the King states “There’s something in his soul/ o’er which his melancholy sits on brood, / and I do doubt the hatch and the disclose / will be some danger;” (3.1. 158-161). Claudius believes that whatever the reason for Hamlet’s madness, the end result or outcome will be dangerous. Polonius, however, believes that the reason Hamlet is acting so strangely is because he is madly in love with Ophelia. Because of Claudius’ fear of what Hamlet could do he decides that “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go” (3.1. 182-183) and sends Hamlet to England. Hamlet admits to others that he is mad, which would seem like something that someone who was actually mad would be unlikely to do because they wouldn’t want to bring attention to it. Hamlet wants to bring attention to the idea that he is mad because he wants it to be spread around so that it becomes a known fact. Hamlet says “How strange or odd some’er I bear myself / as I perchance hereafter shall think meet / to put an antic disposition on.” (1.5. 170-172) to show the reader that his madness isn’t real.
There is however evidence that Hamlet is actually mad. For example, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father when others do not, but this could also be seen as evidence to prove that he is not mad because there are others who did see the ghost as well. By using examples such as this, Shakespeare makes it difficult for the reader to distinguish Hamlet’s actually insanity and feign of insanity if there even is one or the other. Hamlet also reflects on certain ideas that a madman would not. He contemplates mortality when he see Yorick’s skull, and even though his goal is to kill Claudius for killing his father, he does not do so when Claudius is praying, but decides to wait for another moment when Claudius’ death would take him straight to hell.
Ophelia’s madness is based on hate and love. She loves her father and grieves over his death, but hates how he used to treat her. She also has great love for Hamlet, which also contributes to her madness when she is lead to believe that he does not love her. After Polonius’ death, a Gentleman says to Gertrude “She is importunate, indeed distract; / her mood will needs be pitied.” (4.5. 2-3) telling the reader that Ophelia has indeed gone mad. We also have evidence of actually insanity when she begins to sing “And will not come again? / And will not come again? / No, no, he is dead, / go to thy bed, / he will never come again.” (4.5. 185-189). These songs show us how much Ophelia’s character profile has changed since the beginning of the play, and how her madness has driven her into becoming someone unrecognizable from before this act. Even though her madness is true, it is poignant, as it is based on how much her father meant to her, and how with him gone, things would never be as happy again as she demonstrates by saying “I / would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father / died.”
Shakespeare shows a parallel between Hamlet’s madness and Ophelia’s madness so that the reader can interpret whether or not they believe Hamlet is faking his insanity. Both have had their fathers murdered and for both Hamlet and Ophelia their madness is somewhat of a liberation or freedom. Ophelia’s madness drives her to commit suicide, or free herself of her pain and suffering, and Hamlet’s feign of madness allows him to realize what happened to his father and feel that justice had taken place when Claudius paid the price, allowing Hamlet to die somewhat peacefully. Their madness is also an excuse for them to speak their minds and the truth without being questioned. Hamlet pretends to be mad so that he can keep his plans confidential to make people think that because he was mad he wouldn’t be capable of doing the things he was planning on doing. Hamlet could control his madness, Ophelia and Laertes could not. Ophelia was lost in her madness and Laertes’ madness was controlled by Claudius.
The madness we see in Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes is only realistic to a certain extent. Shakespeare has exaggerated or emphasized the idea/theme of madness so that it is easier for the reader to notice the parallels between them and the differences from everyone else. He also does this so that we can see the contribution it has on the characters. The madness of each individual is not itself realistic, but the idea that death, grievance, and revenge can drive someone to do things that seem to be mad or make them do things out of their nature.
Overall, we see that the theme of madness has a significant impact on the conflicts and overall development of the play as well as the characters themselves and is successfully conveyed. Shakespeare developed a theme that tied the many important emotions and ideas together to make the play what it is. He used Ophelia’s grief and love, Hamlet’s wit and ruminative nature to convey a theme that could be related to more the one character, and tie all of the conflicts and complications down to one cause.