Mental Illness In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Words: 740
Pages: 3
Open Document
With recent interests of mental illness, new data has come about this awareness. More people are finding out what is wrong with them and being helped to battle their disease. No longer is it a shame to have these mental illnesses. Such as Miles Cole who discovers that there is no disgrace in having a mental disease in the novel Schizo by Nic Sheff. Unfortunately for Hamlet, who seems to be unaware of any sign of having a mental illness, is brought to the brink of madness; being pushed over to be lost in the depths of his dark crazed mind. William ShakeSpeare uses Hamlet in his play “Hamlet” to show how the mind can completely turn on oneself. Both of the characters suffering some sort of a mental disease, where one, Miles, overcomes it while …show more content…
Miles shows symptoms of schizophrenia such as “hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking” (Ronald M., Kahn, and Adamec 7), these symptoms are shown throughout the novel by the way he thinks and reacts to the world around him. The hallucinations were terribly confusing for him because he would see birds and would “turn to face the birds, to defend against another attack” (Sheff 204), but some of the time there would be no birds, just his mind playing tricks on him. He had a hard time distinguishing between real and fake birds once he went off his medicines. This allowed voice in his head to take control “tricking [him].It made [him forget]” (Sheff 180) what was true and what he made up. He knew that the voice was not something to listen to, but constantly listening to it can cause anyone to fall into depression. The voice would “[whisper] softly, telling [him] that this is what [he] deserves. [He] [has] destroyed everything” (Sheff 207) causing Miles to feel worse about himself. This terrible voice haunts his mind eventually causing him to commit suicide-which in the end does not work. He grows stronger and over comes the voice in his head by taking better medicine and talking everything out with his family. He learns to accept his disease, adapting it to his world and overcoming this challenged in his …show more content…
Hamlet has the symptoms for bipolar disorder, he experiences “all four different kinds of episodes: mania, low-level mania (hypomania), [and] depression” (Turkington, Harris, and American Bookworks 8). A mania episode can start in a positive manner, full of creativity, before crashing into the full-blown manic episode, being easily irritated and making reckless choice; in severe cases, hallucinations. Hamlet shows this when he confronts his mother and sees his father’s ghosts, his “madness is good at creating hallucinations” (Shakespeare 207). Not only does he show just mania, but also mild mania; it is just less severe. Yelling at Ophelia telling her to “get [herself] to a convent” (Shakespeare 145) which would be showing his anger and irritability towards anything, including someone that loves him dearly. Finally, all of this leads to major depressive episode. Symptoms include; bad concentration, feeling guilty and suicide thoughts. Hamlet constantly questions whether it is “better to be alive or dead” throughout the play, most of his thoughts lead back to that simple question. Hamlet falls prey to his mental disease: allowing it to take full control of him which causes the death of several
Show More

Related Documents: Mental Illness In Shakespeare's Hamlet

William Shakespeare Research Paper

The tragedies of Shakespeare are some of the most sought out stories in all literature. These tales by Shakespeare, have influenced many different forms of story telling, from all forms of story telling, of what ever they may be. Shakespeare’s tragic works, were written in his later years. These tales are very well developed and many Scholars have added their thoughts and made readers look into ideas that are deeper in the lines printed in the texts. The purpose of this essay is too find and analyze…

Words 1780 - Pages 8

The Insanity Of Ophelia In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Ophelia is one of William Shakespeare’s few three-dimensional female characters, showcased in his masterpiece, Hamlet. The character herself is astonishingly tragic. She faces emotional abuse, societal restrictions, and loss; eventually committing suicide. People today still question if Ophelia is insane, or perhaps just depressed. The very definition of insanity is so abstract philosophically, that it's impossible to know. By a scientific standpoint, however, Ophelia is insane. Her actions and circumstances…

Words 898 - Pages 4

Madness In Shakespeare's Hamlet

state of severe mental illness-not used technically. In most instances, madness is triggered by a series of tragedies or events that can alter one's emotions in a negative way. Some synonyms of madness include insanity, derangement, and rage. In Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's famous plays, it is widely debated whether Hamlet was truly drawn to madness or if it was all an act. Madness, was it real or all an act, that's the question. It all starts when Hamlet's father was murdered and Hamlet is asked by…

Words 890 - Pages 4

Sigmund Freud and Childhood Sexual Experiences Essay example

Infantile Desires Sigmund Freud, also known as the father of psychoanalysis developed many theories on human behavior and the causes of mental illness. One such theory is the theory of infantile sexuality, which includes his belief that a person’s sexuality is influenced in the first few years of life and can cause dysfunction in future years. Freud believed that people’s erotic desires form at the infantile stage of life and that traumatic childhood events could have serious negative affects…

Words 627 - Pages 3

The Yellow Wallpaper Patriarchy

oppressive nature of patriarchy. The story of The Yellow Wallpaper is told from the perspective of journal entries from the nameless narrator. In the story, her husband does not allow her to do anything due to her illness. However, the limitations he puts on her slowly causes her mental state to deteriorate. A big part of her oppression is shown by the sudden endings of some of the journal entries. This is first seen on page 649 when she writes “There comes John, and I must put this away, - he hates…

Words 1503 - Pages 7

How Does The Wasteland Present Depression In Hamlet

characters and setting. Eliot suffered from mental breakdowns, and his anxiety and desolation felt during those times reflect in the content of many of his poems, and subsequently how he portrayed such emotions. These two themes in particular portray depression in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Waste Land, respectively. Rather than expressing depression through a confessional style or writing directly about his experience with mental illness, Eliot gives depression a realm of its own…

Words 1310 - Pages 6

Hamlet Essay

always seemed to have trouble remembering what it truly means to be insane. Is sanity not defined as being rational, and finding convincing justifications for what you have done, are doing, or will do? As this is the case, it appears as if our poor Hamlet has been a victim of society’s habit to mark anything unusual or different to them as weird or crazy. This is due to the fact that the goal of most communities is to eventually accomplish an established mindset or lifestyle that they want everyone…

Words 2344 - Pages 10

Psychology: Nature versus Nurture and Happiness Essay

control over our thinking processes this will be explored in this essay. “There is nothing either good or bad , but thinking makes it so” How can the way that we think influence, how happy we feel? As the quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet above suggests , the way that people think can make a situation seems good or bad . It has been found in many studies that optimists are healthier than pessimists - a positive outlook can have great influence on levels…

Words 1560 - Pages 7

Macbeth Essay

Shakespeare wrote during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, are often seen to embody the generally happy, confident and optimistic mood of the Elizabethans. However, those he wrote during James's reign, such as Macbeth and Hamlet, are darker and more cynical, reflecting the insecurities of the Jacobean period. Macbeth is a tragedy and denotes to a tragic hero. Macbeth was written the year after the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605, high treason was on the mind of every English…

Words 6082 - Pages 25