Madness
...s uncle Claudius. He is given this task by the ghost of his dead father. This would of course put added stress on someone, especially after having to face the fact of the death of their father. His mother also weds Claudius, the new king and uncle of Hamlet. We now begin to see signs of insanity in Hamlet. Ophelia, with whom he loves, breaks ties with Hamlet after taking the advice of her father, Polonius. With all of the unfortunate events taking place around Hamlet he shows many signs of madness in an attempt to isolate himself from all those around him as he plots to kill Claudius. He wants to isolate himself so no one else is involved as he takes revenge against the King. The fact that Hamlet kills Polonius by stabbing him from behind a curtain, believing it to really be King Claudius displays Hamlets spontaneous madness. Hamlet’s ‘madness’ is also seen in his speech to those around him, as it seems unusual and irregular. Such an example would be when Hamlet says to Polonius, “For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion, - have you a daughter?” This comment is very strange and does not make much sense, especially considering Hamlet was dating Polonius’s daughter, Ophelia. Though those around him may see Hamlet as insane or even ‘mad’ this is truly just a scheme to keep them distant from Hamlet, so as to not get involved in the plot to avenge his father’s death. In contrast to Hamlet, Ophelia’s insanity is quite different, for we see that Ophelia is truly going insane. Ophelia’s madness is conveyed after her father Polonius is killed by her former companion, Hamlet. Ophelia is forever changed from the death of her father and loses all reason. The end result of Ophelia’s madness is the end of the existence of Ophelia all together as she commits suicide and drowns herself. This is a clear sign of her true insanity. One with a clear and sane mind would not go...