Madness Flashcards
Wild {Horatio}
‘These are wild and whirling words’ 1.5.131
Even before Hamlet has decided on his ‘antic disposition’, Horatio comments on this overly excited manner - this indicates an unreliable, perhaps even unstable mind, and suggests any plan of action will be a crazy one - in this sense Hamlet is not to be trusted, indicated by his unreliable mind. This is picked up even by his most trusted, loyal friend, who wouldn’t be likely to speak against his lord unless he felt it necessary to.
Tossed {Ophelia}
‘Tossed out of hell…he raised a sigh to piteous and profound…seem to shatter all his bulk and end his being…’ 2.1.80
Hamlet may be acting out his ‘antic disposition’ here, and yet if his plan for a pretense of insanity is simply for clownish behavior to throw off the court, this indicates the exact opposite of a ‘fool’ by highlighting his true despair - the alliteration and plosives emphasis his misery, and this melancholy nature is echoed in his soliloquy’s where he ponders his ‘sallied flesh’ melting, no pretense of madness as he is all alone. The lexical field of death is continued with Ophelia’s description of Hamlet, looking as if he is ‘tossed out of hell’, implying his desire for death. If this scene is interpreted as his ‘antic disposition’, then his act of madness appears to be almost cruel in his treatment of Ophelia, and yet this could very well be true madness.
Inward {King}
‘Hamlet’s transformation - so call it sith nor the’exterior nor the interior man resembles that it was’ 2.2.6
This quote may indicate his ‘antic disposition’ going alongside with his true madness, where his outside appearance and act may be his pretense of madness, and the ‘inward’ state his depressed and melancholy nature - this wouldn’t be surprising, considering the events he has encountered, with his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage all having a detrimental effect on his state of mind. While this suggests that Hamlet was once reasonable with the correct state of mind, his madness has changed him completely - by planning an ‘antic disposition’, Hamlet shows that he doesn’t consider himself to be mad, and only want to act it, yet this very plan itself may indicate his confused mind.
Fishmonger {Hamlet}
‘You are a fishmonger….for yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am…these tedious old fool’ 2.2.121/200/214
Calling Polonius a ‘fishmonger’ appears to be comic relief for this often tense play, and presumably a deliberate one to show Hamlet’s pretense of insanity in the form of clownish behavior - if this is the case, then any depression may reflect when he is truly mad. By reversing their roles, and pretending he is older than Polonius, Shakespeare indicates Hamlet’s witty nature, and a certain awareness that does not suggest an unstable mind, but merely an act of being the fool. By then mocking Polonius, his sarcasm reinforces the view that he isn’t truly mad in this scene, showing how Polonius’ inability to see through Hamlet’s ‘antic disposition’ is ignorant.
Method {Polonius}
Crafty {Guildenstern}
‘Though this is madness yet there is method in’t’ 2.2.201
‘Crafty madness’ 3.1.8
This indicates Hamlet’s ‘antic disposition’ in his actions, rather than true madness, which both Polonius and Guildenstern see past to suspect a hidden plan in his pretense, and a certain cunning nature which indicates a stable mind. Yet, it should be noted that if Hamlet was truly mad, it wouldn’t be completely apparent to the audience, as Shakespeare can’t create a character who descend’s into gibberish if they are to retain the interest and attention of the audience. In this case, the question of Hamlet’s madness is a plot device, and this quote may be used to simply confuse the audience on whether Hamlet is truly mad - after all, Ophelia’s madness is never doubted, as she is often seen as a mere foil to emphasis Shakespeare’s portrayal of madness in Hamlet.
Unwatched {King}
‘Madness in great ones must not go unwatched’ 3.1.187
It is likely that the King has seen past Hamlet’s possible pretense of insanity here, but keeps this revelation to himself in fear of anyone finding out about his betrayal - it is ironic how madness is a device utilized to cover up cunning plans, as the very concept of it is an insane, lost mind. By keeping an eye on him, the King shows that Hamlet is a threat to him, and it is unlikely that Hamlet would be a threat to the King if he was truly unstable, indicating Hamlet’s true state of mind to be sane. The fact that ‘madness’ is almost implied to be a weapon shows how threats are everywhere in Denmark, and don’t just take a physical form, but demonstrate the power of the mind.
Very well {Horatio}
‘Very well, my lord…I did very well note him’ 3.2.271
After the play within a play, Hamlet appears overly-excited, this hysterical nature perhaps indicating his unstable mind, further highlighted by Horatio’s response: he seems to evince some degree id skepticism about the scale of Hamlet’s success, replying in mostly monosyllabic, non-committal answer’s that are repetitive - this muted response to Hamlet’s elation causes the audience to question the sane state of his mind.
Eyes {Gertrude}
Sooth {Hamlet}
‘Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep’ 3.4.115
‘Lay not that following unction to your soul that not your trespass but my madness speaks’
This vivid metaphor is based on a common theory in the Elizabethan era that extreme stress or excitement could cause the spirits to come to the surface of the body and become visible, indicating that Hamlet may be truly mad if Gertrude signals to the audience that his wild thoughts are visible from his eyes, who would recognize this as unstable - this is something that can’t be faked, his thought’s aren’t his to control, which suggests that Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as truly mad. The fact that Gertrude can’t see the ghost further indicates Hamlet as truly mad, lost in his imagination. Yet, an alternative interpretation of the Queen’s blindness, as Dessen argues it, ‘is designed primarily to italicize the larger issue of not seeing in this scene and in the tragedy as a whole’, rather than Hamlet actually being man - this correlates with Hamlet’s view that Gertrude attempts to use his madness as a denial to the true problem, in an attempt to ignore her guilt.
No {Hamlet}
Sea {Gertrude}
‘Not this, by no means, that I bid you do…No, despite sense and secrecy’ 3.4.179
‘Mad as the sea and wind when both contend which is mightier….’A rat, a rat!’….weeps for what is done’ 4.1.7
Shakespeare’s double negatives here emphasizes the irony of his advice to come, when he instructs the Queen to tell Claudius everything, despite her common sense and judgement, and break her neck in the process - this sarcasm and hyperbole often lead to the speech performed as if Hamlet is putting on his ‘antic disposition’, a reminder to the Queen to not tell anyone the truth of his madness. It appears that she sticks to this promise, using the metaphor of the sea and wind to demonstrate how illogical and unreasonable his thoughts are, and then indicates to Claudius an inaccurate version of Hamlet’s action, where he apparently cried out ‘A rat, a rat!’ and ‘weeps for what is done’, where he clearly did not neither - this shows how Gertrude helps to protect Hamlet, with the pretense of his madness yet again a weapon.
Wed {Ophelia}
Creature {Gertrude}
‘Before you tumbled me you promised me to wed’ 4.5.61
‘thou hadst not come to my bed’ 4.5.65
‘Like a creature native and endued unto that element’ 4.7.176
In her madness, Ophelia’s telling songs reveal the double standards expected of women, with a man responding that he would have married a girl had she not come to his bed, and lost her virginity - this indicates that Ophelia’s madness may be the result of a lover, not just her father’s death, and therefore demonstrates the detrimental consequences of the expectations placed on women at the time. If the circumstances of the song is a reality for Ophelia, then this may be the cause of her madness, showing the destructive restrictions on women, and yet there is a sense that her madness offer’s Ophelia freedom to disregard the limitations, and reveal what has been troubling her. When discussing her drowning, Gertrude suggests that Ophelia is in her natural environment, as if she experienced the right end that freed her from this world - perhaps the relief and cleansing symbolized by the water show how her madness led her to be rid of this hard life, as if madness is helpful, just as it helped Hamlet achieve his goal of revenge.
Hamlet {Hamlet}
‘Wasn’t Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet…his madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy’ 5.2.211
Hamlet asks a rhetorical question here, as if the Court, and the audience is simultaneously wondering the same thing, and then provides an answer as if it’s a solution to a problem, influencing the audience to agree with Hamlet’s view on his madness. By referring to himself in the third person, he allows the audience to sympathize with him, as if the madness is apart from Hamlet - personifying the madness makes it appear as if it attacked Hamlet, becoming the ‘enemy’ to ‘poor’ Hamlet, further invoking sympathy for the audience. This may be completely disingenuous, showing that Hamlet is cunning in using his assumed or supposed madness as an excuse for his behavior, and attempting to sway the audience towards him - yet, if this explanation is believed to be true, then a modern audience may accept this reason, as modern judicial practice still permits denial of responsibility on grounds of insanity. However, Hamlet talks in generalities and foes not spell out the crimes which he is charged with, seeming especially evasive and making his excuse of being mad difficult to accept.
