Madness Of Madness In Hamlet

Mourning the loss of a loved one is a process that varies from each person, but usually follows a framework of five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. When an individual discovers someone dear to him has died, he will naturally begin to grieve. One 's emotional fortitude is challenged to cope with the loss, and if he fails, then he will find himself on the brink of insanity. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s resilience is tested through a series events. The death of Hamlet’s father, the encounter with his father’s ghost, and the rushed marriage between his mother, Gertrude and his uncle, Claudius, are all incidents that lead Hamlet on the verge of insanity.
With the realization dawning on him that the late …show more content…
Hamlet openly expresses his disapproval of Claudius when he calls him “A little more than kin and less than kind” (ENTER CITATION). Through these words, Hamlet’s disgust is unmistakable, and his vexation only intensifies once he learns that Claudius murdered his father. These series of events all happen within such a short span of time that Hamlet can barely process his feelings, much less address them. Clouded by his ire, Hamlet impetuously stabs Polonius, thinking it is Claudius hiding behind a curtain. Shakespeare implies how “excessive are his [Hamlet’s] indulgences in emotion” by making Hamlet base his decisions solely upon his emotions (ENTER CITATION). Through the entirety of Hamlet, Hamlet does not recognize when his rational thoughts turn irrational, so he unknowingly bases his decisions upon illogical thinking. For instance, after hearing about Gertrude and Claudius’ marriage, Hamlet exclaims, “Frailty, thy name is woman!”(ENTER CITATION) He denounces all women on the account of his mother’s remarriage. Any sensible person would not make a declaration about an entire gender based upon one individual. Claudius and Gertrude’s marriage is the final reason for Hamlet’s descension into