Essay
Presentation of Madness in 'Hamlet'
- Course
- Institution
- Book
An A* essay on the presentation of madness in Hamlet.
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
Hamlet - Locations of Important Events
-
Hamlet Essay Plans
-
OCR A Level English Literature Hamlet Part B essays
Seller
Follow
aliceland
Reviews received
Content preview
Explore Shakespeare’s presentation of the theme of madness in‘Hamlet’ + AO3 and AO5.
Renaissance melancholia was largely shaped by Timothy Bright’s ‘Treatise
of Melancholie’ (1586), which defined melancholy as “a strangue
affliction” that affected not only the “bodely sense” but also the “soule
and spirite”. This drew on Hippocrates’ theory of the humours in which
emotions were thought to be governed by four bodily fluids: an excess of
black bile, arising from the spleen, was seen as the root of melancholy. It
was a common, often fashionable malady in Elizabethan England and was
a “much more amenable” alternative to madness in the eyes of Hamlet’s
contemporaries (Kate Flint), associated with the refinement of male
intellect. Characters with traits such as “feare, sadness, desperation,
sobbing, sighing, as well as irrational laughter” appeared frequently in the
art and literature of the time, often in the forms of melancholic poets,
languishing lovers, and introspective students – the most famous of them
being Hamlet. Madness chiefly appears in this play in the characters of
Hamlet and Ophelia, though in quite different forms; as Elaine Showalter
comments, “For the Elizabethans, Hamlet was the prototype of
melancholy male madness, associated with intellectual and imaginative
genius; but Ophelia’s affliction was erotomania, or love-madness”.
The difference in the way that madness is manifested in the characters of
Ophelia and Hamlet are used to explore the gender roles and
expectations within an Elizabethan society. Hamlet’s madness begins as
little more than a “put on antic disposition” that, as Maynard Mack
observes in ‘Tragedy and Madness’, is “dramatically useful” because it
“allows the combination in a single figure of tragic hero and buffoon, to
whom could be accorded the licence of the allowed fool in speech and in
action”. For Hamlet, madness not only liberates him and allows him to
take on the role of a moral and political commentator, through the use of
soliloquies (“there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it
so”), but it also entitles him “the license of a fool to speak cruel thoughts,
transgressing the language of a social decorum which would normally be
expected from a royal prince”, as Kate Flint puts it in ‘Madness and
Melancholy in Hamlet’. Despite his obsession over the women in his life,
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller aliceland. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.96. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
73314 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now