Literature - Hamlet’s overburdening of the mind

Literature as a Means of Disseminating Ideas

Literature has a significant role in society because academics have long used it as a means of disseminating ideas about societal problems. The significance of the relevance has been shown to be so great that, in some instances, the reader has been critically engaged by descriptions of the philosophical idea and the riddle of life.

Madness as a Theme in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

William Shakespeare, a well-known author whose writings have been used in many literature studies due to the complexity of themes that the authors frequently describe in their narrations, is one such expert. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, a royal family is described, and Hamlet seeks vengeance on the assassins of his father after Claudius usurped the kingdom and wed his mother. Madness is an apparent feature in the themes of the book, and they embody occurrences where the logic of the mind of the characters being overtasked because of the happenings in the play. The book Hamlet by Shakespeare features the overburdening of the mind and thus enables the reader to ponder about the complexity of madness because the main characters consider it as an option despite the fact that it is a mystery with dire consequences.

The Depiction of Hamlet as a Mad Man

From the beginning of the play, the reader can relate that Hamlet is depicted as a mad man from the manner in which he behaves. When the play starts, the reader is welcomed to a somber mood because Hamlet finds out that his father is dead and that his Uncle Claudius had ended up marrying his mother and has assumed the role of being the king the thought is traumatizing because it makes Hamlet uncomfortable. The impression that the reader gets about the protagonist is that he is disconnected from the reality and has since developed depression because his father was dead and that his Uncle appears to be inconsiderate as he had taken over him so fast. After sometime, Hamlet meets his father who instructs him take down whoever killed him to ensure that the revenge is accomplished. The decision by the Ghost to instruct Hamlet to murder the killer thus changes the play as a whole because it means that by accepting the challenge, Hamlet was bringing himself to madness. Hamlet is torn between the external forces involving either avenging his father’s death, which cannot be referred to as fate because the events are just out of his control. His father’s ghost influences him to murder Claudius, an act that presents a whole dilemma in his life and is stressful in a way because he has to begin uncovering the whole incidence (Shakespeare 212).

The Mystery of Death and Anonymity in Hamlet

The mystery of death and the anonymity surrounding in Shakespeare’s Hamlet characters is a consequence of revenge, and it can be used to understand the complexity of madness. The reader is presented to a reigning king, Claudius, who has killed his brother and taken his wife to be the queen at the throne, acts that can only be perceived as psychiatric by the perpetrator. Claudius’ goal is to use death as a solution to his desire it as a way of escaping his problems as it appeared that he desired the throne with much passion. However, in this case, Claudius ends up killing his brother in the process but appears not to have caused it. He states, “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death; The memory be green, and that it us befitted; To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom; To be contracted in one brow of woe” (Shakespeare 3). The relevance of this statement is to show that death that resulted from stress seems to be a solution, but as the reader learns later, the idea of opting for murder has dire consequences because Claudius ends up in trouble and is killed. The importance of the theme to the audience and the society at large often opt for death, unaware that to satisfy their ego, they could be getting themselves in trouble.

The Power of Language and Madness in Love

The madness theme can also be perceived as an outcome of the fact that Hamlet ended up expressing a burning desire and what he felt about those that he cherished. Unlike some of his counterparts in the play, Hamlet well knows his abilities; he appreciates that he can engage language, words that confer power upon his wishes to deliver the hoped-for ends. An example being his interaction with Ophelia, as well as his mother, as it is not any other aspect that drives their relationship, rather, the power in the words he uses. No wonder, it is not surprising that at some point, Hamlet gains courage and openly tells the Shakespeare’s audience that “I will speak daggers to her, but use none” (Shakespeare 29). It is the power of words that makes the daggers be portrayed as competent in the language as it were because the book expressed the madness in love. The scenario even compels other characters to believe how special the relationship is between language and power, especially those with many words like Claudius and Polonius, who speak too much to listen without reason, and hope out of wishful thinking that may nothing works against their fortunes. Indeed, the characters who do not realise the secret that there is between words and power, do not prevail amidst smoothness, especially when they learn toward the end that language and daggers are true, and that this is a projection of power.

The Complexity of Madness in Surviving Dilemma

The situation that Hamlet found himself where he was required to make tough decision can be described as a complexity of madness in surviving dilemma. Hamlet is a perfect Christian tragic hero where fate is the dominant theme. However, stress has also been discussed by considering how human choices may affect and cancel the fate. Hamlet does not stop choosing the paths he will take. Hamlet is reluctant to succumb to his destiny, religious morality, and his intellectual abilities. He understands that his dead father’s ghost expects his to commit murder, an act that is condemned in the Bible. Murder is not permitted even when it is being executed by an evil person. Fate within Hamlet desires him to go against God’s commandments that one should not murder. King Hamlet Ghost appears to Hamlet and instructs him to punish Claudius who personifies fate (Shakespeare 34). The king’s Ghost reveals that Claudius act of killing his brother is a murder of highest foul. He, therefore, concludes that Claudius deserves to be killed too. Hamlet is torn between choosing to obey his fate or ignore it and face the consequences. He decides not to take up the choice and refuses to obey the Ghost. In the end, Hamlet is mad on which decision to take between self-determination and psychological conflict, and he finally takes vengeance on Claudius. The world is governed by forces that value an eye for an eye and the Biblical world that legislates that one should not kill, and Hamlet finds the two forces balancing each other. The King’s Ghost ordered him to act against his conscience, a command that paralyzes him and almost makes him distressed because Hamlet views himself as an intellectual. He critically rationalizes his life and all the events he has to engage into. Hamlet cannot accept to do anything without critical analysis. He does not blame God or fate (Shakespeare 299). He believes that there is no unseen being that directs his life or death. Touch decisions in his life determine the occurrences and outcomes of events in his life. It is evident that Hamlet represents the Christians’ strong belief that a person’s mind is the determinant of self.

The Conflict Between Free Will and Fate

Finally, Hamlet choices are primarily based on a desire to punish by death which embodies a man who had become stressed and who only viewed death as the last option. While he was mourning his father’s death, Hamlet chose to do it because he had a lot of time as argued by Claudius. He met with the father’s ghost, and after a long period of conflict between his Christian morals and worldly perspective, he agrees to avenge his father’s death. Before he agrees with himself, he questions the ghost’s message, and after careful thinking, he agrees to kill Polonius, Ophelia, Claudius, and himself. To some extent, Hamlet did not know who he was killing, but he chose to follow his free will (Shakespeare 212). Hamlet is a real illustration of how free will can conflict with fate. For example, his choice to be a tool of vengeance or to follow his Christian morals is a real dilemma that Hamlet faces throughout the play. He does not think a lot of the choices he made. Hamlet is choosing not to be in his speech, and thus he would be escaping the external forces of history that have exposed him to unfortunate situations. On the contrary, if he chooses to be on his own, Hamlet would want to exercise his desire regardless of the forces that face him. He uses his will in choosing to delay Claudius killing and using a mousetrap to expose Claudius’ sin in the court. Hamlet free will directs him to resist killing Claudius while he is praying that the death would be better than his father’s. Hamlet’s manipulative method to bewilder other characters especially Ophelia shows that he is out to control events as well as other characters in the play (Shakespeare 211).

The Complexity of Hamlet’s Decisions

Hamlet tragedy play illustrates Shakespeare’s opinion in situations that presented to be dilemmas, and that meant that out of stress, he would often choose death. Often people are faced with a tight spot to make own choices or blame nature for the events and situations in their life. Considering the character in the play Hamlet, it is evident that he participates in actions that lead to dire consequences in his life. Many people including Hamlet would blame fate for the occurrences; however, he can be blamed for allowing stress make him behave as a mad man. His actions were within his control, and he could make better decisions hence the justification that the decisions he made were complex considering the options he had.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. United States: The Lion King, 2010. Print.