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Why does shakespeare introduce the element of madness in Hamlet?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
It was in his source. An essential part of the Hamlet story is that Hamlet feigns madness to keep his profile low while he plots the downfall of his uncle. Thus we hear that Hamlet will "put an antic disposition on" immediately after seeing the ghost. In the sources, Hamlet's assumed lunacy convinces his uncle that he is not a danger, so that he doesn't do Hamlet in. In Shakespeare's story, Claudius is not so easily fooled, and he does try to do Hamlet in, but it is his political sense and his love for Gertrude which keep him from doing it in an obvious way. Hamlet gets lucky and wriggles out of Claudius's trap.
There is the additional element of lunacy in poor Ophelia. Her insanity is genuine, but unfortunately nobody believes that she drowned because she was insane, causing her to be buried without Christian rites.
It is an irony that Hamlet's fake madness takes so many people in, yet Ophelia's real madness does not.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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Was Hamlet ever mad or just acting?
Shakespeare leaves the madness of Hamlet to the mind of the audience; you can read it either way. If he is mad (as in "insane"), it is a madness with a purpose. At any rate, it would be a curious sort of madness that depended on the winds.
Who says though this be madness?
The quote "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't" is spoken by Polonius in Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Polonius says this to indicate that while Hamlet's behavior may seem crazy, there is a hidden reason or purpose behind it.
In Shakespeare's hamlet does hamlet have a brother?
No, Hamlet is an only child.
What Shakespeare play was a prince of denmark from?
The prince of Denmark character is from the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare.
Is Hamlet is an essay?
No hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare
Is the Hamlet a book?
Hamlet is a play. It is by William Shakespeare.
What drama is Hamlet?
Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare
Is Hamlet a book?
Hamlet is a play. It is by William Shakespeare.
What is claudia relatoinship to prince Hamlet in shakespeare play?
In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Claudius is Hamlet's uncle and also his stepfather. There isn't a Claudia.
What is an example for a tragic hero?
Macbeth in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth Lear in Shakespeare's King Lear Hamlet in Shakespeare's Hamlet Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
What is Shakespeare's last name?
Shakespeare did not have a middle name. When you translate it from Latin it is William Shakespeare.
who wrote Hamlet ?
William Shakespeare.
