Madness in Hamlet and King Lear
The subject of madness is a major theme in two of Shakespeare's most well-known tragedies, "Hamlet" and "King Lear". In both of these plays, a character feigns insanity to carry out a motive - Hamlet and Edgar respectively. However, while it is made quite clear to the audience that Edgar is only pretending to be a mad beggar ("Whiles I may scape I will preserve myself, and am bethought to take the basest and most poorest shape that ever penury, in contempt of man brought near to beast"), it is somewhat less clear whether Hamlet has crossed the line and lost control of his "antic disposition". Shakespeare gives evidence which suggests that Hamlet is sane by having three other men also witness the manifestation of the ghost of Hamlet's father. If Hamlet were to have seen his father's ghost by himself, there would be a greater argument for him being insane from the outset of the play.Hamlet also exerts control over his actions, which is the main reason why it could be argued that he is sane. He actively tries to convince Polonius that he has gone mad - mocking him when he would usually be respectful, acting cruelly towards Ophelia whom he was clearly affectionate to earlier in the play. He does this in the hope that Polonius
This allows contrast with his half-brother Edmund, whose resentment towards the way he is treated may be assigned as a cause of his behaviour - showing that Shakespeare had some insight of psychology. As with Lear, Shakespeare allows Laertes a last-minute repentance as he is dying: "Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet". Interestingly Shakespeare has both characters collect flowers and sing (Cordelia says of her father in "King Lear": "Why, he was met even now as mad as the vexed sea, singing aloud, crowned with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds, with hardocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow in our sustaining corn" and Ophelia is shown acting in a similar way in "Hamlet"), which may be coincidental but shows that he thought this to be an appropriate way to denote real insanity. He exhibits suicidal tendencies during his soliloquies ("oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt" and "to be, or not to be - that is the question" both show that the character is contemplating the possibility of ending his life, which of course goes against the strict religious background of the time) and has something of an Oedipus complex, so Shakespeare has left the question of Hamlet's mental health open to interpretation. The irony of this situation would remain intact even if Lear had not gone mad. Lear has moments of clarity in spite of his deteriorating mental state, illustrating the presence of reason in madness and madness in reason, another theme of "King Lear" which is touched on in "Hamlet" as Polonius remarks: "though this be madness, yet there is method in't". In my opinion, the plot of "King Lear" would not have suffered much if Shakespeare had excised the element of madness, which serves as an interesting theme and adds colour to the characters, but the story would have functioned if it were to revolve around mere foolishness and rash action on Lear's behalf, as opposed to the descent into insanity. The character Laertes could be said to have been affected by the sickness surrounding him - Ophelia's breakdown and death, the death of his father Polonius, Hamlet's behaviour - to the extent that he allows himself to be corrupted by Claudius, being encouraged into taking actions that normally he would never do. This overriding of rationality could be defined as madness, or alternatively intense vengefulness. On the other hand, Hamlet does appear to be deeply emotionally disturbed, which is perhaps understandable in the circumstances. King Lear confesses to his mistake in banishing Cordelia, but it is too late because he has already lost everything. Edgar, although a less developed character than Hamlet, is unquestionably sane. I am old and foolish" - which contrasts with his pompous manner earlier in the play. Both of the plays also have a character that definitely goes genuinely mad - Ophelia out of grief and being unable to cope with events, Lear from senile dementia setting in.
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