Hamlet

However, in Macbeth, not only does a ghost appear but a floating dagger, witches, and prophetic apparitions make appearances. A love within her madness is when she speaks about the events on “Valentine’s day. It is not until the appearance of Hamlet that the ghost speaks, and only then after Horatio has expressed his fears about Hamlet following it, ³What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, or to the dreadful summit of the cliff². An example of how Claudius uses Laertes to try and murder Hamlet is seen in Act IV, scene vii. Ophelia’s madness is brought on by her lack of being able to demonstrate any maturity in trying to cope with her losses and in return can only inflict her madness on the court. This madness grows even stronger when Claudius promises “no wind of blame”(Act IV. With Claudius being the puppet holder and Laertes being the puppet, Claudius turns Laertes into a savage beast to avenge for his fathers' death; perhaps this is what the Claudius has planned all along. This event causes Ophelia to become insane and leads to her eventual death in a river near the castle in Act IV, scene vii.

Ophelia has a unique form of madness unlike Hamlet’s and Laertes’ because it a mixture of love and hate. The ghost says nothing to them and is perceived with fear and apprehension, ³It harrows me with fear and wonder². The supernatural appears to the audience in many varied forms.

Laertes’ death is tragic because, although he kills Hamlet, he is avenging his father’s death, an act, with reference to the moral climate of the 1600s, that would have been condoned by the people who saw the play. An example of how Ophelia is used by Hamlet takes place in Act II, scene I, when Hamlet uses her to convince his family he is mad. Claudius and Laertes are discussing Hamlet when Claudius says: Laertes, was your father dear to you? Or are you like painting of a sorrow, A face without a heart? He is asking Laertes whether he is really sorry about his father’s death or if he is just acting mournful without feeling mournful. An example of hate is when she sings about a “baker's daughter.