Madness And Madness In Hamlet

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When one goes seeking revenge they often find themselves in the same position as the one they seek to harm. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, motifs of revenge and madness are portrayed through three characters in particular,one of which, because of the acts of revenge, just goes plan mad. Hamlet, wanting to seem weak, acts mad so he can get revenge. Laertes, so enraged by his father’s death, seeks revenge on Hamlet. Lastly is Ophelia who, because of the revenge and madness all around her, was driven to the brink of sanity herself. Ultimately this revenge lead nowhere but death. Shakespeare uses the motifs of madness and revenge to demonstrate just what they can do to a person when they get to deep.
When the play opens Hamlet’s father is dead and Hamlet’s …show more content…
She was not mad for revenge she went insane because of it. Ophelia has a rocky relationship with Hamlet throughout the entire novel. When Hamlet kills Polonius she is pushed over the brink of sanity and loses herself. She ends up being the only truly insane character in the novel. She grieves her father’s death and doesn’t seem to recognize her own brother. Ophelia’s insanity is also tied to Hamlet, shown when she sings the song about the maiden who had promises of marriage. She believed Hamlet loved her and throughout the novel she comes to the realization that he might not. When Hamlet kills her father and is sent away it simply is too much for her and she is finally pushed to her breaking point. Because of this insanity she falls in a river and drowns not trying to save herself. Revenge and madness are a recurring theme in Shakespeare’s Hamlet showing up in many characters. Both of which ultimately backfired and ended in death for these characters. Hamlet, whose insanity was more of a ruse than real insanity, planned to make his revenge on Claudius purley guilt but it ended in both of their deaths. Laertes was enraged with Hamlet ended up impaled by his own sword and was left feeling guilty for his want of revenge. Finally Ophelia, who had more than she could take and it broke her mind until she wandered into her own death. In the end is revenge really worth
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