Mental Illness In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Words: 740
Pages: 3

With recent interests of mental illness, new data has come about this awareness. More people are finding out what is wrong with them and being helped to battle their disease. No longer is it a shame to have these mental illnesses. Such as Miles Cole who discovers that there is no disgrace in having a mental disease in the novel Schizo by Nic Sheff. Unfortunately for Hamlet, who seems to be unaware of any sign of having a mental illness, is brought to the brink of madness; being pushed over to be lost in the depths of his dark crazed mind. William ShakeSpeare uses Hamlet in his play “Hamlet” to show how the mind can completely turn on oneself. Both of the characters suffering some sort of a mental disease, where one, Miles, overcomes it while …show more content…
Miles shows symptoms of schizophrenia such as “hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking” (Ronald M., Kahn, and Adamec 7), these symptoms are shown throughout the novel by the way he thinks and reacts to the world around him. The hallucinations were terribly confusing for him because he would see birds and would “turn to face the birds, to defend against another attack” (Sheff 204), but some of the time there would be no birds, just his mind playing tricks on him. He had a hard time distinguishing between real and fake birds once he went off his medicines. This allowed voice in his head to take control “tricking [him].It made [him forget]” (Sheff 180) what was true and what he made up. He knew that the voice was not something to listen to, but constantly listening to it can cause anyone to fall into depression. The voice would “[whisper] softly, telling [him] that this is what [he] deserves. [He] [has] destroyed everything” (Sheff 207) causing Miles to feel worse about himself. This terrible voice haunts his mind eventually causing him to commit suicide-which in the end does not work. He grows stronger and over comes the voice in his head by taking better medicine and talking everything out with his family. He learns to accept his disease, adapting it to his world and overcoming this challenged in his …show more content…
Hamlet has the symptoms for bipolar disorder, he experiences “all four different kinds of episodes: mania, low-level mania (hypomania), [and] depression” (Turkington, Harris, and American Bookworks 8). A mania episode can start in a positive manner, full of creativity, before crashing into the full-blown manic episode, being easily irritated and making reckless choice; in severe cases, hallucinations. Hamlet shows this when he confronts his mother and sees his father’s ghosts, his “madness is good at creating hallucinations” (Shakespeare 207). Not only does he show just mania, but also mild mania; it is just less severe. Yelling at Ophelia telling her to “get [herself] to a convent” (Shakespeare 145) which would be showing his anger and irritability towards anything, including someone that loves him dearly. Finally, all of this leads to major depressive episode. Symptoms include; bad concentration, feeling guilty and suicide thoughts. Hamlet constantly questions whether it is “better to be alive or dead” throughout the play, most of his thoughts lead back to that simple question. Hamlet falls prey to his mental disease: allowing it to take full control of him which causes the death of several