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In regards to the sanity of Hamlet.
sillysmile:
so, what do you think? :P
pooshwaltzer:
Sanity is a relative concept subject to the reckonings of social and cultural trends at a given period in time and place. The play was an exploration of human psyche in times of crisis. Hamlet's self-struggle against his inner perturbations trumped over other exogenous events which sought to exert their influences over his character and morality. Compare and/or contrast the various roles according to:
1. Their nature and inheritance at the beginning vs. how they developed progressively as the story unfolded.
2. The dynamics and interactivity between the main characters portrayed in terms of how their relationships evolved/devolved.
The answer lies within relationship and conceptual character mapping. I assume you're familiar with these techniques as taught by your teacher?
sillysmile:
while it's true that not engaging in the acceptable behaviour of a specific time frame/culture can be defined as insane from the society's perspective, his insanity at the beginning of the play is apparently feigned. What I am asking is, at the end of the play does he actually become mad as he was originally pretending to be?
pooshwaltzer:
--- Quote from: sillysmile on August 18, 2010, 10:03:36 pm ---at the end of the play does he actually become mad as he was originally pretending to be?
--- End quote ---
Short Answer: Yes. Conduct became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
EvangelionZeta:
--- Quote from: pooshwaltzer on August 18, 2010, 10:17:31 pm ---
--- Quote from: sillysmile on August 18, 2010, 10:03:36 pm ---at the end of the play does he actually become mad as he was originally pretending to be?
--- End quote ---
Short Answer: Yes. Conduct became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
--- End quote ---
I disagree. If anything, by the end of the play, Hamlet has become more aware of the state of reality than ever before. The speeches about providence and death (see Act 5) are the words of a man who no longer needs to question, one whose sanity has been strengthened from uncertainty. It's somewhat telling that in the ending, Hamlet is raised (apotheosised even) as "noble", and rather than a descent into madness, I think it's safe to say the play's denouement can be easily seen as Hamlet's transcendence from Denmark's "unweeded" corruption into a more majestic and wholesome understanding of the universe.
My take on things, anyway.
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