Hamlet, method to the madness

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Hamlet: Method in the Madness Method in the Madness: Hamlet's Sanity Supported Through HisRelation to Ophelia and Edgar's Relation to Lear In both Hamlet and King Lear, Shakespeare incorporates a theme ofmadness with two characters: one truly mad, and one only actingmad to serve a motive. The madness of Hamlet is frequentlydisputed. This paper argues that the contrapuntal character ineach play, namely Ophelia in Hamlet and Edgar in King Lear, actsas a balancing argument to the other character's madness orsanity. King Lear's more decisive distinction between Lear'sfrailty of mind and Edgar's contrived madness works to betterdefine the relationship between Ophelia's breakdown and Hamlet's "north-north-west" brand of insanity. Both plays offer a characteron each side of sanity, but in Hamlet the distinction is not asclear as it is in King Lear. Using the more explicit relationshipin King Lear, one finds a better understanding of the relationshipin Hamlet.

While Shakespeare does not directly pit Ophelia's insanity (orbreakdown) against Hamlet's madness, there is instead a cleardefinitiveness in Ophelia's condition and a clear uncertainty inHamlet's madness. Obviously, Hamlet's character offers moreevidence, while Ophelia's breakdown is quick, but more conclusivein its precision. Shakespeare offers clear evidence pointing toHamlet's sanity beginning with the first scene of the play. Hamlet begins with guards whose main importance in the play is togive credibility to the ghost. If Hamlet were to see his father'sghost in private, the argument for his madness would greatlyimprove. Yet, not one, but three men together witness the ghostbefore even thinking to notify Hamlet. As Horatio says, being theonly of the guards to play a significant role in the rest of the play, "Before my God, I might not this believe / Without thesensible and true avouch / Of mine own eyes. (I.i.56-8)" Horatio,who appears frequently throughout the play, acts...