Hamlet Part II

Christine Witmer
12-1
Hamlet, Act ii
This act further develops the madness of Hamlet. He takes the appearance of the ghost in stride, and only for about two minutes does he think that the ghost is the devil is disguise. Hamlet is thoroughly convinced that the ghost is his father, thereby further convincing the audience that Hamlet has gone mad. Though he tries to convince his friends and his family that he is only mad at certain times and can keep himself under control all the others, by reading further on into the play it is obvious that Hamlet cannot be in his right mind.
Shakespeare uses the play “Hamlet” to allow the audience to question exactly what is considered “going mad” and what is considered just careful planning. One of the main questions regarding the play that stuck with me throughout its duration was whether Hamlet was actually crazy or just pretending to fool his family and friends. Considering his circumstances, I would assume that he would be deeply affected by the events that happened to him. (His father dying, his mother remarrying his Uncle, Ophelia, his girlfriend,breaking up with him). However, it was never actually said in the play that Hamlet was close with his father. Would the story have happened differently if Hamlet had not been as close with his father? Would he have cared that his mother had married his uncle? And, the bigger question is, maybe Hamlet would not have died if he had not tried to seek revenge on his Uncle. This, however, is the nature of Shakespeare’s tragedies. In “Othello”, “Romeo and Juliet”, and again in “Hamlet”, the characters are put in compromising circumstances that cause horrible things to happen to them. One large difference between these three plays is that Othello and Romeo and Juliet are all characters that killed other people (or died themselves) because they did not think things through. Othello died because he was to easily persuaded by Iago that his wife was cheating on him. In “Romeo and Juliet,” the two main characters could have survived except for a miscommunication about potions and sleeping and other nonsense. Hamlet is the only one who goes seeking revenge on his Uncle and get it. In the story Hamlet, though he dies, he achieves what he sets out to accomplish and finally reaches his destiny.