Hamlet Madness Quotes

OPHELIA My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd, Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle; Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; And with a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosed out of hell To speak of horrors,he comes before me. LORD POLONIUS Mad for thy love? OPHELIA My lord, I do not know; But truly, I do fear it. LORD POLONIUS What said he? OPHELIA He took me by the wrist and held me hard; Then goes he to the length of all his arm; And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, He falls to such perusal of my face As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so; At last, a little shaking of mine arm And thrice his head thus waving up and down, He raised a sigh so piteous and profound As it did seem to shatter all his bulk And end his being: that done, he lets me go: And, with his head over his shoulder turn'd, He seem'd to find his way without his eyes; For out o' doors he went without their helps, And, to the last, bended their light on me. (2.1.1)

The last time we heard from Hamlet, he told his friends that he was going to play the part of a madman or "antic." This, as we know is a central component of the little game of cat and mouse he plays with Claudius, which ultimately delays Hamlet's revenge. In this passage, we see that Ophelia is genuinely frightened by Hamlet's disheveled appearance and disturbing behavior. Even Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is "mad for [Ophelia's] love" (1.2.8). This seems entirely plausible given that Polonius has forced Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet and to reject his letters. Some literary critics see Hamlet as a deeply disturbed guy in this moment, possibly because he's feeling rejected and betrayed by the hapless Ophelia. History Snack: Elizabethans thought that love really could make a man sick and mentally ill. They called this state "love melancholy." Check out what a doctor, Bernard Gordon, had to say in Lilium Medicinale: The illness called heroes is melancholy anguish caused by love for a woman. The cause of this affliction lies in the corruption of the faculty to evaluate [men forget] all sense of proportion and common senseit can be defined as melancholy anguish. (Cited in Ioan Couliano, Eros and Magic in the Renaissance.) In light of Hamlet's plans to play the "antic," we can't help but notice that Hamlet looks and acts just like a guy who's playing the stereotypical role of an unrequited lover. Is he faking here? If so, why would Hamlet do this to Ophelia? One answer is that Hamlet seems to know that Ophelia will report his behavior to her father (Polonius is notorious for spying and sucking up to the king), who will then share the information with King Claudius. One could argue, then, that Hamlet is purposely playing the role of a melancholy lover.

[] The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits,

Abuses me to damn me: (2.2.58)

Throughout the play, the presence of the Ghost is associated with the possibility of Hamlet's insanity. Here, Hamlet is concerned that the Ghost may be "the devil" and is trying to tempt him to murder Claudius without just cause. What's interesting to us about this passage is the way Hamlet (who is alone on stage at this point) wonders if his melancholy state has left him vulnerable. As we know, many Elizabethans thought that those who suffered from melancholy were at risk for experiencing hallucinations (thought to have been caused by too much "black bile" in the body). This could leave them vulnerable to the devil's power and deception. We see a similar idea at work earlier in the play, when Horatio (who is supposed to be an educated skeptic) warns Hamlet that the Ghost could "deprive [Hamlet of his] sovereignty and reason / And draw [him] into madness"(1.4.9).

POLONIUS He knew me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love; very near this. (2.2.8)

Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is "far gone, far gone" in his love for Ophelia. But, if we take a close look at the passage in which Hamlet calls Polonius a "fishmonger," it seems clear that Hamlet is mocking Polonius and merely playing the part of an "antic" (a madman but also a "grotesque" or "clown" figure). Polonius believes that Hamlet simply doesn't recognize him, but Hamlet is likely making a bawdy joke at Polonius's expense. A "fishmonger" is slang for "pimp," and Hamlet seems to be saying that he knows Polonius is using his daughter (like a pimp would use a prostitute) to spy on Hamlet and curry favor with King Claudius. Hamlet's crude suggestion becomes even more apparent in light of the fact that just a few lines earlier, Hamlet compared Ophelia to a "dead dog" that "breeds maggots" while rotting in the sun (2.2.5). When Polonius walks away, Hamlet calls him a "tedious old fool." These are just the kinds of things an "antic" would say and you can read more about this kind of "role" by going to "Art and Culture."

HAMLET I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw. (2.2.28)

Hamlet admits to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that even though he's acting like a raving lunatic, he definitely has his wits about him. In other words, he knows they've been sent by Claudius to spy on him.

Hamlet Revenge Quotes

HAMLET O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage wann'd, Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, A broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing! For Hecuba! What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her? What would he do, Had he the motive and the cue for passion That I have? [] O, vengeance! Why, what an ass am I!

(2.2.58)

After watching one of the traveling players (actors) deliver a moving speech, Hamlet berates himself for his inability to avenge his father's murder. If an actor can move himself to tears (to "weep") for a fictional character ("Hecuba"), why can't Hamlet spur himself into action for a very real and personal figure, his father? Hamlet tries to place himself in the actor's position as he wonders what the actor would do "had he the motive and the cue for passion." Does this mean that Hamlet is also aware of the fact that he must play the "role" of a typical hero from a revenge tragedy?

The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds More relative than this: the play 's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. (2.2.58)

We've already seen how the Ghost is an unreliable figure that seems to dramatize the play's religious crisis (see 1.5.5. above). In this passage, Hamlet confirms that the spirit "[m]ay be the devil," who has lied about Old Hamlet's death in order to lead young Hamlet astray. Hamlet wants to be sure that Claudius is guilty so he devises a plan the traveling actors will perform a play, The Murder of Gonzago (also called The Mousetrap), which has a plot that's similar to the Ghost's story about Old Hamlet's murder. Hamlet hopes to gauge Claudius's reaction to the play in order to determine if he's guilty of fratricide (killing a brother). This has major implications for the play's ideas about theater so be sure to check out "Art and Culture" if you're interested in this. This passage, as you can guess, also has serious implications for the theme of "Madness." Hamlet voices a common concern that a "melancholy" disposition (like being clinically depressed) has made him prone to hallucinate, which could in turn, leave him vulnerable to the devil's trickery.

Hamlet Art and Culture

ROSENCRANTZ To think, my lord, if you delight not in man, what lenten entertainment the players shall receive from you: we coted them on the way; and hither are they coming, to offer you service. HAMLET He that plays the king shall be welcome; his majesty shall have tribute of me; the adventurous knight shall use his foil and target; the lover shall not sigh gratis; the humourous man shall end his part in peace; the clown shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickled o' the sere; and the lady shall say her mind freely, or the blank verse shall halt for't. What players are they? [] How chances it they travel? their residence, both in reputation and profit, was better both ways. [] Do they hold the same estimation they did when I was in the city? are they so followed? ROSENCRANTZ No, indeed, are they not. HAMLET How comes it? do they grow rusty? ROSENCRANTZ

Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace: but there is, sir, an aery of children, little eyases, that cry out on the top of question, and are most tyrannically clapped for't: these are now the fashion, and so berattle the common stages--so they call them--that many wearing rapiers are afraid of goose-quills and dare scarce come thither. (2.2.30)

Hamlet seems to perk up when he learns about a group of traveling players (actors) that have arrived in Elsinore. Here, Shakespeare makes a few topical references that give us a glimpse into some of the issues surrounding Elizabethan theater like the "fashion" for children's acting companies, which posed a pretty significant threat to adult theater groups. Rosencrantz calls child actors "eyases" (young hawks), which suggests that the popularity of child actors was a menace to traditional companies. The traveling players that visit Elsinore seem to have been driven abroad by lack of steady work.

O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage wann'd, Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, A broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing! For Hecuba! What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her? What would he do, Had he the motive and the cue for passion That I have? (2.2.58)

We've already seen how Hamlet likes to place himself in the role of a stage actor like when he puts on an "antic disposition" (see 1.5.58 above). We've also seen Hamlet suggest that outward behavior and "show" could never truly denote the kind of grief he feels inside (see 1.2.2 above). Here, however, Hamlet witnesses a stage actor deliver a very moving speech about the death of a legendary king and the grief of the king's wife, Hecuba. Here, Hamlet's response to the performance seems to suggest that acting can in fact simulate intense grief and passion. We also notice that Hamlet berates himself for not being enough of like this skilled actor. If the player can conjure up such intensity and "passion" for a fictional character, why can't Hamlet move himself to action against the man who killed his father? By the end of the passage, Hamlet tries to place himself in the position of this stage actor and wonders what the player would do if he had Hamlet's "motive" and "cue for passion" (that is, the knowledge that Claudius has killed his father).

HAMLET I have heard That guilty creatures sitting at a play Have by the very cunning of the scene Been struck so to the soul that presently They have proclaim'd their malefactions; For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players Play something like the murder of my father Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks; I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench, I know my course. The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy,

As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds More relative than this: the play 's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. (2.2.59)

Hamlet wants the traveling players to put on a play (The Murder of Gonzago, a.k.a. The Mousetrap) in order to "catch the conscience of the king." The idea is that when King Claudius watches a murder take place on stage, his emotional response will reveal whether or not he's guilty of murdering Old King Hamlet. (Here, Hamlet reveals he can't tell if the Ghost has been telling him the truth so he wants to be sure.) This may sound a bit wacky to us but Hamlet's idea seems to echo what some Elizabethans believedthat is, the theater was a very powerful place, where murderers could be moved to confession by a dramatic performance. On the other hand, Elizabethan theater was also considered to be a dangerous place because it could potentially move audience members to murder. Time for a history snack: In 1601, the Earl of Essex's rebel faction asked Shakespeare's theater company to perform Richard II (a play in which Henry Bolingbroke usurps the throne from the corrupt King Richard II). The very next day, Essex led an unsuccessful revolt against Queen Elizabeth I when he stormed the queen's court. It seems that Essex's faction felt a performance of Richard II could help stir them to action, which makes the theater seem like a space that could stir up trouble.

Hamlet Lies and Deceit

Marry, sir, here's my drift; And I believe, it is a fetch of wit: You laying these slight sullies on my son, As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i' the working, Mark you, Your party in converse, him you would sound, Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes The youth you breathe of guilty, be assured He closes with you in this consequence; 'Good sir,' or so, or 'friend,' or 'gentleman,' According to the phrase or the addition Of man and country. (2.1.8)

Here, Polonius instructs his servant to spread rumors about his son, Laertes, in the hopes of finding out about Laertes's true behavior. (The idea is that Laertes will open up to Reynoldo about all his dirty little secrets and Reynoldo can then tattle to Polonius.) Polonius believes that deception may be the best route to the truth. Obviously, this way of thinking has some major flaws. We also notice that this is pretty much the same method Hamlet uses to find out whether or not the ghost is telling the truth about Claudius. It seems like Hamlet is completely deceptive when he pretends to be a madman.

At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him: Be you and I behind an arras then; Mark the encounter: (2.2.12)

Polonius is in collusion with the King over deceiving Hamlet. Based on Hamlet's own personal sense of justice, under which betrayal and deception deserve death, perhaps this is why Hamlet doesn't feel guilty when he accidentally stabs Polonius.

HAMLET You were sent for; and there is a kind of confession in your looks which your modesties have not craft enough to colour: I know the good king and queen have sent for you. (2.2.25)

Hamlet's old friends try to deceive him, but Hamlet sees right through it. The force (of sensing deception) is strong in this guy.

SEX
HAMLET For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion,--Have you a daughter? LORD POLONIUS I have, my lord. HAMLET Let her not walk i' the sun: conception is a blessing: but not as your daughter may conceive. Friend, look to 't. (2.2.5)

Hamlet is vulgar when he plays the role of an "antic" (madman, clown, or grotesque). Here, he reveals a disturbing image of pregnancy. First, he says that dead dogs "breed maggots" when they're left out for the "sun" to "kiss." Then, he warns Polonius not to let Ophelia "walk i'the sun" (walk outdoors or, be promiscuous) because she could get pregnant ("conceive"). Given that Hamlet has just said "dead dogs" "breed maggots" in the sun, it's obvious that Hamlet is equating Ophelia's body with "carrion" (another word for road kill). This suggests that women's bodies are putrid and rotten, kind of like that "rank" garden he refers to at 1.2.6 (see above). Hamlet is also punning on the word "sun," which alludes to the big shiny thing in the sky and also to Hamlet, the "son" of the dead king and the guy who would impregnate Ophelia with "maggots." Compare this passage to 3.1.9 below.

Gender
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words, And fall a-cursing, like a very drab, A scullion! (2.2.58)

Whoa! Hamlet's pretty hard on himself for not being able to avenge his father's murder. But why does he call himself a "whore" and a "scullion"? Hamlet seems to think that not avenging his father's murder makes him a coward and, therefore, like a woman. And, since Hamlet thinks all women are "whores," he must be one too. He also sees his inability to carry out the Ghost's orders as a betrayal of his father. As we know, Hamlet associates betrayal with women, especially his mother.

[] and there put on him What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank As may dishonour him; take heed of that; But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips As are companions noted and most known To youth and liberty. (2.1.4)

Wow. Polonius is a busy and dangerous father. Here, he goes to great lengths to spy on his son while Laertes is away at college. (Polonius instructs Reynoldo to spread rumors about Laertes because he thinks it will cause Laertes to confide in Reynoldo about any improper behavior, which Reynoldo can then report back to Polonius.) Polonius isn't the only fatherfigure spying on his kids Claudius, Hamlet's step-father / uncle, also goes to great lengths to find out what Hamlet's up to and even tries to have him murdered.

In Shakespeare's plays, fathers can't always be trusted to care for their children. (See, for example, Northumberland's abandonment of Hotspur in Henry IV Part I and Gloucester's treatment of his bastard son, Edmund, in King Lear.) As we know, Hamlet idealizes his own father, Old King Hamlet, and frequently compares him to "Hercules" or "Hyperion." But we wonder if Old Hamlet were still alive, would he be any better than Claudius and Polonius? We might consider that, when the Ghost returns and asks young Hamlet to avenge his murder, he's not at all interested in his son's well-being.