Reading William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, there are several themes surrounding disability, Hamlet’s spiral into madness is a tangled journey influenced by many factors. At first, he’s deeply shaken by his father’s sudden death and his mother’s swift marriage to his uncle, Claudius. These events stir up powerful feelings of grief, betrayal, and anger inside him after meeting the ghost of his deceased father. He wrestles with these emotions, and Hamlet becomes more and more isolated and disillusioned. He feels suffocated by the lies and deceit all around him, which leaves him with a profound sense of despair about life itself. To handle this inner chaos, Hamlet decides to pretend to be mad. He acts strangely, and talks in puzzles, all to hide his true thoughts and to watch those around him. But as he keeps up this act, reality starts to blur, and Hamlet wonders if he’s truly losing his mind. The pressure of seeking revenge for his father’s murder, combined with navigating a web of political schemes, only adds to his mental strain, leading to tragic outcomes.
In Hamlet, we see depression portrayed as something that completely consumes the prince of Denmark right from the beginning. As the play unfolds, Hamlet emerges as a character deeply immersed in sadness, grieving for his father’s death and feeling unsettled by his mother’s quick remarriage to his uncle, Claudius. This initial sorrow acts as a trigger, dragging Hamlet into an even deeper pit of despair as he wrestles with big questions about life and struggles with the moral dilemmas surrounding his father’s murder. Throughout the story, we witness Hamlet experiencing depression in various ways. With everything going on, Hamlet finds it hard to find any comfort or direction, which only makes him feel more alone and detached, sinking him deeper into a state of mental pain. And on top of it all, Hamlet’s feelings of betrayal and deceit, especially from those closest to him, add to his despair. When he learns the truth about his father’s murder and feels betrayed by those he trusts, it just makes everything worse, plunging him even further into darkness.2
There are many examples throughout the play that exemplify Hamlet’s depressive state. In Act 1 Scene 2 he says, “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed. His canon ’gainst self-slaughter!… ’Tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed. Things rank in nature” (1.2. 133- 140). This is one of the first signs where Hamlet is starting to show signs of depression. The way he is talking about himself as well as his view on the world since his father died is being compared to an unweeded garden, this can signify something that was once beautiful is now dying and overgrown, showing what was once a beautiful thing is now an eyesore. When Hamlet is thinking about his deceased father, he describes him as, “He was a man. Take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.” (2.2. 195 -196). The way he talks about his father shows how much he loves him and how much Hamlet misses the late king. This is playing upon his grief which is the main factor in his depression. Hamlet starts to go mad after the interaction with the ghost of his late father.2 He realizes that his uncle had killed the deceased king and he is to be avenged. When the ghost vanishes due to the morning light, Hamlet falls into a speech saying,
“O all you host of heaven! O Earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell? O fie! Hold, hold, my heart,
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me ⟨stiffly⟩ up. Remember thee?
Ay, thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I’ll wipe away all trivial, fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmixed with baser matter. Yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!
My tables—meet it is I set it down
That one may smile and smile and be a villain.
At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark. (1.5. 100-117).
This rant is filled with confusion, grief, anger, and confusion. The reader is going through multiple emotions along with Hamlet, it seems as though he is going through the mania within the depression, almost fueling it. Once this rant is over, Horatio and Marcellus find Hamlet, and after they find him Hamlet goes on another tangent about what the ghost had previously said. He goes into saying, “ It is an honest ghost—that let me tell you. For your desire to know what is between us, O’ermaster ’t as you may. And now, good friends, As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers, Give me one poor request. 1.5. 154-156). Horatio is telling his friends that the ghost they’ve seen is trustworthy. He’s warning them that their curiosity might be overwhelming but urges them to listen. Horatio then appeals to their friendship and unity, asking for a small favor. This shows the importance of trust, curiosity, and friendship in the story.
In Act 2, Scene 2 of Hamlet, after Polonius leaves, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive to speak with Hamlet, suspicious of their intentions, he engages in a clever and cryptic conversation with them, revealing his wit and intellect. He deflects their inquiries about his state of mind and instead turns the conversation towards the nature of ambition and the unpredictability of fate. Throughout the scene, Hamlet’s true feelings and intentions remain veiled, leaving Rosencrantz and Guildenstern perplexed as they exit, unable to discern the depths of his thoughts.1 When the two leave, Hamlet delivers his famous soliloquy, beginning with the lines
“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 wanned,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit—and all for nothing!…
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing—no, not for a king
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damned defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me “villain”? breaks my pate across?…
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should ⟨have⟩ fatted all the region kites
With this slave’s offal. Bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless
villain!
⟨O vengeance!⟩
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear ⌜father⌝ murdered,
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 stallion! Fie upon ’t! Foh!
About, my brains!—Hum, I have heard
That guilty creatures sitting at a play…
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. 576- 634).
In this introspective moment, Hamlet expresses his frustration and self-doubt, questioning his own inaction and inability to take revenge for his father’s murder. He contrasts his own lack of resolve with the passion and determination shown by the actors in the play he has just witnessed.1 As the scene concludes, Hamlet resolves to use the upcoming performance of the play to test Claudius’s guilt, hoping to confirm the truth of the ghost’s revelation about his father’s death.
Depression is more than just feeling sad; it’s a prevalent mood disorder marked by persistent feelings of sadness and disinterest in once-enjoyable activities.4 According to the Cleveland Clinic, unlike temporary sadness stemming from specific life events, depression typically persists for at least two weeks and impacts various aspects of life, including sleep, appetite, and cognitive function.3 While major depressive disorder represents the most severe form of depression, there are other types, such as persistent depressive disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.1 Different circumstances can trigger depression, such as seasonal affective disorder, prenatal and postpartum depression, or depression related to medical conditions. Symptoms of depression vary from mild to severe and may include persistent sadness, loss of pleasure, irritability, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, physical discomfort, and thoughts of self-harm or suicide.3 The causes of depression are multifaceted and may involve imbalances in brain chemistry, genetic predisposition, stressful life events, underlying medical conditions, and the use of certain medications or substances. However, it’s essential to recognize that depression is treatable, and various effective treatments are available, including therapy, medication, and lifestyle adjustments.3
In Hamlet, we’re taken on a deep dive into the complexities of depression, exploring the human mind’s depths through Hamlet’s character. We see firsthand the enduring sadness, the questions about existence, and the conflicting feelings that come with depression. Hamlet’s journey reflects the many layers of this condition, tangled up with grief, betrayal, and moral dilemmas. Through his introspective monologues and interactions with others, we get a glimpse into the inner turmoil faced by those dealing with depression. Themes of loneliness, detachment, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world are brought to light. And as Hamlet seeks revenge, we see how his struggles mirror the repetitive, self-defeating thoughts that often accompany depression, amplifying feelings of despair. Shakespeare skillfully weaves these themes of depression into the broader tapestry of tragedy and political intrigue, offering a deeply human exploration of the mind’s complexities.
- Author links open overlay panelMania Hagop S. Akiskal M.D. *, and The phenomenologic characteristics of affective syndromes are distinctive and different from those of schizophrenia. Delusional and hallucinatory experiences are known to occur in both manic and depressive conditions and. “Psychotic Forms of Depression and Mania.” Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Elsevier, 18 June 2018, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0193953X18309870.
- Crocker, H., By, Crocker, H., Greene, R., Pavel, T., Pavel, T., Greene, R., Lesser, Z., Lesser, Z., Crocker, H., Masten, J., Masten, J., Flesch, W., Flesch, W., Egginton, W., Egginton, W., Padrón, R., Padrón, R., Kaplan, R., … Samson, A. (2015, April 20). The Hamlet Effect: Stanford Humanities Center. Stanford Humanities Today. https://shc.stanford.edu/arcade/interventions/hamlet-effect
- Professional, C. C. medical. (n.d.). Depression: Causes, symptoms, type s & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9290-depression
- Shaw, A B. “Depressive Illness Delayed Hamlet’s Revenge.” Medical Humanities, Institute of Medical Ethics, 1 Dec. 2002, https://mh.bmj.com/content/28/2/92.short.
Sprockets and Springes 