Monday, February 9, 2009
Hamlet's Emotional Detach
Throughout the first four acts of the play Hamlet is presented by Shakespeare as a composed, intellectually aware individual, who is very aware of the emotions that drive him to seek revenge against his uncle. However at the start of act V when Hamlet is presented with the death Ophelia, a death he is completely liable for, he seems to be numb to the event. While I admit that he obviously is filled with rage and temporarily loses his better senses when he attacks Laertes. In general though, I noticed that Hamlet was really unable to sincerely embrace the fact that Ophelia was dead. To me it seemed like the his heart has become numb and detached from the realities of the life he is living. In his quest to avenge his father he has sacrificed his sole, his feelings, and his life. I believe that Shakespeare uses the scene with Ophelia's death to present a theme of the unexpected draw backs of a revenge driven mind. I also believe that Hamlet has spent such a long period of time pretending to be mad that this has also contributed to his detachment from reality. His inability to sincerely interact with family members and most friends created a gap between Hamlet and many of the stabilizing forces in his life. With his mother thinking he is crazy and his lover thinking he the same, I believe that it would be very difficult for someone to stay the same person. Living a lie thus proves to be the other contributing factor in the deterioration of hamlet's emotional capacities.
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6 comments:
Mr. Ginsburg,
While reading Act V I was also puzzled by Hamlet's feelings (or lack thereof) for Ophelia. Your proposition that he has become detached is very interesting. I enjoyed reading your blog and it was very well written.
Miss Orienstein
Elliot,
Nice blog, my friend. I really liked how you discussed the significance of Hamlet's role in Ophelia's death and his actions at her funeral. It seems that we agree upon the way the funeral is presented to Hamlet in that it is a climax for Hamlet's emotional state in the story. Good job
Zach
Ellybelly,
Wow I feel ridiculous for typing that.
I think its an interesting point you make about how even if someone is just pretending to be crazy they can lose touch with their real emotions.
Peace Playa,
The Prince of Belair
At first I thought the brevity of your blog was out of laziness, but then I realized that you chose your words carefully and ended up with the exact diction you wanted. I enjoy you point about Hamlet's detatchment and that he seems to forget that he is not actually mad and does indeed act truly mad.
Good work
E--I like the way you look at the scene and use it to formulate a theory about the reasons for Hamlet's strange behavior. When he apologizes to Laertes later, he says he was not himself in the earlier scene, consistent with your idea that he has experienced a detachment from his own rationality.
Hey Elliot,
I really enjoyed your post. It is clear and too the point. I liked your concluding sentence that "Living a lie thus proves to be the other contributing factor in the deterioration of hamlet's emotional capacities." I agree with this. I think that maybe Hamlet got so into pretending to be crazy that it actually contributed to his mental deterioration. Great job!
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