Question Description
Help me study for my Literature class. I’m stuck and don’t understand.
- One of the most prominent themes in Hamlet is acting; give an example of false appearances in the play.
- Since Gertrude does not see the ghost, what light does this fact shed on the question of Hamlet’s sanity?
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running head: HAMLET’S STATE OF MIND
Hamlet’s State of Mind
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HAMLET’S STATE OF MIND
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In Act 3, Hamlet confronts his mother over her marriage to Claudius and to find out if she
knows anything about the death of his father. At some point, Hamlet converses with some ghost
and this makes his mother question his sanity and she concludes that his son is mad (Heilbrun,
1957, pp. 201-206). Hamlet sees the ghost while Gertrude does not. If Hamlet is mad then the
question of whether the ghost exists or not is also raised; so, is the conversation between Hamlet
and the ghost as a sign that he is actually mad?
In this scene, the ghost appears and says: “Do not forget: this visitation, is but to whet thy
almost blunted purpose. But, look, amazement on thy mother sits: O, step between her and her
fighting soul: ...
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