A* essay on madness in Hamlet (English Literature A Level)
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Course
Drama
Institution
WJEC
The essay title is: How far would you agree that ‘Hamlet presents us with a flawed protagonist who is unable to escape the turmoil of his mind?’
Perfect A* essay which covers context, critics, language techniques and has a clear argument with many quotations.
How far would you agree that ‘Hamlet presents us with a flawed protagonist who is unable to escape the
turmoil of his mind?’ Assess this in relation to Hamlet’s madness, making close reference to relevant
contexts. [45]
With a protagonist who suffers an intellectualised melancholia, causing a feigned madness, Hamlet is a “vulgar
and barbarous drama” (Voltaire) which seeks to examine wider societal corruption in both the courts of both
Elizabeth and James, as well as the monumental changes enacted by the European Renaissance of the 16 th and
17th centuries. Although Hamlet’s “antic disposition” can be seen as his hamartia, it arguably becomes his
greatest strength, and as such, it cannot be argued that he is ‘flawed’ and ‘unable to escape the turmoil of his
mind.’
Hamlet is a Renaissance character forced to operate under the corrupt system of Claudius; as Moriarity
argues, “Claudius is the centre of evil in the play,” and thus it can be argued that this, not his mind, is his
biggest constraint which he is forced to attempt to escape. Since the “whole state of Denmark” was “rankly
abused” through Claudius’ upset of both the Great Chain of Being and Divine Right to Rule, Denmark has
become a “damned” “bed of incest,” and this new state of entrapment (“Denmark is a prison”) is what Hamlet
is forced to operate under. Denmark has become a reflection of Augustine’s idea of a postlapsarian world (as
Lila Grindlay examined in her “unweeded garden” essay), something that is “foul” and “unnatural,” full of
“honeying” and “lovemaking,” and at a great distance from God. Hamlet uses grotesque graphic imagery
throughout to reflect his disgust of this corruption, such as “stye” “garbage” and “infects unseen,” presenting
Claudius as a disease which seeks to destroy Denmark, and Hamlet himself. Indeed, this presentation of the
Court of Elsinore perhaps reflects the corruption in the courts of Elizabeth and James, in which ‘favourites’
such as Robert Dudley dominated court politics, often leading to internal conflicts, such as between the Robert
Devereux and Robert Cecil in 1601. Pandering and sycophancy was the system on which these courts
operated, and this again reflects a selfish, decadent postlapsarian world in which Augustine suggested. Indeed,
the poisoning of Old King Hamlet in his “orchard” by a “serpent,” seems to directly reflect the story of the Fall
of Man in Genesis 3. Having to operate under these conditions, it is clear that Hamlet has become in some way
a flawed protagonist. For example, Hamlet’s murder of Polonius (“dead for a Ducat, dead”), treatment of
Rosencrans and Guildenstern (“snakes” consigned to execution in England), and maltreatment of female
characters such as Ophelia and Gertrude (multiple harsh imperatives such as “get thee to a nunnery” and “sit
you down”), do seem to indicate how the corruption of Elsinore has negatively affected Hamlet. Indeed,
Hamlet seems to be reflecting Claudius’ Machiavellian outlook, doing whatever it takes, even feigning an
“antic disposition” to restore balance to Denmark. However, although it is clear that “he too has become
corrupted” (Moriarity), it can be argued that this is a necessary evil to restore peace and balance to Denmark,
through returning the Great Chain of Being to its rightful place in society. This is similar to the problem faced
by Elizabeth in the 1580s, during which she had to decide whether to execute her cousin, another ruler, Mary
Queen of Scots, due to her involvement in many plots against her (the Babington plot in 1586 being the most
notable). In carrying out the execution, Elizabeth would open herself up to further attack, as it would persuade
the common people that the murder of a monarch was possible. Furthermore, it would upset the Great Chain
of Being and Divine Right to Rule, leading to the chance of social unrest. In this way, although his actions
suggest a ‘flawed protagonist,’ it can be argued that this was necessary to return peace and balance, and
therefore, Hamlet’s corruption is not his biggest shortfall, and was necessary to “revenge” his father’s
“Murder most foul and unnatural.”
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