Hamlet is a great play by William Shakespeare. In the book, which is really the script to the play, the young adult Hamlet is plotting a way to kill his uncle, Claudius, who he suspects killed his father. Throughout the play Hamlet acts like he is insane to try to find out if his uncle really did kill his father. Once Hamlet concludes that Claudius did kill his dad, Hamlet attempts to kill Claudius. Instead of killing Claudius when he has a chance, Hamlet waits for the perfect time. By doing this Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, which leads to Ophelia's suicide, which leads to Laertes wanting to kill Hamlet. Laertes wants to have a duel with Hamlet to settle their differences but Laertes has the plan to poison Hamlet with the tip of his sword. If Hamlet isn't poisoned with the sword tip then he would be offered a drink of poison. This duel leads to Hamlet, Laertes, Gertrude and Claudius all getting poisoned. Hamlet finally gets his revenge against Claudius in the end but dies shortly after.
Hamlet
The first character from Hamlet that might have a mental disorder is Hamlet himself. Hamlet shows a number of symptoms for many different psychological disorders throughout the play. The first thing Hamlet shows is the Borderline Personality Disorder. One sign that someone has Borderline Personality Disorder is that they have unstable and intense relationships. Hamlet shows this with Ophelia when in one scene he acts like he loves her and the next scene he is saying how he doesn't like her or just hates her. The second sign that Hamlet shows is recurrent suicidal behavior, he shows this when he gives the to be or not to be speech. The last sign that might point to Hamlet having this personality disorder is emotional disability. Hamlets emotions change rapidly throughout the play. He might be faking these emotions to get attention but if he isn't it contributes to him having Borderline Personality Disorder.
The second disorder Hamlet shows is Mixed Delusional Disorder. The types of delusional disorder Hamlet might have are erotomanic, grandiose, jealous and persecutory. Erotomanic is when someone believes that another person is in love with him. Hamlet shows this after he thinks Ophelia is still in love with him after he pushes her away in the previous scene. Grandiose is when a person has an over-inflated sense of worth, power, and knowledge. Hamlet shows this constantly when making plans. He knows that he is worth more and is more powerful than most people because he is a prince but he also thinks that he is smarter than everyone around him. Jealous delusional disorder is when someone believes that their significant other is unfaithful to them. Hamlet seems to believe that Ophelia is a whore and tells her to go to a nunnery which could also mean brothel. Hamlet shows that he might have Persecutory Delusional Disorder when he is worried about his mother. Some signs that someone has this disorder is that they believe that someone close to them are being mistreated or harmed. Someone with this disorder might also complain to legal authorities. Hamlet has a fairly large conversation with his mother to have her stop being with Claudius and is worried for her.
The second disorder Hamlet shows is Mixed Delusional Disorder. The types of delusional disorder Hamlet might have are erotomanic, grandiose, jealous and persecutory. Erotomanic is when someone believes that another person is in love with him. Hamlet shows this after he thinks Ophelia is still in love with him after he pushes her away in the previous scene. Grandiose is when a person has an over-inflated sense of worth, power, and knowledge. Hamlet shows this constantly when making plans. He knows that he is worth more and is more powerful than most people because he is a prince but he also thinks that he is smarter than everyone around him. Jealous delusional disorder is when someone believes that their significant other is unfaithful to them. Hamlet seems to believe that Ophelia is a whore and tells her to go to a nunnery which could also mean brothel. Hamlet shows that he might have Persecutory Delusional Disorder when he is worried about his mother. Some signs that someone has this disorder is that they believe that someone close to them are being mistreated or harmed. Someone with this disorder might also complain to legal authorities. Hamlet has a fairly large conversation with his mother to have her stop being with Claudius and is worried for her.
Another disorder that Hamlet certainly has is the factitious disorder called Munchausen Syndrome. Someone with this syndrome will repeatedly act as if they have a physical or mental illness. All throughout the play, Hamlet acts as if he is crazy just to get attention. The only sign that is pointing away from this disorder is that Hamlet is acting this way to achieve some benefits, like finding out if his father was murdered or not.
Hamlet also shows signs of having Adjustment Disorder as well. Someone with this disorder might have trouble coping with stress from major life changes. Two major life changes that Hamlet experiences is his fathers death and his mother getting |
married immediately after that death. Hamlet is having trouble coping with these events months after they happened. This is also a sign of Adjustment Disorder, people usually experience symptoms within three months of the events and usually don't last for more than six months after.
A possible disorder that Hamlet shows is schizophrenia. Someone who has schizophrenia can experience hallucinations. Hamlet sees a ghost in the play that the other people in the room can't see. This ghost that he sees might be all a hallucination to him.
A possible disorder that Hamlet shows is schizophrenia. Someone who has schizophrenia can experience hallucinations. Hamlet sees a ghost in the play that the other people in the room can't see. This ghost that he sees might be all a hallucination to him.
Ophelia
Ophelia doesn't have nearly as many problems as Hamlet. One problem that she might have is an Adjustment Disorder like Hamlet. This disorder would have come up right after her fathers death. This death in her family could have led her to become severely depressed and partially crazy. The severe depression could have led to her suicide.
OTher Characters
Polonius seems like he is pretty normal but he might have some sort of attention deficit disorder. In the play he is found continuing on with a list in a conversation and coming back to the conversation not remembering what they were talking about. His memory might also be going.
Claudius doesn't seem like he has any psychological problems other than that he is power hungry.
Claudius doesn't seem like he has any psychological problems other than that he is power hungry.