Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - The...

The Necessary Madness of Hamlet Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a complex play, filled with layers of meaning. These are often revealed through the madness of the characters and the theme of madness throughout the play. Although Hamlet and Ophelia are the only characters thought to be so afflicted, the reactions of other characters to this madness mirrors their own preoccupations. When one refers to madness in Hamlet, most would think of Hamlets madness, or at least that that he was pretending to possess. Although Ophelia does go insane and ultimately commits suicide, the central lunacy of the play revolves around Hamlet himself. Hamlets plan to act mad is completely unexplained. It is safe to†¦show more content†¦Polonius is probably the most proactive with his theory, by making elaborate spy plans to test it. Ophelia reluctantly seems to agree with her father, but it may be presumed that this is because she is very reliant on him for her opinions. Horatio, Hamlets best friend, knows that Hamlet is not truly crazy. Many believe that Hamlet is using an appearance of lunacy in order to be able to express his contempt for everyone he sees. The most interesting thing about all of the characters guesses as to the logic behind Hamlets insanity is that the majority of their opinions stem from the thing that most plagues or preoccupies them. Claudius believes that Hamlet is crazy because he has a secret. This was ironic because the secret that Hamlet does have is that he knows that Claudius is his fathers murderer. The very secret that plagues Claudius is the same that plagues Hamlet. Hamlets mother, Gertrude, is wrapped up in her guilt about marrying Claudius so soon after the death of her late husband. She thinks that this must be what makes Hamlet rant so incoherently. While spying on Hamlet for the King, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern decide that he is going crazy because he can no longer fulfill his potential. Their betrayal of their school chum is fueled by the same blind ambition that they believefuels Hamlets insanity. Polonius thinks that Hamlet must be madShow MoreRelatedThe Complexity Of Vessity Insanit y In William Shakespeares Hamlet1016 Words   |  5 Pagescomedy, tragedy, and histories. One of his famous tragedies play is Hamlet, which based on Prince Hamlet’s revengeful plan against his uncle, King Claudius. However, some critics question Hamlet’s insanity and they believe Hamlet is actually pretending to be insane. The purpose of this essay is to examine the extent to which the character, Hamlet, is insane. Despite different critics’ opinions regarding Hamlet’s insanity, it seems Hamlet is not insane at the beginning but becomes insane when he confrontsRead MoreHamlet, By William Shakespeare Essay1636 Words   |  7 PagesMr. Levine English 101 Research Paper Hamlet Hamlet is categorized as one of the greatest plays ever written. In the play the main character Prince Hamlet has a very complicated character. As the play goes along Hamlet displays a wide range of emotions through his actions and his words. With doing this, it creates controversy amongst the critics and readers of the play. They find it difficult to come to a conclusion of whether Hamlet s â€Å"madness† is sincere or if he is simply a fakeRead MorePolonius Mistakes Essay1742 Words   |  7 Pagesbehavior in Shakespeares Hamlet. Polonius is a domestic tyrant wreaking on his son and his daughter revenge for his own spoiled life (Bloom 111) and is an elderly and longwinded courtier and chief counselor (Dominic 96) to the king. Polonius is in a high position in the Danish court, and he has a problem with talking too much. He is only concerned about his reputation, not Ophelia, the young and innocent daughter of Polonius . . . (Polonius Benet). The main character, Hamlet, is the sonRead MoreHamlet : Revenge, Uncertainty, And Madness1252 Words   |  6 PagesHamlet is one of William Shakespeare’s tragedy play surrounded with three major themes: Revenge, Uncertainty, and Madness. Throughout the play, the theme Madness is surrounding the protagonist, Hamlet. Although, nowadays, Hamlet’s madness is still an enigma to the readers. His words and actions are highly debated whether he is deeply submerged in the sea of madness or he is merely acting. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, madness is â€Å"the state of having serious mental sickness, or showingRead MoreMadness versus Reality in Hamlet1550 Words   |  6 PagesRunning Head: Hamlet Madness Versus Reality A tragic story motivated by revenge leads to a tragic end with avengers hunger for revenge results in death of the murderer and most often demise of the avenger himself. Revenge tragedies share within themselves some common aspects; sub plots, madness, passion, one or more violent scenes and a main character filled with hate for a significant opponent usually due to a crime committed against the avenger or the main character. Since authorities of theRead MoreThe Death and Madness of Ophelia1248 Words   |  5 PagesJonathan Robinson English Comp II Mark Barnes April 19, 2013 â€Å"The Madness Death of Ophelia† Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: By; William Shakespeare In Hamlet, Shakespeare makes it clear that Prince Hamlet is insane or at least on the verge of â€Å"madness.† However, Ophelia (daughter of Polonius, King of Denmark) begins to go mad, as well, after Hamlet kills her father, and the other numerous tragedies that plague her like a black cloud hovering about until her untimely death. In this literaryRead MoreTheme Of Insanity In Hamlet1160 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Membrane Many people, while reading and studying Hamlet, often question the sanity of various characters throughout the play. There are many signs throughout Shakespeare’s writing that indicate a lost sense of sanity in the main characters Hamlet, his uncle/father Claudius, his mother/aunt Gertrude, and Ophelia. Each of these character’s sanity plays a large role in the plot of the play. In the beginning of the play the main character, Hamlet, gets a visit from the ghost of his father that hasRead MoreEssay on Shakespeares Hamlet Was Certainly Sane2229 Words   |  9 Pages     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Shakespeares tragedy, Hamlet, the character of Hamlet feigns insanity. For a person in his situation, having ones peers think of one as crazy can be quite beneficial. His father, the king, had just died, and he is visited by a ghost who appears to be his fathers spirit. The ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who is now the current king and who recently married the former kings wife. Hamlet vows revenge and, as a tool to aid him in that plan, convincesRead More Hamlet Essay2009 Words   |  9 Pages During Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet has to deal with the responsibility of revenging his father’s murder. He learns of his tragic death when the ghost of King Hamlet comes to him and tells him the truth of his murder: he was killed by his brother Claudius, for his crown and his wife. Hamlet decides that the best plan of action is to fake madness to attain his father’s vengeance by murdering Clau dius. As the play develops, Hamlets act of being a madman becomes more and moreRead MoreHidden Ghost By William Shakespeare1375 Words   |  6 PagesHidden Ghost In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, King Hamlet is killed by Claudius, Prince Hamlet’s uncle. The late king returns as what is suspected to be a ghost or spirit and gives Prince Hamlet orders to seek revenge on Claudius and murder him. This causes Hamlet to intensely consider whether honor or logic is more important. Although Shakespeare only directly refers to one ghost, there are many more ghosts behind the scenes. In the tragedy by Shakespeare, Hamlet as well as all the characters have

A Lesson Plan on Rational Number Lines

Students will use a large number line to understand rational numbers and to position positive and negative numbers correctly. Class: Sixth Grade Duration: 1 class period, ~45-50 minutes Materials: Long strips of paper (adding machine tape works well)Display model of a number lineRulers Key Vocabulary: positive, negative, number line, rational numbers Objectives: Students will construct and use a large number line to develop an understanding of rational numbers. Standards Met: 6.NS.6a. Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates. Recognize opposite signs of numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line. Lesson Introduction Discuss the lesson target with students. Today, they will be learning about rational numbers. Rational numbers are numbers that can be used as fractions or ratios. Ask students to list any examples of those numbers that they can think of. Step-by-Step Procedure Lay out the long strips of paper on tables, with small groups; have your own strip at the board to model what students should be doing.Have students measure two-inch markings all the way to both ends of the paper strip.Somewhere in the middle, model for students that this is zero. If this is their first experience with rational numbers below zero, they’ll be confused that the zero isn’t located on the far left end.Have them mark the positive numbers to the right of zero. Every marking should be one whole number - 1, 2, 3, etc.Paste your number strip on the board, or have a number line started on the overhead machine.If this is your students’ first attempt at understanding negative numbers, you’ll want to begin slowly by explaining the concept in general. One good way, especially with this age group, is by discussing money owed. For example, you owe me $1. You don’t have any money, so your money status can’t be anywhere along the right (positi ve) side of zero. You need to get a dollar in order to pay me back and be right at zero again. So you could be said to have -$1. Depending on your location, the temperature is also a frequently discussed negative number. If it needs to warm up considerably in order to be 0 degrees, we are in the negative temperatures.Once students have the beginning understanding of this, have them begin marking their number lines. Again, it will be hard for them to understand that they are writing their negative numbers -1, -2, -3, -4 from right to left, as opposed to left to right. Model this carefully for them, and if necessary, use examples such as the ones described in Step 6 to increase their understanding.Once students have their number lines created, see if some of them can create their own stories to go along with their rational numbers. For example, Sandy owes Joe 5 dollars. She only has 2 dollars. If she gives him her $2, she could be said to have how much money? (-$3.00) Most students ma y not be ready for problems like this, but for those that are, they can keep a record of them and they could become a classroom learning center. Homework/Assessment Let students take their number lines home and have them practice some simple addition problems with the number strip. This isn’t an assignment to be graded, but one that will give you an idea of your students understanding of negative numbers. You can also use these number lines to assist you as students learn about negative fractions and decimals. -3 8-1 5-4 4 Evaluation Take notes during the class discussion and the individual and group work on the number lines. Don’t assign any grades during this lesson, but keep track of who is seriously struggling, and who is ready to move on.

Geography Coursework Free Essays

string(27) " to travel into Pickering\." Pickering is a historic market town located in North Yorkshire, between York and the North Yorkshire coast. Pickering has many tourist attractions like, the steam railway, Pickering castle, the market and the countryside. It is the gateway to the North York Moors National Park, with its appealing scenery. We will write a custom essay sample on Geography Coursework or any similar topic only for you Order Now We are interested to find out what it is that specifically attracts tourists to that area. This is a map of Pickering along with the attractions of Pickering Two groups took a geography trip to Pickering on two separate days and. Both groups created their own questionnaires and we asked random members of the public these questions. These are some of the questions we asked people while we were in Pickering. Once we had received our results from our questionnaires we compared them with the other group’s results 1.Do you live in: A. Pickering B. the area around Pickering C. or are you a tourist 2.What would you say is the main tourist attraction A. The castle B. The steam railway C. The countryside 3. What method of transport did you use to get here today A. Walk B. Car C. Bus D. Other 4. How long did it take you to travel here today A. Less than 15 minutes B. 15 minutes – 1 hour C. 1 hour + 5. If you are local: Do you do most of your shopping in Pickering I Yes ii No 6. If you are a tourist: A Is this your first visit to Pickering I Yes ii No B. Would you visit Pickering again Table A Where people live Wednesday Thursday Pickering 58% 52% Around Pickering 26% 18% Tourists 16% 30% With these results you can clearly see that a majority of the interviewees were mainly from Pickering. This is somewhat unexpected as Pickering relies on tourists to visit the area. I think the groups went at the wrong time of year because if we went during the school holidays then you should see that there would be an increase in the number of tourists because they would have the time off school and work. : Diagram A My first hypothesis is that on the day that I went on the trip to Pickering I thought there were more local people than tourists. I can prove this with my results from Diagram A and Table A from our questionnaires we asked. However if we had visited Pickering on the market day then we would have seen an increase in the number of local people as the market would attract more local people rather than tourists. Table B The main tourist attraction Wednesday Thursday Castle 12% 15% Steam railway 64% 55% Countryside 17% 15% Other 7% 15% Diagram B The results above show that the on both days the steam railway is the favoured tourist attraction with the majority of the percentage. These results are not exactly unexpected for the reason that the steam railway travels through the countryside so people would still catch a glimpse of the countryside, but because they are on the steam railway they would maybe think that the attraction they are seeing is the steam railway when actually they are viewing the countryside as well. This is a picture of the favourite tourist attraction the steam railway. With my second hypothesis I can say that people preferred the steam railway to the other attractions. I can show this with Diagram B and Table B for the reason that my results show that on Wednesday 64% of people preferred the railway and on Thursday 55% of people favoured the steam railway to the other attractions. Table C Transport Wednesday Thursday Walk 20% 30% Car 56.5% 36% Bus 14.5% 18% Steam train 6.5% 10% Other 3% 6% With these figure we have collated you can clearly see that the main method of transport was the car. This isn’t surprising seen as people rely too much on cars at present, with the majority of people owning one. This is surprising seen as the main tourist attraction is the steam railway so they must have left their cars in the car park while they travelled on the steam railway. After the car, walking was next on both days. With the groups both going during school time and not in a holiday, there would have been more interviewees that are local to the area of Pickering and would have been able to walk there. My group’s results were: Diagram C. For the third hypothesis I can say that the favoured method of transport would be the car. I can back this up with Diagram C and Table C because 56.5% used a car on Wednesday and 36% on Thursday. However on Thursday only 36% travelled by car which maybe suggest that on Thursday there were more local people in Pickering but if you look at my results they show that on Wednesday there were more local people in Pickering. Diagram D Table D Travelling time Wednesday Thursday Less than 15 minutes 48% 42% 15 minutes- 1 hour 31% 36% More than 1 hour 21% 22% On both days it took more people less than 15 minutes to travel into Pickering. You read "Geography Coursework" in category "Papers" The majority of people took less than 15 minutes to travel to Pickering. This is mainly because most of the interviewees were from Pickering and the area around Pickering. This is surprising as Pickering is a tourist town and most of the people we asked were either from Pickering or the area around Pickering and were not actually tourists. My fifth hypothesis is that with the travelling time I can say that a majority of people questioned on both days were from Pickering as it took them less time to travel into Pickering. I can back this up with the results from Table D and Diagram D which both say that the people questioned took 15 minutes or less to travel into Pickering. We also asked people whether they did most o their shopping in Pickering. Our results were; Diagram E These results show that most of the interviewees didn’t do most of their shopping in Pickering. This isn’t surprising as Pickering doesn’t have a major shopping store or any big name stores. So the local people will have to travel out of Pickering to buy all of the luxury items. But the shops that Pickering has are selling the basic goods. With these results they show that a majority of people on both days do their shopping outside of Pickering. Table E Do you do most of your shopping in Pickering? Wednesday Thursday Yes 33% 44% No 67% 56% These results show that most of the interviewees didn’t do most of their shopping in Pickering. This isn’t surprising as Pickering doesn’t have a major shopping store or any big name stores. So the local people will have to travel out of Pickering to buy all of the luxury items. But the shops that Pickering has are selling the basic goods. With these results they show that a majority of people on both days do their shopping outside of Pickering. My sixth hypothesis is that I can say that the people questioned would rather do their shopping outside of Pickering and I can establish this with Table E and Diagram E with both of these showing that people prefer shopping outside of Pickering. Along with only 33% on Wednesday and 44% on Thursday saying they do most of their shopping in Pickering. Table F Is this your first visit to Pickering? Wednesday Thursday Yes 12% 33% No 88% 67% Diagram F Most of the interviewees said that this wasn’t their first visit to Pickering. I think with this question we should have asked if they were a tourist or not. That way we would have had a better idea of who were tourists and who were local to the area this way we would have had different results from the people we interviewed. With a lot of people saying that it wasn’t their first visit to Pickering shows that if they were tourists then they enjoyed visiting Pickering and they decided to travel there again. For my seventh hypothesis I can say that people the people questioned had visited Pickering before and as a consequence of this they visited Pickering again. I can prove this with my Table F and Diagram F. Table F shows that on both days a majority of people had visited Pickering before. However there were a small number of people who hadn’t visited Pickering before. I think that if people said that it was their first visit to Pickering then we should have asked them if they enjoyed their time in Pickering and if they would visit the area again. Diagram G Table G Would you visit Pickering again? Wednesday Thursday Yes 96.5% 82% No 3.5% 18% With these sets of results they show that a lot of the people questioned said that they would visit Pickering again. That shows that Pickering is a pleasant place and is a delightful experience. It seems that on Thursday there were more people that wouldn’t visit Pickering so maybe the people on Thursday thought that Pickering wasn’t an enjoyable place to visit. Whereas Wednesday’s results prove that people visiting Pickering was satisfied with the area. My eighth hypothesis is that I’m able to say that given the chance people would visit Pickering again. I can provide evidence to this with Table G and Diagram G which both say that the majority of people enjoyed their visit to Pickering and would take another trip to the town of Pickering A semi-conclusion would be that a majority of people on both days was fond of Pickering and many of the interviewees had visited Pickering before our visit there and would gladly visit again. Although, there isn’t a large shopping centre nearby to attract the tourists or for the locals to do their shopping, people still flock to Pickering for the market on Wednesdays and the steam railway. A lot of people who had travelled to Pickering didn’t travel for a lengthy amount of time which suggests that a lot of people who were visiting Pickering were from nearby and didn’t have to travel very far. Recently I took a trip with a few of my class-mates to Beverley and asked people there the same questionnaire with a few alterations. We did that so that we could compare the results from Pickering to those of Beverley. We found that a majority of people asked were from the area around Beverley unlike that of people asked in Pickering as most of them were from Pickering itself. Unlike the Pickering survey, were over half the people asked didn’t do their shopping in Pickering. The Beverley survey recorded that half of the people in question did their shopping in Beverley. We asked if people would visit the designated town again given the choice and in Pickering there was a few people who said no but in Beverley everybody in question would visit Beverley again. To conclude my study I can say that the reason people are specifically attracted to Pickering is that most people are interested in the steam railway or the market which are both located in Pickering. Where as, in Beverley people were attracted to visiting Beverley because they were visiting or have visited Beverley Minster. A few ways in which I could have improved my study is that I could have included a plan of the shops and businesses of Pickering. Also, I could have written about the shops and businesses and say if they were high, medium or low order businesses. I could have also asked more people the questionnaire which would have made a difference to my results. Also I could have visited Pickering or Beverley on multiple days and then compared the results to see what differences there would be and I could compare each day with one another. How to cite Geography Coursework, Papers

Dixie Chicks - Fly free essay sample

Are you one of those who despises country music? Well, atone time I was, too. It used to be just rap and alternative music blaring throughmy stereo speakers, but that was before one of my friends introduced me to theDixie Chicks and their sophomore CD, Fly. This is not justany old album. You dont buy it because there are a couple songs on it you like;much to my surprise, there are only one or two songs I dont like. There areupbeat songs like Some Days You Gotta Dance, funny songs likeGoodbye Earl and slow, sweet songs such as, HeartbreakTown and Cowboy Take Me Away (my favorite). Anotherthing that sets this album apart is most of the songs have something to do withthe lives of the women in the band. Let Him Fly refers to the need tobe on ones own, Cowboy Take Me Away is about finally finding truelove and the album is titled Fly because of the Dixie Chicks careertaking off. We will write a custom essay sample on Dixie Chicks Fly or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So whether you like slow, sweet songs to relax to or fast,upbeat songs to dance to, this CD is for you. Dont be scared off because thisalbum is in the country music section of the store, it is much, much more. Dixie Chicks - Fly free essay sample Dixie Chicks again show their amazing talent onFly, a delightful mix of country and zip that youll find hard toquit listening to. This is one CD that you can listen to from start to finish andlove every single minute. No matter what mood youre in, youll find it hard toresist smiling while listening. Like me, you may think youre not fond ofcountry. But, after you hear just the first song, youll be tappin your toes. Itdemonstrates that country can be a fun experience and not just a boring mansinging about love in a cowboy hat. From track one, Ready ToRun, to track thirteen, Let Him Fly, there are songs foranyone. No one will be able to resist the Chicks carefree and sassy pep. You canrun, dance, sing or study to this delightful array of tracks. The DixieChicks Natalie, Emily and Marty have been around for a couple of years, andthis is their second album. We will write a custom essay sample on Dixie Chicks Fly or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They are a group of women getting to do what theyvealways dreamed of. Fly is a perfect example of the fun country soulsthese women possess. Compared to any other country CD I have heard, thissassy mix of tunes is by far the best. Hats off to the Dixie Chicks. This CDrocks!