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megballerina
11-27-2008, 12:19 AM
I am writing a paper on Hamlet, and I need to prove that Hamlet was not mad because he reasoned according to a divine design. Can anyone think of a few examples of how Hamlet was convicted or he reasoned that there is a divine design?

Gladys
11-27-2008, 06:00 PM
...Hamlet was not mad because he reasoned according to a divine design. Hamlet accepts a Christian view of life: its God, morality and its concepts of sin, prayer, purgatory and heaven. He alludes to scripture frequently (Abel, blood, crowing, dust, cherubim, sparrow, devil, spirit, Jephthah and many more). And like most Christians, he is not without serious doubts. Clearly, his ability to reason is exceptional.

None of this bears on madness, which relates to Hamlet's ability to behave, or be seen to behave, appropriately in the world he inhabits. In this sense Claudius, Polonius, Gertrude and Ophelia question Hamlet's sanity, whereas Hamlet says he is just feigning madness. Who is more right?

bigbyrd
12-09-2008, 06:23 PM
So do you have any examples of this?