lets Antic Disposition Hamlet essaysHamlets Antic Disposition Hamlets antic disposition of pretending to become crazy so that he can take revenge of his fathers death was a bad plan. The situations in the play that prove that Hamlets antic disposition was a bad plan are the death of his friend Ophelia, his fighting with his mother, trying to fool the King and Polonius, his own downfall and finally his death. All this situations illustrate why Hamlets antic disposition was a bad plan. Hamlets antic disposition was the main reason why Ophelia committed suicide and why Hamlet fought with his mother.
Hamlet believed that if he showed no more feelings for Ophelia and showed hatred and cruelty for his mother, people and particularly the King and Polonius would believe that he has truly gone crazy. He shows that he has no feelings for Ophelia when he says to her “You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not” (III ,i, 116-118). At the time of Ophelias burial, Hamlet jumps in Ophelias grave saying, “I loved Ophelia. For thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love Make up my sum.
What wilt thou do for her?”(V ,i, 245-247). This clearly indicates that Hamlet did love Ophelia and was only pretending as per his plan. Similarly, Hamlets antic disposition towards his mother is illustrated by the quotation, “Soft, now to my mother. O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever the soul of Nero enter this form bosom.
Let me be cruel, not unnatural; I will speak daggers to her, but use none. “(III, IV, 362-366). In both of these situations, Hamlets antic disposition caused him no gain but resulted in a significant loss. Hamlet believed that if the King and Polonius thought that he was truly crazy, he would be able to kill the King without any problem and take revenge of his fathers death. Hamlets efforts were a complete failure as the King did not fall for his trick but become more worried and cautious of Hamlet. As a result the King wanted to send Hamlet away to England in the care of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as he feared him as per the quotation “I like him not, nor stands it safe with us to let his madness range.
Therefore prepares you. I your commission will forth with dispatch, and he to England shall along with you” (III, iii, 1-4). Polonius also suspected that Hamlet was not crazy but only acting as per the quotation “Though this be madness, yet there is method int”(II, ii, 203). These situations also clearly indicate that Hamlets antic disposition was not successful, as it did not fool the King nor Polonius, the two people Hamlet wanted to fool and take revenge on. The greatest loss of Hamlets antic disposition was his own downfall and the loss of his own life. Hamlets downfall started when he pondered too much about every possible outcome of every situation that arose.
For example, Hamlet did not kill the King when the opportunity arose because Hamlet believed that if he killed the King while he was praying, the King would go to heaven. He felt that this would defeat the whole purpose of seeking revenge which is said by Hamlet in the quotation, “Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, And that his soul may be as damned and black As hell, whereto it goes” (III, iii, 93-95). This lost opportunity for Hamlet, gave time to the King to find out what Hamlet was really up to and make up his own counter plans of eliminating Hamlet. The King eventually came up with a plan with Laertes, who would cause Hamlets death, “Ill touch my point With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly, It may be death. ” (IV, VII, 144-146).
These situations indicate how Hamlets downfall started and resulted in his death. Hamlets antic disposition of pretending to be crazy with intent to kill the King was clearly a bad plan. This is proven by the death of Ophelia who he loved dearly, his fighting with his mother, unsuccessfully trying to fool the King and Polonius, his downfall and the most lethal his own death. These examples show that Hamlets antic disposition was indeed a bad and an ineffective plan. Hamlets antic disposition made him lose control of his own actions and resulted in Hamlet losing everything. Hamlets life ended tragically because of his own tragic flaw, which we all can learn from.
