The play Hamlet is about a prince who has just lost his father Hamlet, the king of Denmark. Shortly after the loss of his father, his mother, queen Gertrude, married his uncle, now king Claudius. This experience made prince Hamlet go through a series of emotions, from happy, erratic, to sad, and suicidal. He has a array of relationships, a lover, Ophelia, a friend, Horatio, and a nemesis, King Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet has seen the ghost of his father, in which he was told the killer of King Hamlet had been Claudius, his brother in order to obtain the throne. Hamlet plots his revenge to kill Claudius, which barely successfully happens by the end. In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, Hamlet can be seen as a character displaying “madness.” The uncontrollable madness displayed by Hamlet can be presumed to be signs of mental illness such as borderline personality disorder (BPD). Through symptoms of stress related paranoia/loss of reality, intense relationships with others, and risky and suicidal tendencies.
One of BPD’s biggest symptoms is a loss of reality and surrounding paranoia, which can be seen when Hamlet is conversing with the ghost of his father, King hamlet. In Act 1, scene 5, Hamlet has a long deep conversation with the ghost of his father, this is when he learns about how the death had happened, by poison being poured into his ear while he was sleeping in the garden by Claudius, after this King Hamlet had been put the idea of plotting revenge into Hamlets head. Hamlet in the state of dissociation and anger with Polonius all started the plot for Hamlet to murder King Polonius. This is justifiable of the denial of his father’s death, trying to figure out how and why his father had died, wanting his father to be able to speak to his father again. This is a reasonable response to the trauma of losing a parent.
Another huge trauma response to the loss of a parental figure and result of a symptom of BPD would be intense irrational relationships, Such as his relationship with Ophelia. In Act 3 scene one, Hamlet can be seen reacting incredibly irrational and absurd toward Ophelia when she tries to give Hamlet back the stuff he had given to her. Later, during Hamlet’s play in Act 3, scene 2 when he is nice and acting loving toward Ophelia and trying to sit with her. This is a display of the switch of emotion from caring to not caring toward Ophelia in their relationship. As he would tell her he loved her, and switching up to telling her that she is worthless. This shows irrational mood switches from kind and caring to not being afraid to drop someone in a moment’s notice, this is showing a fear of abandonment, which is another huge symptom of BPD, resulting in the abandonment he felt after his fathers death and his mothers immediate re-marry into the throne.
The last biggest sign of BPD would be the sign risky suicidal tendencies, shown by Hamlet in his to be or not to be speech in Act 3, scene 1. Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech is presumed to be the question of: Should I commit suicide? If so, how? And would it be worth it–especially if it means to be looked down on in the public eye? The state of mind he is in is to represent the final moments of belief in himself and belief in society, if everyone is meant to die, then is there a point in continuing to live. Hamlet’s speech was a result of not knowing how to react to the treatment of his fellow peers, as his irrational behaviors had overcome him and been shown towards others. The reason being for these risky behaviors is the trauma overwhelming him, and the result of his personality disorder, where emotions can be overwhelming and stronger than the average person.
Hamlets “madness” can be seen as a result of characteristics of BPD, such as paranoia and dissociation, Intense relationships, and suicidal tendencies. These symptoms can all be shown by hamlets irrational and sporadic behavior of one thing going on to another. The overwhelming emotion and craze of the loss of his father led him into the trauma response of these uncontrollable emotions, leading him into the ending fall of the fight over Ophelia.