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In Hamlet, madness is portrayed through both Hamlet and Ophelia, but while Hamlet feigns his insanity, Ophelia truly goes insane by her father's murder, and the unjust harshness of Hamlet. They each share a common connection: the loss of a parental figure. Hamlet loses his father as a result of a horrible murder, as does Ophelia. In her situation is more severe because it is her lover who murders her father and all of her hopes for her future as well.
Ultimately, it is also more detrimental to her character and causes her melancholy and grief to quickly turn to irretrievable madness.

As Hamlet feigns away insanity, Ophelia begins to descend into true madness. In Act 3, scene 1, line 91 Hamlet begins with his malicious sarcasm toward her. "I humbly thank you, well, well, well," (ActIII.i.166) he says to her regarding her initial pleasantries. Hamlet readily refuses that he cared for her. He tells her and all of his uninvited listeners, "No, not I, I never gave you aught" (166).......

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Approximate Word Count: 479
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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