Topic > Depiction of madness in Shakespeare's Hamlet: Ophelia's schizophrenia

In William Shakespeare's play, the tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, written around 1600, the character of Ophelia is clearly diagnosed with mental illness" Schizophrenia" as it shows a set of its symptoms. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally, causing hallucinations, delusions, and unclear thoughts that can be disabling. Its symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and speech, motor behavior, impaired ability to function, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, disturbances of emotions, etc. Mental illness is genetically diagnosed and can be treated through primary healthcare, access to essential medications prohibited for schizophrenia, supported housing and employment, psychological training, etc. Ophelia is a character in Hamlet who is diagnosed with the mental illness "Schizophrenia". His diagnosis in the first acts of the play is weak, however, his mental illness reaches its peak in act 4, when a cluster of symptoms of schizophrenia is shown. She is mourning the death of her father which makes her even sicker and more confused, as Ophelia “sings” of her father's death and her grief for him to Queen Gertrude, singing, “He's gone and gone, lady, he's gone and gone; at his head a green herb, at his heels a stone. Ophelia's symptoms continue to worsen to the point that she doesn't even make sense of her words, much less speak them but rather sing them. This is a symptom rather shown in the Mayo Clinic informative article titled “Schizophrenia” published in 2018, in which a symptom of schizophrenia was disorganized thinking and speech, in which the person strung together meaningless words that cannot be understood , which Ophelia clearly does. Secondly, Ophelia sings of her emotions and her madness, giving "rosemary for remembrance", which symbolizes faithfulness and remembrance, perhaps to win back Hamlet's love or trying to show her brother Laertes what is happening. “And there are pansies, this is for thoughts,” which perhaps could be for Hamlet as pansies symbolize love and admiration for another person. Ophelia's conflicting emotions are a symptom included in the World Health Organization's informative article titled “Schizophrenia” published in 2018 which reads: “Disorders of emotions: marked apathy or disconnection between reported emotions,” as Ophelia evidently displays since Ophelia is torn by the love she has for her brother Laertes and her epic love Hamlet. Third, Ophelia sings her confused thoughts and gives flowers, real or imaginary, from a tree. “Your sister is drowned, Laertes,” the Queen tells Laertes. Ophelia's symptoms worsen so much that she gives up, as the Queen describes her "clothes thrown open, like a mermaid as they carried her up, moment when she sang snatches of old praises", and "like a person incapable of her own anguish" . or as a native and gifted creature.” Two symptoms of schizophrenia appear, the first of which is “confused and disordered thinking,” which is a symptom of mental illness. And the second symptom is the effect of confused thinking which causes Ophelia to have "suicidal thoughts and behaviors", as Ophelia is able to swim back to life, however, she decides not to because it was only a matter of time before her. the clothes got heavily soaked from the water that pulled her out of her song "to muddy death". Please note: this is just one.