Summary:
The two plays Hamlet and Equus both revolve heavily around the issue of insanity and viewing them together projects two separate accounts in which to compare and contrast one with the other. The issue of mental illness is successfully highlighted in this paired text study, with the individual types of madness being made more visible and in addition making it easier to distinguish why they went mad. The individual incentives in regards to their insanity is also brought to the fore and the consequences are effectively displayed.
In the plays Equus by Peter Shaffer and Hamlet by the late William Shakespeare, insanity and its effects is explored in portraying two different representations of madness. Hamlet, placed collectively with Alan, effectively raises an understanding into both of their dilemmas, projecting two accounts in which to compare and contrast one with the other. The issue of mental illness is successfully highlighted in this paired text study, with the individual types of madness being made more visible and in addition making it easier to distinguish why they went mad. The individual incentives in regards to their insanity is also brought to the fore and the consequences are effectively displayed. The two texts ultimately depict the difficulties that are linked in the treatment of insanity, presenting sobering measures in which to cure the mind of madness.
In the plays Equus and Hamlet two of the main characters portrayed (Alan and Hamlet) are insane,
"Being unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of their acts."
(The Legal definition)
which is established through their actions and in Hamlet's case via an insight into his "madman" like thoughts. The paired texts project two different types of insanity, an event induced mental state and a "nurtured" madness. In Equus, Alan experiences the latter of the two, with it being raised in him through out his life, largely on account of his mother. Alan's mental state leads to his inability to understand the nature of his actions and hence he rarely conforms with society. His madness does not render him a danger to those around him, but it does lead him to commit acts of taboo. The worship of Equus and a sexual desire for horses an example of this.
Hamlet, on the other hand, develops a mental state that allows him to lose sight of what is right and wrong. It begins out as a facade to hide behind, but he loses control. This is witnessed when he murders Polonius on the spot, taking for granted that it is Claudius hidden away and listening in. His madness effectively makes him a danger to some of the people around him, being at an extreme loss of rationalism. The paired text study sights that there is more than one form of madness, their traits often varying from each individual.
In the plays Equus and Hamlet the origins behind the characters mental illness share a common factor, despite the differences associated in the types of madness that they experience. This is seen in the involvement of the people close to them, their parents. Looking at them both together envisions the influential power of a parent in relation to their son or daughter. In Equus, Dora and Frank's upbringing of Alan does not allow for him to fit into society and he goes mad as a result. Hamlet, in another respect is also removed from the world thanks to the death of his father. King Hamlet's ghosts appearance is pivotal to Hamlet's insanity, with his first appearance bringing on Hamlet's cunning plans and the second showing that he had really become insane.
The cause of Hamlet going insane beyond this is completely different to Alan,
eventuating out of his fathers death and knowing who the murderer is, whilst everyone else does not. Hamlet throughout the play shows a strong desire to take revenge on Claudius for killing his father and his inability to do so eventually causes him to abandon what is right and wrong. His loathing of Claudius is witnessed very early on,
"My father's brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules."
(ACT I Scene 2.)
and it is some time after these words that he kills Polonius, believing, hoping that it is Claudius. The vision of King Hamlet's ghost that follows, finally gives the viewer strong evidence that he is no longer sane. This occasion unlike before, he is the only one that can see him. His state of mind summed up by his mother Gertrude,
"Alas, he's mad!"
(ACTIII Scene 4.)
the realisation offering little comfort, for the hurtful things he spoke still held truth.
In Equus the cause of Alan's insanity differs dramatically, raised in him through out his life, small events all playing a role in his madness. Shaffer demonstrates this through Dysart's investigations of Alan's past and the blame falls heavily on the mother. Dora vividly disagrees with this and refuses to take any blame, arguing,
"If you added up everything we ever did to him, from his first day on earth to this, you wouldn't find why he did this terrible thing."
(Page 78)
His father Frank, not escaping either, the replacement of Jesus' painting with that of a horse, a symbolic moment in Alan's madness' manifestation. In brief, Alan's loss of sanity arises out of a series of events (his entire life) and Hamlet's a solitary incident (his fathers death). The paired text study exposes two different types of madness, at the same time it highlights the similarities present, depicting the things behind the madness viewed.
In the plays Hamlet and Equus, they demonstrate some of the incentives of madness, depicting it as a combatant of the characters original problems. The two plays show that insanity allows a person to escape from societal norms, allowing a person to go against what is expected of them. In Alan's case it lets him escape from his parents control, giving birth to a world where he could worship his self-created god Equus. He decides to believe that this world is beyond imaginary, increasing the passion he felt at the cost of his sanity.
Hamlet, on the other hand aims to intentionally use insanity, seen in two separate parts; initially he plans to use the guise of madness to take revenge for his fathers' murder, giving him a cover to hide behind upon killing Claudius. He believes that he will remain completely sane, even though he shall be seen to be mad by others, witnessed in his words,
"I am but mad north-north west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw."
effectively implying that he is mad when he chooses to be, not when it did not suit. The second part witnessed involved him unintentionally going mad without his knowledge, he can then kill Claudius, an incentive for his revengeful mind. The irony of it being, in his sane state of desiring to kill Claudius he cannot, it is only when he actually becomes mad in the process of trying to kill him, that he can finally take revenge.
Hence, the greatest incentive of Hamlet's madness, is that it would help him to kill Claudius, faking it or not. In Equus on the other hand, the main incentive behind Alan's madness is it allows him to live passionately and he is more able to express himself. The paired text study noticeably displaying a diversity in the causes of madness and the attached attractions.
In the two plays Equus and Hamlet the extreme consequences that madness can bring forth is witnessed and they outweigh the incentives tenfold. Alan effectively loses knowledge of the nature of his actions whilst worshiping Equus and Hamlet forsakes what is right and wrong to take revenge. Alan is also prevented from becoming sexually close to Jill, his self-created god Equus standing in the way. His unrestrained passion also leads him to blind six horses, having surpassed his breaking point. Hamlet's insanity on the other hand is a lot more catastrophic in its effects. His actions along with Claudius', cause many to die and is the reason behind their families demise. It was a pyhrric victory for Hamlet, as he did not realise that two wrongs will never make a right. The two texts effectively show that the act of madness will usually cause more problems than they solve.
The two plays Hamlet and Equus present separate "solutions" of how to treat madness, both entailing substantial consequences. Alan is treated by a psychiatrist called Martin Dysart and subsequently loses the passion within him, to be cured of insanity. Dysart "hears" Equus say,
"Do you really imagine that you can account for me"
(Page 75)
showing of his doubts on what he is doing and of his knowledge that Alan will never experience the passion that he had with Equus again. Hamlet on the other hand, is parted from madness only upon death, the ultimate way in which to be rid of it. Shakespeare chose to present the more sobering ending of the two, fittingly using revenge as the drive behind the poisoned tipped sword that would end Hamlets life. The paired text study suggests that neither of them could be cured of madness without side effects, displaying the severity mental illness holds over the mind.
In the plays Equus by Peter Schaffer and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, two types of madness are witnessed in the form of Alan and Hamlet. The text strongly differing from one another on close to everything bar that they revolve around insanity. The combination of the pair makes it possible to see insanity in much greater detail, presenting two characters in which to compare and contrast. It furthermore highlights the differences in the two characters mental illness, from their origins to the consequences of their actions. Alan and Hamlet placed together helps to cover a much wider spectrum of mental illness and shows the severe consequences and difficulty in the treatment of insanity.
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