This is an edited paper I wrote for a first-year seminar on literature in the early modern period. It is not the most universally interesting thing in the world, but if you're into literature or psychology, you may find it interesting. It's a research paper I was extremely proud of and do believe is applicable to today seeing as how so many young adults are suffering from anxiety!
Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, is introduced to students usually during their high school or even college careers. Even though it can be another play full of Shakespearian language to stumble through for most students, a deeper look at the intricacies of Hamlet's emotional responses to the devastating events occurring in his life could reveal a much clearer picture of what is happening in the lives of adolescents today.
Through humoral theory, (which was common in the early modern period) Hamlet can be diagnosed with an early modern equivalent to today's diagnosis of anxiety. The high levels of anxiety exhibited by American adolescents today makes Hamlet a much more relatable tale than previously perceived. Recognizing Hamlet's anxiety, and the mishandling of his emotions, allows for a more in-depth discussion of mental health today in terms of understanding, validating and helping those suffering from the disorder, giving more value to Hamlet than Shakespeare probably intended at the time.
The first step in diagnosing the main character, Hamlet, is to identify the beliefs of early modern period health professionals. According to an article from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, a popular theory among doctors of this time period would be humoral theory. Humoral theory, according to the article, is the belief that the four established humors: black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood, are balanced in a healthy individual but imbalanced in an unwell individual.
Mental health awareness was essentially non-existent during this time period, and mental disorders were very rarely discussed. For the most part, physical ailments were the ones that received the most attention. Due to this, mental health issues were also believed to have manifested through physical means, as explained by a humoral theory in a quote from the article: "...the humors were used to explain more complex phenomena like emotional states in much simpler physical terms." It was simply easier for early modern practitioners to focus on the physical manifestations because they were more tangible.
Robert Burton wrote a book, The Anatomy of Melancholy, that can also help further the diagnosis of Hamlet. In his book, Burton describes the mental exhibitions of an imbalance of black bile which was associated with melancholiness. These symptoms included: "continual fear, sorrow, suspicion....anxiety, thoughts like dreams..." Burton supplements the humoral theory by explaining further how a person with an imbalance of a certain humor would think. These thoughts can be used to explain some of Hamlet's actions.
In the second scene of the second act of the play, there's a conversation between Hamlet and Polonius which exemplifies Hamlet's anxious actions as well as how those around him perceive what he is experiencing. The scene opens with Polonius approaching the Queen (Hamlet's mother) to ask whether she has noticed any strange behaviors from Hamlet, an idea that seems to never have occurred to the Queen. Later in the scene, Hamlet enters and he and Polonius have a conversation. During the conversation, Polonius states, "How/ Pregnant sometimes his replies are! A happiness/ that often madness hits on..."
During the conversation, Polonius identifies the fact Hamlet's thought process is deviating off of what is societally normal. Using Burton's description of the symptoms of melancholiness, it can be determined that Hamlet is experiencing thought-like dreams, which is essentially what Polonius means when he says Hamlet's words are 'pregnant.' Hamlet is adding more weight to the actions and statements of those around him which falls under the dream or fantasy side effects. This is just an example of one conversation of many that can be used to establish the fact Hamlet does suffer from melancholy- an early modern equivalent of anxiety.
Diagnosing anxiety is slightly different today than it would have been for Hamlet and it is more prevalent than in the early modern period. According to an article found in Time magazine, after a period of stabilization, the number of adolescents experiencing anxiety and depression has risen since 2012. There are several reasons adolescents today are increasingly worried, stressed and exhibiting symptoms of anxiety and depression.
According toTime, "They [modern adolescents] are a post-9/11 generation, raised in an era of economic and national insecurity." Simply stated, young adults today have never known a time where their nation was fully secure or their parents weren't facing fiscally related issues leading to a feeling of insecurity. However, the harsh reality is this worry has started to affect their daily lives.
According to the article, some teens feel a sense of relief when they go on trips and are forced to leave their phones. This is because, to teens, there is a certain pressure associated. They're experiencing several emotionally stimulating events as they are maturing, which triggers a steady inflow of anxious thoughts.
Both Hamlet and adolescents in today's society entered pivotal points in their lives during a time that produced perfect conditions for developing anxiety. Just as he is becoming a man, Hamlet's father is murdered. Since his father is the King, there are several repercussions stemming from his death Hamlet may feel responsible for since he is technically next in line for the throne. Hamlet refers to Denmark as a prison in scene two act two and this reference is probably due to the fact Hamlet feels very little control in regards to his less than satisfactory surroundings. Hamlet also feels responsible for making right the immoral behaviors that plague his home stating in act one scene five, "This time is out of joint.../That ever I was born to set it right!" Teens in America also feel a similar stress.
According to Time, due to the increase of incidents being posted on social media, teens can feel the pressure to solve issues like racism and sexism. Many of these issues have plagued America since its formation, however, teens have more access to platforms that allow their voices to be heard. This open ability to have a platform, although helpful at times, can cause anxiety as the pressure to make actual societal changes builds. Each hashtag relates back to a serious, complex situation just as Hamlet was facing a serious scenario, and both modern adolescents and Hamlet feel the responsibility to respond to their difficult situations correctly.
Hamlet is not merely a tragedy, but rather a cautionary tale that warns against ignoring the symptoms of anxiety. The best way to handle situations of anxiety includes understanding, validating, and helping those suffering from the common disease. The first step is to enter the situation being open to understanding the entirety of the situation.
In Hamlet's case, his new stepfather, and blood-related Uncle was not very accommodating and understanding to Hamlet's grief over his father's death. In the second scene of the first act, he merely tells Hamlet that his father died but his father's father also died and so on, minimalizing Hamlet's feelings at the time. Similarly, it can be difficult to understand why teens are so worried to the point of having a diagnosable anxiety disorder when there may be a simple, logical answer to whatever is worrying them, but their emotions need to be understood. Teens can be dramatic by nature, the Time article describes their emotional responses as "by nature urgent and sometimes debilitating," but acknowledging the fact anxiety disrupts their daily living is vital.
By acknowledging and understanding, teens can begin to feel validated in their emotional experiences. When adolescents express their feelings of depression or anxiety, it is important to remember to validate their feelings despite the fact, according to the Times article, the natural response of a parent could be to punish the child or get angry. Hamlet was never really validated during the entirety of the play.
Meredith Ann Skura stated in an article, “In the play Hamlet- more than in any of the other major tragedies- the hero is not at fault.” Hamlet, like many adolescents today, was living in conditions that catalyzed an anxious reaction and his feelings were essentially swept under a metaphorical rug. Because his feelings were not validated, he was essentially pushed to his mental breaking point which led to not only his death but the deaths of several people around him. Validating the feelings of teens today can assist by giving them the satisfaction of feeling heard and ensures they do not feel alone in what they are suffering.
The final step to assisting adolescents with their feelings of anxiety is to offer help. Throughout the play, in addition to never being understood or validated, Hamlet was never offered any kind of help. Today, according to the Time article, counseling can help parents cope and understand that they are not alone and it can teach adolescents breathing techniques to help them calm down and ways to talk positively to themselves. The culmination of ideas regarding understanding, validating and helping those with anxiety could have saved Hamlet’s life but, more importantly, it can help save a high number American adolescents who are suffering from anxiety.
Hamlet’s life ended over his inability to cope with the emotionally stimulating events that led to his anxiety. Today, teens are living in a perfect storm for anxiety disorders. Although today mental health seems to be entering the national spotlight, it is still highly stigmatized. The actions of Hamlet and the characters surrounding him are proof of what happens when anxiety is not acknowledged, validated, and helped, but merely passed on as a normal occurrence.
Anxiety is no longer a rare occurrence felt only by a few as in the early modern period. It is a widespread phenomenon that needs to be addressed and assistance needs to be offered. Hamlet can be a great teaching tool in terms of making anxiety more visible by relating how similar it is to modern day occurrences. Hamlet is not merely another Shakespeare play to endure, but could possibly be the key to further examining happenings of anxiety and serving as instructions for extending a helping hand to those in need.
The main takeaways from this article include: literature is an amazing resource for several aspects of life, anxiety is extremely common and needs to be acknowledged, and the best way to go about anxiety is to understand, validate, and assist. So, in conclusion, Shakespeare is surprsingly relevant to mental health today.
