Hamlet

            It comes over you like a weight, dropping, falling on your soul, weighting you down, and corroding away the happiness. Depression appears for many different reason, and comes with many different symptoms. Hamlet, a play by William Shakespeare, is the tragic story of a young prince's journey of self-discovery as he struggles to overcome the tragic occurrences in his life: his father murdered by his uncle, and his mother who incestuously marries the killer. Hamlet is plagued with the responsibility of avenging his father's death, and setting right the kingdom of Denmark, all while suffering from a severe melancholia. Hamlet acts crazy in an effort to fool people into letting their guards down, allowing him to seek out revenge. Hamlet is depressed, mourning the loss of his father and his mother's betrayal. While Hamlet's depression causes him to act out of character, acting on impulse, his madness is just a pretense to cover his true motives. .
             Hamlet's madness only manifests itself when he is in the presence of certain characters; his ability to use logic and reasoning reinforces his sanity. In mourning, Hamlet dresses in all black, refusing to celebrate his mothers wedding, and his uncle's coronation. The recent events have caused Hamlet to lapse into a depression; grief has overwhelmed his spirit, he feels alone and betrayed by his mother. He cannot come to terms with his mother's actions; he does not understand how she could so quickly forget his father and marry his uncle. Hamlet, showing lack of self esteem compares himself to his father: "So excellent a King, that was to this.
             Hyperion to a satyr. My fathers brother, but no more like my father/ than I to Hercules"(1.2.138) .