Shakespeare's three political tragedies_Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear_have numerously been presented or adapted on film. These three plays all involve the recurring trope of madness, which, as constructed by Shakespeare, provided a wider canvas on which to detail those materials that could not be otherwise expressed: sexual desire and expectation, political unrest, and, ultimately, truth, as excavated by characters so afflicted. Music has long been associated with madness, and was often used as an audible symptom of a victim's disassociation from their surroundings and societal rules, as well as their loss of self-control. In Shakespeare, Madness, and Music: Scoring Insanity in Cinematic Adaptations, Kendra Preston Leonard examines the use of music in Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear. Whether discussing contemporary source materials, such as songs, verses, or rhymes specified by Shakespeare in his plays, or music composed specifically for a film and original to the director's or composer's interpretations, Leonard shows how the changing social and scholarly attitudes towards the plays, their characters, and the conditions that fall under the general catch-all of 'madness' have led to a wide range of musical accompaniments, signifiers, and incarnations of the afflictions displayed by Shakespeare's characters. Focusing on the most widely distributed and viewed adaptations of these plays for the cinema, each chapter presents the musical treatment of individual Shakespearean characters afflicted with or feigning madness: Hamlet, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, King Lear, and Edgar. The book offers analysis and interpretation of the music used to underscore, belie, or otherwise inform or invoke the characters' states of mind, providing a fascinating indication of culture and society, as well as the thoughts and ideas of individual directors, composers, and actors. A bibliography, index, and appendix listing Shakespeare's film adaptations help complete this fascinating volume.

'Distracted Subjects' offers a feminist analysis of early modern madness. Carol Neely reveals the mobility & heterogeneity of discourses of 'distraction', the most common term for the condition in late 16th & early 17th century England.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a timeless tale of treachery, revenge, and existential angst, set against the dark and brooding backdrop of the Danish court. Prince Hamlet of Denmark is devastated by the sudden death of his father, King Hamlet, and is further disturbed by the hasty remarriage of his mother, Queen Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius. The appearance of his father’s ghost reveals a sinister truth: King Hamlet was murdered by Claudius, who now wears the crown. The play delves into timeless themes such as the nature of existence, the meaning of life, the consequences of indecision, the corrupting influence of power, the complexities of family dynamics, and the inevitability of death. Driven by the ghost’s demand for vengeance, Hamlet embarks on a journey marked by feigned madness, profound introspection, and moral uncertainty. He wrestles with the heavy burden of avenging his father’s death while grappling with his own doubts and philosophical questions about life, death, and the afterlife. His famous soliloquy, "To be, or not to be," captures the essence of his inner turmoil and the universal human struggle with the meaning of existence. As Hamlet navigates the treacherous court, his erratic behavior alarms those around him. Polonius, the king's chief advisor, becomes suspicious and spies on him, leading to unintended consequences. Hamlet’s interactions with Ophelia, Polonius's daughter, further complicate the narrative, contributing to her descent into madness and eventual death. The play's tension reaches a peak when Hamlet stages a play, "The Mousetrap," to confirm Claudius's guilt. The performance, which reenacts the murder of King Hamlet, elicits a guilty reaction from Claudius, affirming Hamlet’s suspicions. Despite this confirmation, Hamlet’s indecision and delay in taking action propel the story towards a tragic climax. Hamlet is a profound exploration of the human condition, delving into themes of revenge, madness, and the search for truth. Shakespeare’s rich language and deep psychological insight create a complex and compelling narrative that continues to resonate with readers and audiences centuries after it was first written. This tragedy remains one of Shakespeare’s most powerful and enduring works, capturing the intricacies of the human psyche and the timeless struggle between action and inaction.

What did it mean to be mad in seventeenth-century England? This book uses vivid autobiographical accounts of mental disorder to explore the ways madness was identified and experienced from the inside, asking how certain people came to be defined as insane, and what we can learn from the accounts they wrote.

This book is a study of four of Shakespeare's major tragedies - "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear" and "Macbeth". It looks at these plays in a variety of contexts - both in isolation and in relation to each other and to the cultural, ideological, social and political contexts which produced them.