why is ophelia important in hamlet

Why Is Ophelia Important In Hamlet. Ill no more ont, he declares. Analyzes how laretes warns ophelia that hamlet is merely toying with her emotions due to that she is not as high of status as he is in the kingdom. When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet's father, suddenly dies, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king.A spirit who claims to be the ghost of Hamlet's father describes his murder at the hands of Claudius and . Many claim that Hamlet fooled her and that he never really loved Ophelia, however I disagree. Though Ophelia did as she was asked by keeping her distance from Hamlet, the disregard of their romantic history was an emotional blow. Ophelia also always listened to her father and brother and valued their opinions when making her own decisions throughout her, When Hamlet was doubting her loyalty to him, he asks her Wheres your/Father? (3.1.124-125) and she replied At home, my lord (3.1.126). Analyzes how hamlet, under the disguise of madness, lies his head in ophelia's lap, accusing her of thinking about "country matters," pretending that his intentions were not of a sexual nature. On one extreme, Ophelia is meant to represent women not only as weak, but blindly obedient and easily manipulated and dominated by men. Analyzes how hamlet, the world famous shakespearean play, contains a wealth of knowledge that applies throughout the ages. The Impact of Ophelia on Hamlet Michael Pennington in Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven, elucidates the character of Ophelia in Shakespeares tragedy, Hamlet: The observed and I, of ladies most deject and wretched, that sucked the honey of his music vows, now see that noble and most sovereign reason, like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; that unmatched form and feature of blown youth blasted with ecstasy; o woe is me, to have seen what I have seen, see what I see! (2671-2672). "These scenes give him a perfect explanation for his madness, and supposedly keep Claudius from alarm." Another way that Ophelia is portrayed undesirably is that she is thought to have committed suicide in a glassy stream./Therewith fantastic garlands did she make/Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples (4.7.166-168). Why is Ophelia important in hamlet? Ophelias father, Polonius, constantly instructs her on how a woman should conduct herself, based on his own view of what that may be, and demands her obedience in that. Prince Hamlet and Ophelia have a complicated relationship in which they have on and offs. 3). gertrude attempted to offer her a sympathetic character within her gender, but the offer was rejected. Claudius asks where Hamlet has gone and Gertrude says that he has taken the body away. Analyzes how ophelia is a beautiful young woman, easily influenced by the opinions and desires of those superior to her. All rights reserved. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals. Analyzes how hamlet returns from england after claudius fails to have him killed. The character of Ophelia in Zieffirellis version is the personification of a young innocent girl. Forty thousand brothers, if you added all their love together, couldn't match mine" (Act 5) but that was more to the end of the play. and he takes it out on Ophelia, abusing her, calling her all those things. You speak like a green girl/ Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. She is constantly bombarded with commands in similar language. she presents her brother with rosemary and pansies, fennel, and columbines for her adulterous ways. Claudius, Polonius, Marcellus, and Reynaldo are a few from his play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Throughout the play, the audience is questioning the sanity of the main character, Hamlet, as he goes on his quest for revenge. 13). At one point in time, Ophelia was one who Hamlet truly loved and trusted. Not only is Polonius protective of his daughter but also he is also incredibly concerned about his reputation in court. Also the shape of the tree changes. Ophelia is seen as someone who potentially has a very soft heart but is unable to deal with traumatic experiences. Arguably, it might be perceived by the reader if Prince Hamlet even loved Ophelia or if she was only a part of his mind games. Analyzes how angered hamlet lashes out at her verbally abusing her calling her two-faced and playing ignorant in "wantonness" but here she shows compassion for him of his madness calling to the heavens to help him. Analyzes how hamlet told ophelia to become anun and claudius convinced him that he didn't love her. Hamlet surely loved Ophelia, and Ophelia felt the same. He warns her that even "the chariest maid is prodigal enough,"(1.3, 36) implying that even though she may seem modest, but her intentions could very well be the opposite. She kept repeating to those around her that No, no, he is dead,/Go to thy death-bed,/He never will come again (4.5.181-183), showing that she had not gotten over her fathers death. ophelia commits suicide and contributes to the bloodshed in act 5. They also believe that he will use her in order to achieve his own purposes, and that he would take her precious virginity only to discard it because he would never be her husband. Analyzes how hamlet "acts" crazy around his friends and peers in order to learn the truth behind his father's death. An evident victimized woman, ruled by her Renaissance sense of romantic love, it can further be argued that Ophelia was extremely ambiguous. Created by maddie_galucy Terms in this set (13) Is Hamlet mad in this play, or is merely pretending to be mad? Why Is Ophelia Important In Hamlet Improved Essays 400 Words 2 Pages Open Document Essay Sample Check Writing Quality Show More Ophelia's function in Hamlet is to be his love interest. (Welshimer 95) Hamlet has the intention of pretending to be insane in order to effectively execute his vengeful plan against Claudius and Gertrude. In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the character Ophelia is very controversial due to the fact that Shakespeare places her as the focus inside the minds of all the men in her life such as Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet. Pressure from the men around her drive her mad. She was not able to fix things between her and Hamlet because Polonius, her father, prohibited her from seeing him. One students published analysis claims Ophelias situation is much like the one in John Tucker Must Die: A girl falls for a boy at the worst possible moment. lovely Ophelia, the eternal virgin. Introduction to Ophelia in Hamlet Of all the pivotal characters in Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static and one-dimensional.She has the potential to become a tragic heroine-- to overcome the adversities inflicted upon her -- but she instead crumbles into insanity, becoming merely tragic.It appears that Ophelia herself is not as important as her representation of the dual nature of women in the play. Hamlet seems to know that Ophelia is helping her dad spy on him, and he accuses her (and all women) of being a "breeder of sinners" and orders Ophelia to a "nunnery" (3.1.131; 132), i.e. But upon closer inspection, the audience can see that she is not merely an obedient, but completely dependent and weak character. Consider Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's role in the play. laertes professed his love for his sister and ended up jumping into her grave to hug her one last time. As Ophelia interacts with her brother, her father, and Hamlet, she is completely unable to assert her own independence, and her lack of personal autonomy eventually drives her to madness. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Polonius uses Ophelia to try to determine what the cause of Hamlet's madness is (although Polonius, arrogantly, already assumes he knows that Hamlet is 'mad for [her] love'). However, Hamlet is a womanizer and believes all women to be the same. Hamlet, her lover, starts to get consumed by his plan of revenge and her father forbid the relation between her and Hamlet. Midway through Hamlet, Ophelia is well under the control of Polonius and Hamlet. After the death of her father and with the absence of both Laertes and Hamlet from her life at the time, Ophelia is driven to madness and Gertrude explains it the King: She speaks much of her father, says she hears theres tricks i ' the ' world, and hems, and beats her heart, spurns enviously at straws, speaks things in doubt that carry but half sense. Finally seeing the grim reality of her surroundings without her father to hide behind, Ophelia loses her sanity and eventually end her own life as she no longer knows how to lead an independent life. See answer Advertisement renaee95 Ophelia is one of the most important characters in the play Hamlet. When her father falls to his tragic death due to the stabbing from Hamlet, her insanity drives her to drown herself in a river to cope with the pain. Analyzes how hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation. This begins through Ophelias submissiveness to the men in her life. Just mere months after King Hamlet's passing, Claudius and Gertrude feel Hamlet casts unnecessary gloom on the palace, so they ask him to cheer up, or at the very least change out of his dark clothes. With no exception to this expectation, Ophelia is mistreated, scorned and ultimately shamed by the men in her life. She was destined for a life of misery, a life of looking upon the could have been, a life that is hell. (act 1 scene 3), By Gis and by Saint Charity, Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The birdsfoot symbolises how Ophelia gets tangled up in Hamlet's plot of revenge and eventually it lead to her downfall. Perhaps Shakespeare used Ophelia's innocence to provide an even greater contrast to the deceit of the characters that engulfed her. she says to her father so please youmy lordI do not know, my lord, what should I thinkI shall obey, my, Supposedly, Hamlet did love Ophelia as he says, "I loved Ophelia. You promised me to wed. Rather than face the inevitability of begging for food in the street, she ended her life. She was so close to becoming secure in life, but in just a few months, everything was lost. (Welshimer 95) All these actions towards Ophelia contribute to her character, forcing her deeper into the hole of submission and making her less and less her own person, but, But Ophelia is also important to give us insight into Hamlets behaviour towards everyone else. Before the events of the play unravel Ophelia, whom is the daughter of Polonius and sister of Laertes, gives us traits of Hamlet She reveals that he was a model courtier and scholar, The glass of fashion and the mould of form, Th observed of all observers. Ophelia also offers another dimension to the story, the love interest. By Cock, they are to blame. It emphasizes the poisoned body politic and its affects on the innocent. This misogynistic perception is reflected in Ophelia and Gertrudes striking similarities as the only two women in the play. So much attention has been given to Hamlet's antics that characters such as Ophelia remain relatively unexamined. Analyzes how ophelia is met with requests from hamlet and her father and brother during her appearances. When reading the text, one can comprehend that Ophelia is caught in the middle between two opposite sides. Analyzes how hamlet's advice serves as a mirror to nature in the famous "mousetrap play" and reveals his feelings towards claudius, gertrude, and ophelia. Analyzes how hamlet became deeply saddened and claimed to have loved ophelia more than anyone else. Kitto claimed that Ophelias tragedy is that she is innocently obedient to a disastrous father (272), and this oppression from him led to her betrayal of Hamlet. In analyzing who Ophelia is, the most obvious perspective is that of objectified . Caught between having her emotions manipulated by Hamlet, and being taken advantage of by the King and Polonious for her reliable tendencies, she eventually undergoes insanity. Whether Ophelia was an innocent young woman or a crafty conspirator, she was a motivator in the plot of Hamlet with her madness and she eventually contributed to the bloodshed in the final scene of the play that withstood the test of time. His very language is abusive when he talks to her. This is why Ophelia sings, "He is dead and gone." Because Ophelia has adopted Hamlet's madness, Hamlet, whose love for Ophelia has withered away, is considered "dead and gone" to Ophelia. Analyzes how ophelia meets with hamlet in the hope that the cause for hamlets madness lies in her. He rejects fair Ophelia and accidentally kills her father Polonius. Analyzes how the drama did not end in suicide. Ophelia comes and speaks to hamlet to return his gifts from her but Hamlet immediately realizes that something is wrong and finds out that Ophelia is being used by Claudius and Polonius to spy on him to find out the real reason of Hamlets facade of madness. The frustration and confusion disarrayed poor Ophelias mind, as she was feeling a horrible amount of uncertainty of what she should do in many instances, but always kept doing what she had been ordered. Though she is demeaned by Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet, Ophelia exhibits intelligence and independence and ultimately resorts to suicide in order to free herself from the power of the men around her. This also leads to another character in a story who treats Ophelia as an object rather than family. They both love each other, even though it may seem that this love is not a legitimate one too many seeing as how Hamlet was going crazy. Women were seen more as a pretty face rather than a human-being. Your email address will not be published. 11. Analyzes how ophelia's wealth protected her from the harsh reality of life. An thou hadst not come to my bed. Hamlet's black clothing symbolizes his grief over his father's death. Whether Ophelia was an innocent young woman or a crafty conspirator, she was a motivator in the plot of Hamlet with her madness and she eventually contributed to the bloodshed in the final scene of the play that withstood the test of time. gertrude informs everyone that ophelia's heartache led to her drowning herself in the river. The bellflower is known as the flower of loss and disappointment and it shows the loss Ophelia has to live with towards the end of her life. Analyzes how kaara peterson's article shifts focus to the death of ophelia, and how her death is depicted in art in later centuries. She also agrees to help spy on Hamlet without thinking of the possible consequences., Hamlet and Ophelia 's relationship in the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare is very passionate, confusing, violent, and tragic. a. Hamlet and Gertrude b. Gertrude and Claudius c. Hamlet and Ophelia d. Ophelia and Laertes What is Hamlet's state of mind when we first see him? This story features a variety of characters, one of the most well known being Ophelia. b. Following the lovely amaranth, the next two trees have birdsfoot around their bases. (Documents C and, As she often strived to obey what her father asked of her, she was frequently placed in uncomfortable situations. Immediately after Hamlet exits, dragging Polonius ' body, we see Claudius asking Gertrude to explain what has happened. Analyzes how ophelia, whether by fabricated or real insanity, changes the course of the play and leads to the deaths of most main characters. I believe the main significance in the death of Ophelia is simply that it is just another illustration of how Hamlet 's indecisiveness and procrastination lead to the deaths of many others. show more content, They were slaves to men and social norms in all but name. Ophelia's character is revealed through her relationships with her father, Polonius, her brother, Laertes, and her lover, Hamlet, and their characters in turn are revealed through their. In conclusion, Ophelia is portrayed as a puppet on strings being pulled around by the males in her life, making all her decisions and controlling what she can and cant do, and once all the men are gone, she no longer able to function on her own and she ends her life as a result. Ok, ok, but didnt Hamlet truly love her but he knew he couldnt have her? Analyzes how ophelia's death can be seen in a way many young people see it: suicide is the only way out, but she didn't realize that taking her own life was permanent consequence for temporary situations. he sentenced her to a nunnery, where no man can bring the woman to infidelity or prostitution. It first starts off as normal sapling, then becomes a normal tree to show how she is growing as a character. Its not all full of sunshine and rainbows. It seems clear that he and Ophelia have, sometime during their growing up together in the castle at Elsinore, been in some kind of relationship. Analyzes how ophelia's relationship with polonius and laertes is depicted early on through their conversations with her regarding her love life. The reasons for her madness are outcomes of her frustrated romance with [Hamlet] as well as her status as a pawn of all the men in her life (William Shakespeares Hamlet; Teker, par. Analyzes how ophelia trusts the advice given and avoids contact with hamlet until she is told to meet up with him by accident in the lobby. The idea of the flowers is carried out onto the display, showing Ophelia's feelings. 40 thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love make up my sum, you said. Analyzes how ophelia's frenzied songs illustrate the ordeals behind her madness. Describes the works of richard allen and edward e. foster. OPH: I do not know, my lord, what I should think. POL: Marry, I will teach you. He is madly in love with Ophelia and is hot with passion, like the sun. The form of her death was the only fitting end for her - she drowned in a nearby river, falling beneath the gentle waters. When she sang she actually got peoples attention and was able to voice her opinions, whereas just speaking got her ignored. Literature claimed Ophelia as the tragic heroine of Hamlet. My reasons for this being with her emotion and expression during the scene after her father told her to stay away from Hamlet. Furthermore, the heightened debate of their relationship can be strengthened either way by numerous opinions, but I believe far in Prince Hamlets twisted mind he cherished and loved Ophelia. This makes Ophelia appear like a weak woman, that because she did not know how to deal with the death of her father, ended her own life, instead of being strong and moving on from her loss. Analyzes how ophelia is introduced as young and nave in the play, but her father does not allow her into the affairs of the court. Also the flowers are placed closely to the names of who she loves most, showing she loves the three men of her life; Hamlet, Laertes, and Polonius. She proves her dependency on men on telling her how to behave by giving into Poloniuss plan to spy on Hamlet (Hamlet Character List, SparkNotes). Denmark is in a state of chaos shown by the opening death of the true. The noble and innocent youth Ophelia tries her hardest to obey/impress her elders. The next thing the audience hears anything about her is that she has drowned herself. They would be taken care of, so long as they married wealthily. 1133 Words. Analyzes how hamlet is the consummate iconoclast, in self-imposed exile from elsinore society, and the adulated champion of denmark. Instead of changing through the course of the play, she remains suffering in the misfortunes perpetrated upon her. Ophelia descends into mental illness and commits suicide by drowning herself. Existentialist philosopher Friedrich Nietzche says, There is always some madness in love. The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, looks at the issue of madness and how it effects the characters of the play. She does not involve herself in the political life of the court, which is red hot in this court. Ophelia learned that without the continued guidance and opinion of her father and brother, she no longer had a purpose for life. Throughout the play, Ophelia does not have much of a voice while also being mistreated and emotionally abused by her boyfriend Hamlet. Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Nobody expected her to ever become anything, and it appears she had the same thought process. Ophelias weak, indecisive, and obedient personality allows her to progress the plot by Shakespeare making her the focus of the men in. The following is a guide to the significant events in the Hamlet and Ophelia subplot. This he emphasizes in the scene in Ophelia 's room, a visit at least partly contrived." Ophelia can either been seen as driven for her mad love towards Hamlet, or seen just as a victim to society for the outrageous expectations she has for being a woman. In Branaghs version, Ophelia is more emotionally mature and physically stronger. "hamlet, prince of denmark." Ophelia had been madly in love with Hamlet, like most young lovers. hamlet manipulates his way into her heart and mind through professions of love. Ophelia, already thoroughly oppressed by her father, becomes the target of his rage. The flower is not planted in the ground, but is on the branches of the tree, far away from the trees roots. Laertes says that in Ophelia's language " [t]his nothing's more than matter." Ophelia is also put forth as a foil to Lord Hamlet. I cannot help but think that if you had expressed your love for the fair maiden, both her and quite possibly you would still be with us today. Finally, she lost her life. Analyzes how shakespeare used ophelia's innocence to provide an even greater contrast to the deceit of the characters that engulfed her. This can be demonstrated by the bellflower surrounding the last tree. As Hamlet was her male companion, her father had requested her to stay away from him, Polonius said, I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth Have you so slander any moment leisure As to give words or talk with Lord Hamlet. (1.3. This simple-mindedness is revealed through her relationships with the men in her life. Polonius directs these words toward Ophelia, echoing Laertes's warning not to trust Hamlet's declarations of love. Her father and the king, watching that encounter, are more concerned with what they have discovered about Hamlet than about how she has been abused. Analyzes how ophelia appears briefly in shakespeare's hamlet, but is caught between her father and brothers instructions and hamlets overwhelming demands. At this point Hamlet is raged and does not understand how harsh his words can be to a woman, especially a human being in general. Ophelia, ever since her introduction, has been introduced to be a sweet and sympathetic person, providing the play with emotional moments, but her death was used as a bait and switch by Shakespeare towards audience members who had expected her to change the plays somber mood to more hopeful one, which in turn makes the play even more tragic. The people around him also show signs of madness, such as Ophelia and Claudius, but in different forms. Let Our AI Magic Supercharge Your Grades! He attacks her virginal nature, heaving the burden of other, more crass, women upon this frail beauty. As we saw in the play, Gertrude always listened to the opinion of Claudius, up until her death. ophelia becomes corrupt and overwhelmed with her father's death due to her lover hamlet commits suicide. The ghost reveals how he was murdered by his own brother, who has now married his widow, Hamlet's mother. Analyzes how laertes blames the king for his father's murder and his sisters insanity. He also seems to hold her at a distant which suggests that he may One of Shakespeare's most well known and extensively reviewed works is Hamlet. She takes the step that Hamlet cannot.

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