Analysis Of John Everett Millais's Painting Ophelia

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Amanda Pilat Ms. Givens Honors World Literature 20 November 2017 Hamlet Activity: John Everett Millais’s painting Ophelia Step 1 According to Gertrude, Ophelia climbed up, and was sitting on the branch of a willow tree. The willow tree branch then snapped, plummeting Ophelia into the brook below. Once Ophelia was in the water, she began singing, seemingly unaware that the weight of her clothing was pulling her down towards the bottom of the brook. Eventually, Ophelia was weighed down by her saturated clothing, and she drowned. As she begins to drown, Ophelia does not fight the water, instead, she begins to sing. This makes it obvious that Ophelia is not in the right state of mind for she either is simply unaware that she is drowning, or she does not care. Either way, it goes to show that she is lacking a sound mind. …show more content…

Millais creates the peaceful aspects of the mood through the bright colors and lush vegetation surrounding Ophelia. Without context, it would not appear as though she was dying, but instead leisurely floating in the water, for her face expresses no pain, but a sense of calmness. Ophelia’s expression looks at peace in Millais’s painting, and this further goes to show Ophelia’s insane state of mind. Instead of showing pain or fear on her face, she appears calm and unalarmed by the events she is being subject to. This exemplifies her deteriorating state of mind because instead of struggling back against the water, as a mentally sound person would do, she lets the water envelope with no physical opposition. I think that Millais paints Ophelia with her palms facing up because it signifies surrendering. Having her palms facing upward makes it seem as though she is surrendering, and because at that moment she is drowning, it makes it seem as though her life is what is being surrendered. This choice by Millais furthers the painting’s mood of peace, as Ophelia is not struggling, but instead she is giving

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