Ophelia's Madness In Hamlet Essay

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Shakespeare has written many tragedies, themes of madness and mental illness show in many of his works. Throughout Shakespeare's Hamlet the theme of mental illness is very prevalent. Many readers see Ophelia as just a mad lovesick girl, they don’t see the other causes for her madness. Ophelia's descent into madness is caused by her being forced to question what love is and her uncertainty about it , Hamlets mistreatment of Ophelia, and her father's death. All three combined push her off the edge and into a spiral of madness leading to her untimely death. The seed of Ophelia's madness is planted when Laertes and Polonius have their talk with her. The present their own idea of love to her. Laertes speech focused "Ophelia's thoughts on the …show more content…

Later on in the play she encounters Hamlet she is reminded of what Laertes and Polonius said, She then "finds some support to their remarks in the actions of hamlet in her closet" (Camden 248). She eventually tells her father of this encounter "And with a looks so piteous in purport/ As I he had been loosed ot of hell/To speak of horrors,--he comes before me," (2.1.80.82). Ophelia describes him as, at the time, a perfect picture of total madness. Ophelia "fears that Hamlet is mad for love, and if so he is mad for the love she has been forbidden to give him" (Camden 248). During the "get thee to a nunnery" scene Ophelia tries her hardest to be as gentle and caring towards him, "how does your honor for this many a day" (1.3.92) because she is genuinely concerned for his well-being, But "Ophelia's love tokens makes Hamlet feel more miserable" (Rahman 34). This pushes Hamlet to say many nasty things to her "Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner/transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the/force of honesty can translate beauty into his/likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but now the/time gives it proof. I did love you once."(3.1.113-117). Katherine Fitzpatrick tells us about Ophelia saying that "their love interests do not live up to their romanticized ideal" (95). Hamlets acts towards Ophelia crushes her, especially when he says " I did …show more content…

After her father dies, she "has lost all faith in men, is no longer protected, and goes insane"(Fitzpatrick 94). Ophelia is now struck with grief and thrown into a spiral of madness. Ophelia goes to talk to Gertrude the first thing she said was"Where is the Majesty of Denmark"(4.5.21), she wouldn't address her father in such a tone so "it is to Hamlet that her words apply"(Camden 250). We can clearly see that her father isn't the only thing she is troubled by, if the first thing she says is about hamlet, "it is clear her madness is a combination of love loss and grief over her father"(Fitzpatrick 94). Ophelia tells us about how grief stricken, she is in the lines "He is dead and gone, lady/ He is dead and gone,/ At his head a grass-green turf,/ At his heels a stone"(4.5.25-29). She is talking about how her father is dead, and how her relation with Hamlet is seemingly dead. Ophelia feels alone and adrift in society which she has never felt before. When Ophelia says "There's rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you,/ love, remember. And there is oansies, that’s for/ thoughts./ There's fennel for you, and columbines.- There's/ rue for you, and here's some for me. We may call it/ "herb of grace" o'Sundays.- Oh, you must wear/ your rue with a difference.- There's a daisy. I would / give you some violets, but they withered all when/ my father died. They say he made a good end"(4.5.151-159), she is talking about "her

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