Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Shakespeare and madness
Theme of madness in Shakespeare
Family relationship in hamlet
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Shakespeare and madness
First introduced through conversation with her brother, Ophelia is asserted as a love interest of Hamlets. Within the conversation, Laertes proposes hypocritical advice which she quickly replies to with witty retort: "Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,/ Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;/ Whiles, like a puff 'd and reckless libertine,/ Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,/ And recks not his own rede." (I. iii.). Her introduction instills both her friendly relationship with her brother, as well as her comical, original nature. It asserts her neither passive nor aggressive. Within the same setting shortly after, her father asserts a protective command over Ophelia. "I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,/ Have you so slander any moment leisure,/ As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet./ Look to 't, I charge you: come your ways." (I. iii.). Being told to stay away from Hamlet to protect her honor as a woman, Ophelia accepts and complies; it is somewhat foolish yet primarily protective of her father, but also displays Ophelia 's attachment to family in respect and care. Further, Ophelia 's commitment to family is
While Hamlet pursues his revenge and continues to use his mind with efficiency, Ophelia is crippled and left in madness, only to sing for expression. Shweta Bali comments on her state in an analysis of all possibly insane characters of Shakespeare 's, stating, "Ophelia 's confused and chaotic state of mind manifests itself in the form of madness. Music and song which are often associated with insanity become her tools of expression." Hamlet 's condition is more relatable to hatred than craziness, as he is compared to Ophelia and her brother in close proximity; Ophelia acts as a denial of Hamlet 's fake insanity, while Laertes is introduced as another comparison more closely fit. Laertes, just like Hamlet, work for
“Pretty Ophelia,” as Claudius calls her, is the most innocent victim of Hamlet’s revenge in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Hamlet has fallen in love with Ophelia after the death of his father. Ophelia “sucked the honey of his music vows” and returned Hamlet’s affection. But when her father had challenged Hamlet’s true intentions, Ophelia could only say: “I do not know, my lord, what I should think.” Ophelia was used to relying on her father’s directions and she was also brought up to be obedient. This allowed her to only accept her father’s views that Hamlet’s attention towards her was only to take advantage of her and to obey her father’s orders not to permit Hamlet to see her again.
Hamlet shows much anger and disrespect to the women in his life. Ophelia’s believing her father’s words breaks Hamlets heart, being the reason for his treatment towards not just her but his mother. Ophelia
Ophelia is portrayed as a sensitive, fragile woman. Easily overpowered and controlled by her brother and father, Ophelia is destined to be weak. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, warns and pushes Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet and is further supported by their father Polonius. “Polonius enters and adds his warning to those of Laertes. He orders Ophelia not to spend time with Hamlet or even talk to him. Ophelia promises to obey” (“Hamlet” 95). Ophelia’s obedience to her father’s directions prove the side she
Ophelia’s obedience towards her untrusting father is indescribable ( I; iii; 101-103. "Affection? Pooh! You speak like a green girl, unsifted in such perilous circumstance. Do you believe his tenders, as you call them"?). Why a grown woman would listen to her father and not help the man of her dreams in his time of need is disheartening. A man’s girlfriend should be there for him when a family member passes away, no matter what. If she had been with him on the plan to kill Claudius and knew about his fathers ghost who told Hamlet that Claudius was the one that murdered him, than neither one of them would have went crazy.
With her father’s word being law and with that what he says she must follow, if she refuses Polonius, she risks social exclusion and grave insult to the man who controls her future. Her real attitude is clear when she has a conversation about chastity, first with Laertes, her brother, then with Polonius, her father. After Laertes rather explicitly warns Ophelia to fear losing her virginity, she replies by telling him not to lecture her, “Whiles, a puff'd and reckless libertine, / Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, / And recks not his own rede” (1.3.48-50). When polonius gives her the same lecture and tells her not to accept Hamlet’s propositions, she simply replies, “I shall obey, my lord”
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare developed the story of prince Hamlet, and the murder of his father by the king's brother, Claudius. Hamlet reacted to this event with an internal battle that harmed everyone around him. Ophelia was the character most greatly impacted by Hamlet's feigned and real madness - she first lost her father, her sanity, and then her life. Ophelia, obedient, weak-willed, and no feminist role model, deserves the most pity of any character in the play.
The story of Hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation; this is especially evident within the character of Ophelia. Throughout the play, Ophelia is torn between obeying and following the different commitments that she has to men in her life. She is constantly torn between the choice of obeying the decisions and wishes of her family or that of Hamlet. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Ophelia is not only subject to the torture of others using her for their intentions but she is also susceptible to abuse from Hamlet. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals.
Hamlet and Laertes share a different but deep love and concern for Ophelia. Laertes advises her to retain from seeing and being involved with Hamlet because of his social status. He didn’t want her to get her heart broken by Hamlet, since he believed that his marriage would be arranged to someone of his social status, and that he would only use and hurt Ophelia. Hamlet on the other hand, was madly in love with Ophelia but it languishes after she rejects him. Ophelia’s death caused distress in both Hamlet and Laertes and it also made Laertes more hostile towards Hamlet.
The first opportunity to gain insight into tOphelia's behavior comes early in the play when her brother, Laertes, advises her to steer clear of Hamlet. He tells her that even though her body is grown her mind and emotions are not yet mature. Ophelia replies, "I shall the effect of this good lesson keep, / As watchman to my heart" but she later proves that she does not intend to follow Laertes' advice because she is still willing to be with Hamlet (1.3.47-48). In fact it is Hamlet's rejection of her that keeps her from him, not Laertes' advice. She further states, "Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, / Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, / Whilst, like a puffed and reckless libertine, / Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads / And recks not his own rede" (1.3.49-53). Ophelia means that her brother should hold himself to the same standards he imposes on her. She also equates sexual abstinence with "the steep and thorny way" and sexual participation with...
Claudius’ investigations into Hamlet’s unusual behavior involved Ophelia. He wishes to unveil the nature of Hamlet’s apparent madness. Throughout the beginning of the play the reader is aware of Hamlet’s anger towards his mother which he releases upon Ophelia after she is instructed to meet with him in the lobby. Claudius and Polonius direct Ophelia towards Hamlet and urges her to tell him that she wishes to return the affection that she had refuted from Hamlet. Hamlet’s inner conflict with his mother manifests itself in his actions as he suggests that Ophelia becomes a nun instead of a “breeder of sinners” (III. i. 123). This statement appears to be directed towards Gertrude as he wishes that she does not breed children with Claudius; who he claims is a sinner. Hamlet follows this by denouncing women and marriages as he states: “I say, we will have no more marriages. Those that are married already, all but one, shall live” (III. i. 149). Hamlet speaks of Gertrude and Claudius. As he leaves, Claudius and Polonius unveil themselves and discuss Hamlet’s conversation. They appear to not be convinced that he speaks because of love for Ophelia. Infact, Claudius states that Hamlet’s sadness is dangerous – “and I do doubt the hatch and the disclose will be some danger” (III. i. 169). During this segment of the play, the reader is shown that Hamlet’s actions are causing Claudius to further investigate the problem which will lead to Claudius’ order of killing Hamlet.
The reader is left guessing on Hamlet’s true feelings for Ophelia through his various insults, sexual innuendos, and admitted desire. Hamlet’s claim, “God hath given you one face, and you / Make yourselves another.” (3.1.155-156) is laced with irony and hypocrisy given Hamlet’s own deception regarding true feelings. This proclamation comes at the end of a lengthy tirade against Ophelia and womankind in general for their conniving deceit leading men astray. The fact that Hamlet cannot see this duplicity in his very own actions shows the double standard he holds for females. Ophelia’s immediate reaction is one of shock and defense due to the aggressive nature of Hamlet’s attack. She calls out “O, woe is me!” (3.1.174) in distress to the ferocity of Hamlet and is unable to form a particularly coherent response akin to the ones seen against Laertes and Polonius. She does show her intelligence and rebellion from this assumption of power by Hamlet in her songs while Hamlet is gone. While many attribute her madness to the death of her father, a large portion of her instability should be attributed to Hamlet and his earlier actions. In her first introduction as insane she sings, “And I a maid at your window, / To be your Valentine. / Then up he rose and donned his clothes / And dropped the chamber door, / Let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more.” (4.5.55-60). Due to her references to sexuality and deceit the
Children are usually the ones hiding their romantic feelings for one another through foul play and “cooties”. In Hamlet, there is a rather unclear message of whether Hamlet is in love with Ophelia or not. A love note to Ophelia presented to the King and Queen just so happened to be signed with Hamlet’s name, however. Hamlet is also very fond of speaking about how beautiful Ophelia is as well. Yet, when actually speaking to her, he says otherwise. Perhaps this is to disguise his true feelings, just as a child would. Hamlet, for whatever reason, does not want to reveal his feelings for Ophelia to anyone, but knows he cannot hide them from himself.
Ophelia first appears in Hamlet in Act 1. Scene 3 speaking to her brother Laertes of Hamlet. Within her first four lines, she reveals herself to be a strong woman when she says “but, good my brother, do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine, himself… recks not his own rede” (1.3 50-55). At this time period in which women are expected to be obedient, voicing these thoughts of hers, that Laertes is not in the position to give her these commands because he is a hypocrite himself, shows that Ophelia has some strong attributes. Ophelia further demonstrates her ability to appear tough in Act 3. Scene 2. during the pla...
Ophelia’s betrayal ends up putting Hamlet over the edge, motivating him in his quest for revenge. Ophelia is one of the two women in the play. As the daughter of Polonius, she only speaks in the company of several men, or directly to her brother or father. Since we never see her interactions with women, she suppresses her own thoughts in order to please her superiors. Yet, however weak and dependent her character is on the surface, Ophelia is a cornerstone to the play’s progression.
Ophelia is manipulated by Hamlet to display to the King and the rest of the court that he is in fact mad. When Hamlet enters her room wearing disheveled clothing and acting quite strange towards her, he knows that Ophelia will tell her father and the King. Ophelia then reports this strange occurrence to her father, telling him about his strange composure of taking her “by the wrist and” holding her hard and then “shaking” when he was about to let go. (Act 2, Scene 1 Lines 86-91) The team of Polonius and the King also exploits Ophelia in order to dig deeper into Hamlet’s madness.