In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, a kind of madness ultimately infects everyone, leading to an ending in which almost every major character is dead. Two of these maddened characters are Hamlet and Ophelia, who also share a love for each other. But though their irrational behavior is often similar and their fates alike, one is truly mad while the other is not.
Both Hamlet and Ophelia act very strangely. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, insults everyone around him. He tells Ophelia he never loved her, calls her father a fishmonger, and in subtle ways calls his mother a whore and her new husband a murderer. And Hamlet himself is driven to acts of murder, from the unintentional stabbing of Polonius to the plotting that kills Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to the avenging murder of his uncle the king. Ophelia appear at the castle singing and giving out imaginary flowers. She seems not to even know her own brother.
The behavior of both Hamlet and Ophelia is a direct result of their fathers' murders. Both love their fathers dearly and readily obey, even when their fathers' orders go agains...
White, Rob and Perrone, Santina. 2010. “Recidivism, Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice.” In Crime, Criminality & Criminal Justice, edited by Bill Gillespie, 546-567. Victoria: Oxford University Press.
Hamlet, Ophelia’s lover, accidentally kills her father and “confesses” he never loved her, Hamlet toys with Ophelia's emotions intentionally and unintentionally to solidify his madness. Even though she was the who initiated the “breakup”, her sorrows of the relationship are much more public than Hamlets. Hamlet’s madness scares Ophelia away which he used as a defense mechanism to not be hurt anymore. His madness looks as though he had been "loosed out of hell to speak of horrors" (2.1.83-84) and she "truly [did] fear it"(2.1. 86). His insanity and rudeness suffocated any love she had for him. She admits that their "their perfume [has been] lost" (3.1. 99). This helped Hamlet solidify his insanity by cutting ties with the ones he loves, and having them tell others he is mad. This comes with the cost of discontinuing his relationships: especially with Ophelia. Both have hinted around in the text of an intimate affair. This makes the emotions and breakup even more difficult for both of them. Their relationship was a love, not an innocent crush or courtship. Poor Ophelia initially thought she caused Hamlet's madness due to the abrupt ending of their affair. But because of her naivety, she lacks to see his other internal struggles. Ophelia’s trust in Hamlet left her heartbroken. Hamlet’s agenda of or getting justice for his father occupied his mind more than Ophelia did. Which left her feeling
When thinking of someone with schizophrenia most people probably envision a person experiencing delusions and/or hallucinations. This may often be the case, but there are several diagnostic criteria to consider when assessing for schizophrenia.
Due to Ophelia’s close relationship with Hamlet, his madness spread to her as well. Hamlet’s love letters and then confessing that he no longer loves her confuses the young Ophelia and urges her insanity. Ophelia’s brother was sent to France to study, she does not have a mother, and her father was recently
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’s bold proclamations in Act 3 certainly take an emotional toll on Ophelia, such as when he demands, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be/ a breeder of sinners?” (3.1.131-132), and when he tells Ophelia, “I loved you not” (3.1.129). Hamlet is aware that he is playing with Ophelia’s emotions, but does not seem to care in the least. Further evidence of his psychopathic behavior appears in Act 5, when Hamlet declares: I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/ could not with all their quantity of love/ Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?” (5.1. 284). Hamlet’s behavior is further evidence of how he utilizes his male –privilege to gain power over Ophelia, he can act and behave however he chooses, but Ophelia is the one to go insane and die. Many blame her for her death, ignoring the fact that Hamlet was emotionally manipulative to her. This relates to how Ophelia was rendered entirely helpless by her male counterparts; she never had any power over the way others treated
In reading Adams- “The School as an Ecosystem”, he brings up the question of who should control our schools and how? In the U.S we have a multilevel governmen...
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
Hamlet's relationship and actions towards Ophelia are not exempt from his dual personalities. In private, he is deeply devoted to her; but in public, he humiliates and belittles her...
This element is centred around an advertisement in the Courier-Mail that read “Queensland Law Is Now Tougher On Criminals”. In this advertisement, there were two tables, one indicating increases in maximum penalties for 23 nominated crimes, and the second one set out penalties for a range of “new charges and laws introduced for ‘New Age’ crimes”… (Hogg, Brown 1998, p. 38). Hogg and Brown state that “the call for ‘tougher penalties’ is a perennial theme of law and order debate”…(Hogg, Brown 1998, p. 38). According to Hogg and Brown, there are numerous sub-themes including the re-introduction of capital punishment, complaints about the leniency of prison sentences, parole and remission being overly generous, and prisoners’ living conditions being too comfortable and enjoyable. One of the major flaws in tougher penalties is “it is possible to generate public confidence simply by putting more people in prison”…(Hogg, Brown 1998, p. 39) leaving open the risk of false imprisonment, which in itself, brings along other major long-term problems. Overall, the commonsense element ‘we need tougher penalties’, involves the implementation of tougher penalties on criminals due to the strong public opinion on the
It is also characterized by the loss of contact with reality. There are many different subtypes of schizophrenia which include: Paranoid, Hebephrenic/Disorganized, Catatonic, and Undifferentiated schizophrenia. All of these subtypes have different symptoms,
...tions available for schizophrenia. Most people get the best treatment when they are using more than one option at a time and stay consistent with it. Antipsychotics are the classification of medication used to treat schizophrenia (NIMH). The therapy used most commonly to treat schizophrenia is psychotherapy more specifically cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy allows the patient to change their thought process regarding negative views or patterns in their life as well as help change any unwanted behavior (NIHM). It has been shown that with proper treatment and support schizophrenia can be managed. It is a long and difficult journey for people suffering from schizophrenia, but there can be light at the end of the tunnel. If you know of anyone who is suffering from schizophrenia the best thing you can do is give them your love and support.
. There are many treatments but ones that are effective as well as having no undesirable side effects are yet to be found, although the efficiency of some antipsychotic drugs and current advancement in biological research has actually countered this 70’s concept. Revolutionary scientific progression in neuroscience, genetics, brain imaging and molecular biology over the years has now supplied dependable and conclusive evidence for the biological bases that underlie schizophrenia.
Ophelia loves Hamlet; her emotions drive her to perform her actions. Some would say that Ophelia’s emotions could have actually been what ended her young
The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about Hamlet going insane and reveals his madness through his actions and dialogue. Hamlet remains one of the most discussed literary characters of all time. This is most likely due to the complex nature of Hamlet as a character. In one scene, Hamlet appears happy, and then he is angry in another and melancholy in the next. Hamlet’s madness is a result of his father’s death which was supposedly by the hands of his uncle, Claudius. He has also discovered that this same uncle is marrying his mom. It is expected that Hamlet would be suffering from some emotional issues as result of these catastrophes. Shakespeare uses vivid language, metaphors, and imagery to highlight how Hamlet’s madness influences several important aspects of his life including his relationships and the way he presents himself.