The Myriad. Articulte, 1(1), 6. Would she have been more proactive with trying to fight the current of the stream? Ophelia and Madness. Rather than straight-up committing suicide like hanging herself, overdoses Ophelia drowns. Please wait while we process your payment. Shes being torn between two very influential men in her life. by Coke Smyth. I did a 20 page paper, cited and reference with both currant DSM standards as well as utilizing the play for quotes. He is unable to cope with his perceived responsibility to his father and is driven further into a state of depression (Shaw). Uniquely vulnerable to definition by others, Ophelia's character is the epitome of Shakespearean ambiguity, defined first by the male characters of the play and second by the play's audience . Ophelia first refers to Hamlet, "How should I my true love know" (4.5.26), and then she appears to refer to Polonius, "He is dead and gone, lady" (4.5.32). Discount, Discount Code Project Gutenberg. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. on 2-49 accounts, Save 30% Ophelia's relationships with these men restrict her agency and eventually lead to her death. Hamlet accidentally murders Polonius during his first attempt to kill Claudius which leads to Ophelia to become mad herself. He toys with her emotions throughout the play (e.g., saying he loves her and then immediately denying it in act 3, scene 1) and ultimately kills her father. Well written! Get your custom essay on, https://studydriver.com/ophelias-madness/, Hamlet and Ophelias Promising Relationship, Critical Analysis of Hamlet: Character Analysis and the Themes of Revenge. However, rue was also used as a way to induce abortion: as Shakespeare never met a pun he didn't like, there is reason to suspect she may be planning to use the rue to try to end a pregnancy. It is likely that Ophelia has fixated upon Hamlets detestable oath breaking so much so that in not requiting her love, Hamlet has broken both her heart and her poor mind. The longer Hamlet waits to exact his revenge, the further he descends into madness and melancholy. I really liked the points you brought up about Ophelia, I wrote about her in my blog post as well. Her distresses are practically contrasted and villas nevertheless she sort of goes extremely, dislike village which is a phony insane. Continue to start your free trial. Ophelia didnt feel safe around the people she was supposed to trust, if Ophelia could just speak up about how she was feeling or what was going on she would still be alive and maybe be living a better life full of freedom and love. There's no scene in which Ophelia is told about her father's death where the audience can see her reaction, there are no more scenes between Hamlet and Ophelia, and there's no scene in which Ophelia is told about Hamlet being sent to England. When the Ghost tells Hamlet about Claudiuss murder, Hamlet responds strangely: he tells his friend Horatio and the watchman Marcellus that he is going to pretend to be mad. from West Virginia State University Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University. In Act Four she spirals into madness and dies under ambiguous circumstances. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. With lines like Young men will dot if they come tot / By Cock, they are to blame signifies a strange and perhaps oblique reference to a promiscuous or simply flighty man who promises love (or sex here with the word cock) but backs out after a brief time (4.5.59-60). Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. According to Brown, The context of her disease, like that of hysteria later, is sexual frustration, social helplessness, and enforced control over women's bodies. Because she has no agency over her own life and body, she is driven further into madness (Brown). This essay has been submitted by a student. SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 53(2), 293-309. Want 100 or more? While the death of Hamlet's father made him angry enough to want revenge, Ophelia internalized the death of her father as a loss of personal identity. This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before, Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts. Gertrude tints that Ophelia's drowning was natural, Ophelia is described by Gertrude as being like a native creature in the water, Ophelia is described as being mermaid-like with her clothes spread wide. It is likely that Ophelia fixated upon Hamlets oath breaking so much that in not requiting her love, Hamlet had broken both her heart and her poor mind. With the loss of her father, brother, and her lover all extremely close together is enough to make anyone go mad I suppose. Ophelias life was full of control and abuse. If you are such a student, you can use What Is The Significance Of Ophelia's Madness?. (one code per order). This supports the argument that Ophelia is indeed the reason for Hamlet's madness. poor Ophelia separated from herself and her reasonable judgment, without the which we are pictures, or insignificant brutes; From the Kings perspective and the prior discussion with Polonius, it is comprehended that Polonius and Ophelia have an incredible dad little girl security. There are many different things that contribute to Ophelias death, and I like that you put it all out there. Medieval & Renaissance Drama In England 20. Wed love to have you back! Which also shows how she was actually deflowered, giving flowers away. This causes him to display erratic behavior, indicating that he has become mad with his desire to avenge his fathers death. I perchance hereafter shall think meet She is appeared to be extremely harmed and upset, she sings a melody about how her dad is dead and gone. To put an antic disposition on Close as far as possible of Act IV, Ophelia goes frantic and is discovered dead, from suffocating, this symbolizes the demise of the kingdom and can be viewed as the corruptness that happens all through the kingdom and symbolizes the disdain inside. Nellie Melba as Ophelia in the opera "Hamlet" by Ambroise Thomas. We both wrote about Ophelia! Or is Ophelia truly upset by the ferocity of Hamlet's denials of his love for her and his harsh treatment of her that it starts her down the path to madness? In spite of the fact that the man in the melody has guaranteed the speaker that they will before long marry, he has abandoned her for no obvious reason and like Hamlets supposed cases of affection and marriage to Ophelia, so too has Hamlet broken those promises for reasons unbeknownst. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below: By clicking Send, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. Dont have an account? It appears they might have warned her too late. Once these male influences are removed and these descriptions no longer define Ophelia, she loses her identity and becomes mad. Once her father is dead, she loses a major part of herself. He says that if Ophelia were to marry, shed turn her husband into a monster, or a cuckold because she would inevitably cheat on him; and then he follows up these sweet nothings with a little I loved you not (129). His words imply that, just as the wind only occasionally blows from the north-north-west, so too is he only occasionally struck by madness. In any case, the express sexual references in Ophelias melodies maybe represent her fixation on the now missing Hamlet, as in promising his affection to her prior in the play and afterward being hated, she is doubly devastated close by the demise of her dad. Teachers and parents! Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools. We will occasionally send you account related emails. Even though, in the beginning, Hamlet is only feigning madness, he is certainly troubled (to say the least) at the end of the play. Latest answer posted February 17, 2021 at 12:04:07 PM. Toward the start of the play, Ophelia as observed as an exceptionally charming and pleasant character. Ophelias tragedy lies in the way she loses her innocence through no fault of her own. The way the content is organized. Ace your assignments with our guide to Hamlet! to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. The fact that the water completely weighs her down and she doesnt even car is shocking because she shouldnt have died but her showing that shows how depressed she was. The word rue, of course, means regret, so she simply could mean that she regrets all that has happened. Ophelias garments pull her down. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. There exists a theory that Hamlet showed signs of Mania love, or obsessive love. Why doesnt Hamlet kill Claudius right away? She has no way to prevent the death of her father, and no way to reason with the loss of Hamlets affection. 2021 StudyDriver.com - Big database of free essay examples for students at all levels. In this monologue, Hamlet seems to be having an existential crisis as he contemplates the meaning of life and death and whether or not he would be better off taking his own life. 20 May 2016. Latest answer posted December 19, 2017 at 9:21:46 AM, What is the meaning of the following quote? Of course, if she were to marry, shed then have to live by her husbands rules. $24.99 Ophelia understood what Hamlet was doing to her she went basically crazy. She is appeared to be exceptionally harmed and distressed, she sings a melody about how her dad is dead and gone. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Having been separated from himself, Hamlet argues that he cannot be held responsible for any act that his madness, in fact, committed. Madness is one of the main themes of Hamlet. Stop wasting your time searching for samples! Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Get custom essays. 21 Stripped of any of the references, Gertrudes monologue says only that Ophelia, wearing a dress that spread wide, fell. The reactions she provides for Hamlet, bodes well, yet are excessively short and unimportant. Madness is one of the most pervasive themes in Shakespeares Hamlet. Why does Hamlet encourage the actor to recite the speech about Pyrrhus and Priam? Sam, Hi Sam, In these lines, however, Hamlet also denies responsibility for having killed Laertes' father. I think that you did a great job analyzing Ophelias character, and I think that it helpful as a reader to see the different aspects of her character development to understand what she is going through. We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country. For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more! Throughout the play, Hamlet displays pessimistic thoughts and negativity. Everybody in Ophelias life just assume how things are in her life which is another example of how shes so controlled she cant even speak against not having sex with Hamlet. The combination of her former lovers cruelty and her fathers death sends Ophelia into a fit of grief.
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