Comparing Ophelia In Arthur Miller's Tragedy And The Common Man

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.

The noble and innocent youth Ophelia tries her hardest to obey/impress her elders. Prince Hamlet and Ophelia have a complicated relationship in which they have on and off’s. At the beginning Ophelia’s love for Prince Hamlet is strong but she has to keep her innocence/ obedience

   Poor Ophelia, she lost her lover, her father, her mind, and, posthumously, her brother. Ophelia is the only truly innocent victim in Hamlet. This essay will examine Ophelia's downward spiral from a chaste maiden to nervous wreck.

Miller’s essay, Tragedy and the Common Man, gives an insightful look past the basic definition of a tragic hero and expands upon the idea that a common man could infact be in a similar position. He starts off talking about the primitive thought that all

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static character in the play. Instead of changing through the course of the play, she remains suffering in the misfortunes perpetrated upon her. She falls into insanity and dies a tragic death. Ophelia has issues surviving without a male influence, and her downfall is when all the men in her life abandon her. Hamlet’s Ophelia, is a tragic, insane character that cannot exist on her own.

In Hamlet, the female characters can be seen as being subservient to men. This goes on to show how Shakespeare, goes against the feminist theory by not creating equality between all the characters. One of the main character’s Ophelia can be seen as being weak and undermined in the play. She spends most of her time following the actions of her father, Polonius and boyfriend, Hamlet, with little to no say in her own opinion on topics. Polonius displays his dominance over Ophelia when he expresses his opinion on her relationship with Hamlet. He informs Ophelia on exactly what her next actions need to be when dealing with Hamlet. He even goes as far as warning her to not go against his wishes because it will “ tender [him] a fool”, showing his superiority over Ophelia’s actions (I . iii. 109). The inequality can also be shown when comparing Laertes’s life with Ophelia's. Laertes is left alone to travel France, while Ophelia is stuck to follow her father's orders. Hamlet also tries to show his

1. Why is the common man “as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were”?

“I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” ( Tragedy and the Common Man). Arthur Miller follows his Millerian conventions of tragedy in the writing of The Crucible. Often literature uses tragedy to display a depressing theme represented by the tragic hero.

64. As opposed to Hamlet’s madness by becoming too consumed within his own thoughts of revenge, Ophelia’s madness stems from her loss of identity. Though both characters had lost their fathers, Hamlet maintained his individuality, whereas Ophelia, without her sense of duty, has been rendered unto nothing. Ophelia is not the tragic hero that Hamlet is, she serves merely as a plot point and a foil to Gertrude in her purity and lack of selfhood. Ophelia is a damsel left to wallow in her tragic fate as no one comes to her rescue.

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.

Arthur Miller gives a clear understanding of what a tragic hero is. A tragic hero is someone like

In the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius and the love interest of Hamlet. She is portrayed as a young and beautiful women who is innocent and virtuous. Although she is deeply in love with Hamlet, Ophelia is truly obedient and loyal to her father and she does everything he asks of her. In Act 1 Scene 3 of Hamlet, Polonius gives her a long speech about how Hamlet does not care about her and all he wants from Ophelia is her body and he commands her to end her relationship with Hamlet. Ophelia like the obedient daughter she is replies with “I shall obey, my lord”.

Throughout the play Ophelia is portrayed in a variety of ways she is seen as a shy and obedient daughter who lacks the will of her own and as a mad woman who deliberately expresses her oppressed feelings and heartbreaking misery with lyrics and songs. Ophelia is manipulated throughout the story making her lack her own individuality that is until she goes mad. Being constantly exploited by not only her father but by Hamlet as well, Ophelia is never given the opportunity to reveal her true feelings that is until the death of her father. With the death of Polonius Ophelia is no longer bound to her father's regulations thus giving her the opportunity to break free. Ophelia lived a life in which her decisions were decided for her

   Michael Pennington in “Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven,” elucidates the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet:

According to Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, tragedies are best equipped to be based on a protagonist that is renowned and prosperous, so his good fortune can be dramatically changed. In contrast, Arthur Miller’s essay “Tragedy and the Common Man” states “that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings ever were.” He proves in his modern essay that the characteristics and emotions of the common man and the highly placed are entitled to be similar. Miller even identifies emotions of a average person and how they result in a better tragedy than those who are highly ranked. In his play “Death of Salesman” he demonstrates that the normal life of a sales man can still make for a great tragedy and that his protagonist, Willy Loman, is worthy of a tragedy.