Hamlet, By William Shakespeare

There are a variety of factors that can contribute to one’s demise. In the context of the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare many possibilities can be identified that pertain to Ophelia’s sudden death. Ophelia’s death was triggered by her mental breakdown due to the loss of her father. In the midst of her inner turmoil, her depression worsens as she learns that Hamlet, the man she loves departs to England. When she dies, Gertrude reports her death to Claudius and Laertes. Gertrude, The Queen of Denmark, is responsible for Ophelia’s death. By looking at Gertrude’s over protective relationship with Hamlet, her lack of initiative on the situations around her in a time of tragedy, as well as her vivid account of Ophelia’s death, evidence that

It is widely believed that “Living life without honor is a tragedy bigger than death itself” and this holds true for Hamlet’s Ophelia. Ophelia’s death symbolizes a life spent passively tolerating Hamlet’s manipulations and the restrictions imposed by those around her, while struggling to maintain the last shred of her dignity. Ophelia’s apathetic reaction to her drowning suggests that she never had control of her own life, as she was expected to comply with the expectations of others. Allowing the water to consume her without a fight alludes to Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia as merely a device in his personal agenda. Her apparent suicide denotes a desire to take control of her life for once. Ophelia’s death is, arguably, an honorable one,

   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.

Ophelia started acted insane when Hamlet frantically ran up to her, grabbed her arms and shook her because he had seen the ghost of King Hamlet. “He took me by the wrist and held me hard. Then goes he to the length of all his arm, And, with his other hand thus o’er his brow, He falls to such perusal of my face As he would draw it. Long stayed he so. At last, a little shaking of mine arm, And thrice his head thus waving up and down,  He raised a sigh so piteous and profound As it did seem to

Yet to Hamlet, Ophelia is no better than another Gertrude: both are tender of heart but submissive to the will of importunate men, and so are forced into uncharacteristic vices. Both would be other than what they are, and both receive Hamlet’s exhortations

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the character Hamlet must deal with both external and internal conflict. Hamlet encounters many struggles and has trouble finding a way to deal with them. With so many corrupt people in his life, Hamlet feels as if there is no one that he can trust and begins to isolate himself from others. A result from this isolation leads Hamlet to become melancholy. Hamlet struggles with suicidal thoughts, wants to kill King Claudius, and is distraught over his mother’s hasty marriage with his uncle Claudius.

Poor Gertrude has made the pathetic journey from blissful ignorance to wretched half-enlightenment, and her peace of mind is totally destroyed.  Likewise, Ophelia is totally changed within the course of the play.

    The Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet features two female characters in main roles, Ophelia and Gertrude. They are similar in a surprising number of ways. This essay proposes to elucidate the reader on their likeness or similarity.

Ophelia’s degradation follows the death of Polonius, Hamlet’s rejections and absence as a result of his personal vendetta, and Laertes’ departure from Denmark. Gertrude describes Ophelia’s death, claiming that she “Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide, And mermaid-like a while they bore her up, Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds As one incapable of her own distress, Or like a creature native and indued Unto that element. But long it could not be Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death.” (Shakespeare 197).

Although Gertrude’s madness is not always apparent throughout the play, the tragic downfall of Hamlet’s self proclaimed lover, Ophelia, was very intricate and her madness was extremely evident. Shakespeare illustrates the collapse of Ophelia in a much different way than any other character. Ophelia’s lunacy becomes apparent after the murder of her father, Polonius (III.iv.24). Her downfall was contributed to depression and confusion; however, Shakespeare often makes numerous biblical connections throughout her downfall, as if to raise the question if her madness was by the hand of God. Bali notices that Ophelia uses music and song to express her depression, and this is how Shakespeare connects her downfall to religion (85). Allison A. Chapman, author of Ophelia’s “Old Lauds”, explains that Ophelia makes the comment, “They say the owl was a baker’s daughter” (IV.v.42-43). Chapman continues on this by stating that this is one

In the wake of her death, Gertrude described Ophelia as, “ As one incapable of her own distress Or like a creature native and endued Unto that element,” (4.7.201-203). She describes her as someone who did not realize the danger she was in, which is why she ended up taking her own life. Had Ophelia realized what her unrequited love had done to her, and worked to fix it she may not have committed suicide. Ophelia’s insanity was a case that could have been avoided without the presence of Hamlet in her life. Ophelia suffers the worst in the end, losing her life from something she could not control, the sanity of her lover.

Hardships and sufferings are common in an average person’s life, but enduring a certain amount can push a person past their limits. At times, one's actions can lead to other people's limits being broken resulting in unexpected consequences. Hamlet by William Shakespeare involves two characters named Ophelia and Gertrude who both suffer from Hamlet's verbal and physical abuse; of the two, Ophelia suffers to a greater extent because of her decision to commit suicide. The cruel insults Hamlet addresses Ophelia with hurts her deeply due to them being false, whereas the harsh words Hamlet uses to describe Gertrude with are mostly true. Ophelia gets traumatized from both Hamlet’s sayings and actions, causing her to suffer an incredible amount. Queen Gertrude, who is the mother of Hamlet, is humiliated with abusive language by her son, which causes a particularly large amount of emotional distress on her since these words are coming from her very own child. First, the two suffer major harm from Hamlet due to his insults that cause them to feel worthless and violated. Gertrude becomes extremely offended by everything Hamlet says to her. Ophelia is greatly saddened, but at the same time she is worried about Hamlet. The death of Ophelia’s father causes the devastated daughter to fall into a state of depression, ultimately ending with the young woman taking her own life. On the other hand, the mother of Hamlet does not suffer from her son's torment as much as Ophelia because her death is the result of an accident, not the outcome of tremendous emotional suffering which Ophelia’s death resulted from. Additionally, Ophelia and Gertrude go through emotional suffering due to Hamlet’s verbal insult.

For this reason Gertrude makes it her goals to depict a tranquil Ophelia, seemingly in her right mind and oblivious to the setting around her, who accidentally falls into the water. She purposely fills the scene of Ophelia falling with language and imagery associated with grace and delicance, “When down her weedy trophies and herself Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide, And mermaid-like a while they bore her up” (Shakespeare IV.Vii. 174-176). By drawing similarities between Ophelia and a mermaid, Gertrude emphasizes that Ophelia did not seem to recognize the danger she was in nor did she seem to care.

Hamlet attempts a ‘self cure’ to deal with his mental instability. He uses his control over the written word to empower himself in emotionally disturbing situations, examples of which include the letters to Ophelia, his forged orders to England, and his rewriting of The Murder of Gonzago”. Yet at the hands of a similar insanity, Ophelia “does not have the same means for elaborating a delirium as a man. She possesses very limited access to any verbal communication with which to unpack her heart before her father’s death”. After his passing, Ophelia is confronted with an opportunity to express herself in a similar way to Hamlet through her songs. These songs are in the same style as Hamlet’s variation of ‘The Mouse Trap’. In the context of other renaissance women dealing with similar touches of insanity, “Ophelia’s experience of trying to find a voice in the play seems a model for the difficulties facing renaissance women” characters and writers alike. (Findlay, Alison).

When it comes to Queen Gertrude and her heinous action of committing incest with the brother of her late husband, the stigma is undeniable. Yet, considering the circumstances of Old King Hamlet’s death, there remains an abstruseness. Gertrude neither defending or denying the enigmatic claim implies inquiry - inquiry that must be solved.