Ophelia In Hamlet

Hamlet by William Shakespeare focuses on the title character plotting vengeance against Claudius for his father's murder to capture the Danish crown. The new king is also Hamlet's uncle and now stepdad due to the marriage with his mother, Gertrude. Through a sequence of events, the protagonist eventually avenges his father, although both his mother and himself fall to a tragic fate as well. Throughout the course of the play, the relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude changes from strained to a disrespectful and mistrustful to a bittersweet ending.

The final way that Laertes acts as a foil to Hamlet occurs once again when Claudius and Laertes are discussing Laertes’ actions to achieve his vengeance. Claudius gives Laertes advice saying, “That we would do/ we should do when we would; for this ‘would’/ changes” (4.7.134-136). Claudius is warning Laertes that if he waits long enough, he will probably end up not doing anything at all and will not achieve his goal of vengeance. This quote spoken by Claudius is quite similar to when King Hamlet’s ghost meets with Hamlet earlier in the play to warn him about how he was killed by Claudius and that he must get revenge. King Hamlet’s ghost also warns Hamlet saying, “Taint not thy mind” (1.5.92), telling him to not over think his plan because otherwise he will not pursue his vengeance. After Claudius warns Laertes to not get side tracked, the audience is reminded of King Hamlet’s ghost telling Hamlet to not over think because then their plans will not be pursued. This scene acts as a foil towards Hamlet because soon after the conversation, Laertes does pursue his plan of seeking vengeance, whereas Hamlet has been working on his plan the whole play, and has still not started to execute it.

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play them” (Pausch, Randy). In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare connects the character’s tragic deaths with their personal lives. From the first act, we are propelled into Hamlet’s world, where a great deal of misfortunate events have occurred. Ophelia has always been under pressure by her father, Polonius, and her lover Hamlet which was the result of her death. Polonius lived his life as Claudius’ spy and to do his dirty work for him, Polonius’ behaviour happened to be his reason for his death. Claudius’ performance of acting innocent, happened to be a manipulation which resulted to his brother’s tragic death. By examining William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare associates Ophelia, Polonius and Claudius’ ironic day-to-day events as a connectivity to their deaths.

“To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (3.1.64). This famous line in William Shakespeare's Hamlet perfectly encapsulates Hamlet’s internal struggle throughout the play. Hamlet tells the story of the young prince of Denmark and his desire for revenge on the uncle, Claudius, who murdered his father. As is the case in many works of literature, Hamlet changes greatly throughout the play. However, because of his attempts to act insane, it can be difficult to precisely map the changes in Hamlet’s character. By carefully investigating his seven soliloquies, where he is alone and has no need to “put on an antic disposition,” one can understand and interpret how Hamlet’s character develops throughout the play.

Hamlet proves himself a temperamental, twisted character in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. The Prince of Denmark conveys his facetious demeanor with his behavior and sharp tongue, especially in scenes with Ophelia and Gertrude. Although Hamlet’s situation is difficult and easily sympathized by viewers, his aggression should ultimately be focused on his murderous uncle.

In the conclusion of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the audience gains an understanding of the importance of Justice to each character. In the final act both Hamlet and Laertes seek to find justice for the wrongs committed against them and their families. This leaves both men trying to identify how to right these misdeeds

The character, Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, plays a very interesting role in the play’s plot. There has been quite a discussion surrounding the character, Ophelia. Some believe that she delves in the realm of insanity. They believe that all the events that occur in her life completely wrecks her mental state. However, this is not the case. Despite everything that Ophelia will deal with, you can still see that she just develops an act and isn’t insane. In the play’s beginning, we see the state she is in. She’s in love with her boyfriend Hamlet, but her relationship is tampered by her father. During the play, she has several unpleasant experiences involving Hamlet, which causes her to become distressed. At the play’s climax, her father’s death leaves her unstable and she loses it emotionally. At this point, Shakespeare tries to convince us that Ophelia has become truly insane. However, this is an act, and she can no longer bare life’s cruel hardships. In response, she will commit suicide.

He destroyed Ophelia with cruelty and harshness. He began saying hurtful things the Ophelia such as, “I have heard of your paintings well enough, God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another: you jig, you amble, and you lisp, you nick-name God's creatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance” (ACT III, i). Not only is he being harsh with his words, but he disrespects her. Hamlet changes the way he acts towards Ophelia, “Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap?

Ophelia had many things that triggered her to the thought of suicide. “Even in his tirade against Ophelia, she is scarcely more than a prop...”(Intentional meaning in Hamlet: an evolutionary perspective). She was used as a toy by most of the characters in the play even her father. Ophelia was always seen as a throwaway object instead of a person who mattered to people. When Ophelia was having bad days like when she lost her father or when Hamlet rejected her, no one cared enough to check on her and see if she was okay. Ophelia started to go crazy after she had lost her father but Hamlet and her brother did not care enough, like everyone else, to find out if she was truly okay. Ophelia had been treated very poorly by many people throughout the play including her brother, father, and lover.

Will Hamlet accept the new changes in his life? What is he capable of to be happy? After his father’s death, Hamlet will have to face the new changes in his hometown, Denmark. Shakespeare develops Hamlet’s character in relation to other characters in these soliloquies.

After the death of her father, Ophelia experiences an extreme amount of grief that drives her into a state of madness. She becomes so stricken with sadness and frustration that she drowns herself. But while Ophelia’s insanity is triggered by Polonius’s murder, she has been consistently put down and disrespected by many of the other characters for her femininity. While it was customary of the time for women to not have been held to the higher standards of men, Ophelia’s emotions are disregarded by her family. Claudius uses her as a tool in order to find out Hamlet’s intentions and Polonius (her own father) interferes in her personal life with Hamlet for purposes of protecting his political reputation. Instead of comforting Ophelia after the

Hamlet’s struggle to restore order in Denmark ultimately results in extreme and utter chaos. In Shakespeare’s tragic play of Hamlet, Prince Hamlet mentally and emotionally destroys Ophelia while pursuing madness, has a duel to the death with Laertes, who is trying to avenge his father Polonius's death, and fails many times to kill King Claudius, who plays a large role in Hamlet’s murder as well as the deaths of Gertrude and Laertes. Hamlet’s struggle to restore order in Denmark clearly results in these chaotic situations.

The character of Ophelia in Shakespeare's “Hamlet” is a dynamic character often overlooked by most readers. At first glance, she is displayed as weak and easily manipulated, shown by her suicide in the play. However, when her character is looked into with more depth, she comes off as a character who is strong and independent and made the choice to kill herself with a purpose. “Hamlet” is a revenge tragedy, but Hamlet isn’t the only character who seeks revenge.

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.

As a young girl, my father was constantly protective about the guys in my life. However, if I didn’t agree with him I would tell him. Like me,the character Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, has a protective father, however, her character plays an important yet provoking role in the elaboration of the plot. In the beginning, she starts off in a healthy state of mind, in love with her boyfriend Hamlet, yet controlled by her father in regard to their relationship. During the play she encounters several troubling experiences involving Hamlet, causing her to become distressed. Near the end, the death of her father leaves Ophelia mentally unstable in a state of madness. So, due to all of the unfortunate events among the people she loved the most in her life, Ophelia exhibits a tragic character because of her naive , emotional character traits leading to her tragic downfall.