How Does Gertrude Present Ophelia's Death In Hamlet

When problems with Ophilia and Hamlet arise, Claudius simply sees this as another opportunity to quiet Hamlet. He encourages the relationship, hoping if Hamlet is seeing Polonius? daughter, he wont speak out about his suspicions of Claudius. Although, when Gertrude gets word of these news, she sees this as a completely different opportunity. She, unlike her new husband, encourages the relationship in hopes that it will cheer up her son and he will return to normal. She says to Ophilia, ?And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish that your good beauties be the happy cause of Hamlet's wildness. So shall I hope your virtues will bring him to his wonted way again, to both your honors? (Shakespeare 3.1.136). Gertrude only thinks of her sons well being. In which case, if she had been involved in King Hamlets murder, she would probably be more worried about not being caught instead of how to make Hamlet happy again.

In fact, by looking at her response, it is possible that she is faithful to Claudius, the man she married quickly after her husband died. This suggests Gertrude’s timid and weak vulnerability on the presence of Claudius’ character in the play. If Gertrude was more skeptical and active about Claudius’ succession as King, she could have prevented a man, who is in fact a murderer, to have control over many social aspects in the kingdom such as nobles and courtiers. It is clear that Hamlet’s knowledge of the truth regarding the death of his father is what drives him to behave insanely. As a result of Gertrude’s reluctant effort to speculate Claudius’ rise to the throne, the death of her husband resulted to her son’s insanity. If Gertrude was more pessimistic on Claudius, suspecting his motives to take the throne, then Hamlet could have avoided the irrational behavior that caused Polonius’ death and his departure to England. In turn, Ophelia could have avoided being depressed and suicidal. Since the scheme commenced without Gertrude’s interference, Ophelia became heart broken due to her conversation with Hamlet, where he insulted her. Heart break often leads to depression which eventually sums up to suicide. Gertrude is clearly responsible for Ophelia committing suicide because she could have prevented Polonius and Claudius’ scheme,

[Done in] England” (4.3.66). Gertrude with no control over his decisions agrees to everything Claudius suggests about Hamlet’s exile. Gertrude trusts Claudius which allows him to control her in the actions and decisions he makes. The lack of lines Gertrude has throughout the play proves her trust for Claudius proving that she has nothing against what he decides. Similarly, Ophelia is controlled by Polonius, her father. Polonius controls Ophelia due to immaturity and her ignorance of her relationship with Hamlet. “Affection? pooh! you speak like a green girl, / Unsifted in such perilous circumstance, / Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?” (1.3.101-103). Not only Polonius but Laertes, her brother, constantly advise her to avoid Hamlet because he is just counterfeiting love and his intention is to hurt Ophelia:

    Ophelia's downfall continues throughout the play, and her final plunge into the waters of madness and suicide culminate around her father's death. Hamlet, while talking threateningly to his mother, accidentally slays Polonius who was hiding behind the curtain in his mother's room. Hamlet thought it was Claudius he heard coming to his mother's aid when she cried for help and lunged at the curtain with his sword, killing Polonius. "O, I am slain!" were his final words. After Ophelia learns of her father's death at the hands of her estranged lover, she goes

Ophelia is Hamlet’s love interest throughout the entire play. However, in an attempt to be strategic, Hamlet feigns insanity in order to be deceiving and in turn breaks Ophelia's heart. His sudden disinterest towards her coupled with her father Polonius and brother Laertes’ commands to stay away from Hamlet composes a dire internal conflict within Ophelia's mind. She is torn between her undying love for Hamlet versus her desire to be an obedient daughter and sister. In addition, Hamlet unintentionally murders Polonius rather than Claudius, which also adds to Ophelia's insanity. To make matter worse, Ophelia has no mother figure within her life. So taken all together, she is stuck in a constant battle within herself with nobody who is there for her. “I hope all will be well. We must be patient/ but I cannot choose but weep/ to think they would lay him/ i' th' cold ground” (Hamlet v, iv). This quote from Ophelia demonstrates her deep sorrow towards her father's death, as well as the start of her path to insanity. Her lack of a maternal figure leaves her with nobody to discuss her feelings and troubles with. Because of this constant battle within her life, Ophelia finds herself in a confrontation with her emotions, which ends in her official decision of suicide. Which one could argue makes her decisive in the end which may be true, but her internal struggle leading to her choice of suicide is what makes her a great example of a character struggling with uncertainty during times of

Another time Ophelia was important in Hamlet's life was after not seeing Ophelia for a while Hamlet stumbles upon a grave site being dug in the middle of the woods, but at the time he doesn’t know who for. When Hamlet find out that Ophelia is the one that is being put to rest he starts to go crazy again. He says “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers, if you added all their love together, couldn’t match mine. What are you going to do for her?” ( V, I, pg.12. lines 247-249). Hamlet is basically trying to say that even if they don’t believe him he really did love Ophelia. Gertrude responded by saying, “This is pure insanity. He’ll be like this for a little while” (V, I, pg. 12 lines 247-249). When Gertrude says this she basically means that he has gone crazy before that this is normal he will calm down soon. Therefor Ophelia played a huge role in Hamlet’s life without necessarily being there all of the time.

Ophelia’s Perpetual State as a Pawn Situated right in Act 4, Scene 7, Gertrude’s news of Ophelia’s death follows Claudius’s attempts to persuade Laertes into avenging Polonius’s death. The more immediate significance of Ophelia's death is how it lends even more fodder for Laertes’s vindication against Hamlet. However, Shakespeare uses Gertrude's monologue to more implicitly illustrate Ophelia's relationship with the rest of the nobility, particularly in her desire to meet its high standards and later downfall because of said desire. Shakespeare illustrates both the cruel irony and destructiveness of Ophelia’s role as a pawn in Gertrude’s monologue through his use of imagery, juxtaposition, and personification.

In addition to being Hamlet's foil, Ophelia also served as foil to Gertrude. Gertrude was self-serving and never blamed herself for anything bad that happened, even the things that were her fault. It is speculated that the queen knew about her husband's murder, possibly even assisted in it, but she always denied it and acted like the victim. However, Ophelia blamed herself for everything bad that happened: Hamlet's madness, her father's death, when really none of them had to do with her. Ophelia is meek and fragile; she tries to

Ophelia, ever since her introduction, has been introduced to be a sweet and sympathetic person, providing the play with emotional moments, but her death was used as a bait and switch by Shakespeare towards audience members who had expected her to change the play’s somber mood to more hopeful one, which in turn makes the play even more tragic. After she had been visited by an apparently crazed Hamlet, she tells Polonius about the visit, prompting him to believe that the young prince is crazy in love, and goes out to tell the king. After it was explained to Claudius, and Hamlet’s former friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern failed to find the underlying cause of his madness, Polonius makes Ophelia approach Hamlet while he and the king hide and monitor his behavior.

He lists off all the things he would do in order to be buried with Ophelia, each action outdoing the previous as well as Laertes’s demands. For example, Hamlet claims to (find quote) Perhaps Hamlet feels guilty and responsible for Ophelia’s suicide, especially since his disrespect was a major factor in Ophelia’s breakdown.

In the Kings Aside he realizes that the act is done and Gertrude is dead. This proves that thee King’s lies affected Gertrude to the point of no return. If Claudius had not secretly came up with a plan to murder his son Gertrude’s life would not have to pay for his foolishness. In addition, one of the main reasons for Ophelia’s suicide is her father’s lack of communication with her. Throughout the play Polonius gives orders to Ophelia to act a certain way at certain times to portrait a certain image, so he could get information for himself to make the judgement calls. He fails to understand that life is not a one way street nor is it his life. If Polonius would like to participate in Ophelia life he should communicate his belief more than once. In act one scene three Polonius gives his advice than orders Ophelia to cut off Hamlet and no longer have ties with him. Polonius says “ I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth/ Have you so slander any moment leisure/ As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet./Look to’t, I charge you. Come your ways. (Shakespeare I,iii

Ophelia experiences alienation throughout Hamlet, although she ends her life with suicide, unlike Hamlet. The queen places blame on Ophelia for Hamlet's madness and states: "...for your part, Ophelia, I do wish that your good beauties be the happy cause for Hamlet's madness..." (Shakespeare 140). The queen lightens her feelings of guilt for the murder and places the guilt upon Ophelia. Gertrude, the queen, knows that she has committed something wrong with the plot of killing Old Hamlet and therefore finds an outlet through Ophelia. Also, to try to discover Hamlet's cause of insanity, Claudius and Polonius use Ophelia to get closer to him and find out that perhaps they could conclude that his

Ophelia gave into her state of madness to easily. The Queen who first gives the news, "One woe doth tread upon another's heel, So fast they follow. Your sister's drowned, Laertes." (4,7,187-88) This throws more fuel on the ever growing fire burning within Laertes. The Queen hasn't realized how true her statement really is. Laertes now has the burden of carrying out is revenge, put forth by Claudius to rid himself of Hamlet. Laertes has sealed his fate by so obviously falling into Claudius' trap. When Laertes is dying he speaks off his treachery most clearly," Why as a woodcock to mine own springe,...I am justly killed with mine own treachery." (5,2, 336-37)I felt sorry for Laertes when he died. His death could have been easily prevented by either taking time to calm down or speak to Hamlet about murdering his father. Laertes, just like most other mend jumped straight into bloodshed and ultimately he deserves what happened to him.

She shows all of her affection for him and he shrugs it off like its nothing. He is too busy fantasizing about his mother because that all he wants. But Ophelia on the other hand just wants Hamlet and all of his attention. Of course she has to have all of it or she will kill of herself. She does commit suicide by drowning herself. He wasn't very polite to her whatsoever. You can say that he doesn't know how to treat a lady or ever will. He wants to be love and wants to be happy but the only person that loves him and cares for him kills her self for him because he was too busy being selfish like always. Once he finds out the news about her and sees the burial ground he jumps into the grave with her and holds her in his arms. Laertes decides to be a man and step to hima and say what is on his mind. He starts to yell at Hamlet and they start to grapple. The King starts to plot in his mind of what should actually happen, in his head. He comes up with a devious plan to kill Hamlet and sees an opportunity when he says that Laertes his grappling with him. He speaks up and says you guys will settle this in a sword fight. In the Kings head he knows that he wants to kill Hamlet and this is the perfect way to do

Ophelia was known as a sweet, innocent, and more importantly obedient girl. Yet, being the obedient, daughter she was, she separated from Hamlet by orders of her father and helped him spy on Hamlet for the King. Being in love with Hamlet, this was a difficult thing for Ophelia to do, although, not until her father’s death does the reader really see Ophelia in a state of madness. When she talks to Gertrude she begins to sing, “He is dead and gone, lady, / He is dead and gone;/ At his head a grass-green turf, / At his heels a stone” (4.5.29-32). The way Ophelia acted seemed obviously uncharacteristic of her, and portrayed a mental breakdown that ultimately leads her to take her own life. This tragic event marked a turning point in the play due to the fact that she wasn’t murdered, but a casualty of the feud between Hamlet and Claudius. Both of them bared responsibility for the murder of her father, which lead to her decision to commit suicide. Additionally, losing the love of Hamlet may have caused her to feel alone and in such a dark place it made her feel suicide was the only option. In conclusion, Ophelia’s death was caused due to the backlash of Hamlet and Claudius feud and the responsibility for her death should be placed on both of