Ophelia Act 1 Scene 1 Summary

In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the character Ophelia is very controversial due to the fact that Shakespeare places her as the focus inside the minds of all the men in her life such as Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet. Although Ophelia may appear to just be a beautiful, weak girl, she has the ability to gain power and attention over all of the men in her life. Throughout the play, Ophelia does not have much of a voice while also being mistreated and emotionally abused by her boyfriend Hamlet. Although Ophelia does not express her opinions and emotions publicly, she propels the plot along by influencing major events. Ophelia’s weak, indecisive, and obedient personality allows her to progress the plot by Shakespeare making her the focus of the men in

The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, looks at the issue of madness and how it effects the characters of the play. Madness can be looked at from very different perspectives, such as strong and uncontrollable emotions, a person’s desires, and also a persons mental stability. Throughout the play, the audience is questioning the sanity of the main character, Hamlet, as he goes on his quest for revenge. The people around him also show signs of madness, such as Ophelia and Claudius, but in different forms. Existentialist philosopher Friedrich Nietzche says, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in madness.” What Nietzche is saying is that when you are in love with someone or something, there is always a little

People have mostly seen women inferior to men because women have been thought of as simple-minded and could not take care of themselves. Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows how men treated and thought of women during the 1500s. There was an order most did not interfere with; however, some did. In the 1500s, women were supposed to conform to men’s wishes. Throughout the play, Ophelia first obeyed her father and brother’s wishes, ignored the social norms later, and then went mad, which caused her to never gain her own identity.

Denmark is in a state of chaos shown by the opening death of the true

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.

From historical events such as World War I and World War II to present day women have been playing prominent roles. During the 14th and 15th centuries women had no important roles in their families, they were only used to take care of their families and to use their body for sex for men. A women mostly always needed a man by her side to stay stable and strong, otherwise they are known to be weak without them.

Shakespeare's Hamlet is a tale of mortal revenge, lost souls, love and infidelity, and murder in the royal family. Hamlet, his father having recently died, is mourning the marriage of his mother to his uncle. When his father's ghost appears to him and tells him he must avenge the former king's spirit so that it may pass on to Heaven, he decides to put on an "antic disposition" so that no one will know what he is thinking. As time goes by, he cannot move himself to act upon his revenge and is tormented by his indecisiveness and ineptitude. Among all of this, what is the role of Ophelia, the young maiden, and daughter of the King's advisor, Hamlet's former sweetheart? She seems to appear out of

2. The significance of scene five was Ophelia’s first appearance in the play that displayed her newly found insanity due to the grief she feels from her dead father, Polonius. She speaks with the Queen Gertrude, who at first does not want to see her, but when she does she is shocked by her madness. Ophelia begins singing about the mourning of her father’s death and she also, sings about a love tale of seduction and rejection. When she leaves, Laertes, her brother, enters into the King’s chambers demanding information, shortly after Ophelia enters again and sings, showing her insanity to her brother, this enrages him.

Ophelia is one of the most recognisable and popular of Shakespeare’s heroines. She has been a focal point in literature and art throughout history. In early artwork Ophelia was displayed in a group context with the focus not being on her, usually being positioned in the background. Towards the end of the 18th century her character became popular at a fast pace, with Ophelia being the most depicted literary subjects in art.

Manipulative mastermind: two words that describe only the most sinister of people. When picturing a person worthy of this description, you might think of a murderer who avoided any prison time, a sociopath with control over his loved ones, or even a corrupt politician spinning his lies. All of these are possible things that come to mind, but the very last person you would picture is “a mermaid-like (...) creature {who is} native {in nature} (III. vii. 175-178).” But remember do not judge a book by its cover, even the prettiest faces can hide the most sinister of minds. Capable of scheming and twisting the minds of those around them to fit their own picture of how things should happen. You can find this cunning creature in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Never before have I heard of a person capable of controlling their own father, while holding sway over the vast majority of people surrounding them; even managing to manipulate those people after their death. No, this character is not Hamlet, Claudius, or even the dead King Hamlet, it is someone much more discrete in their control over others. Ophelia is the master manipulator. Although, many first dismiss her as a simply, naive noblewoman, she is much more capable than you think, and if the reader looks closely they can find all the ways that she dominated the Norwegian court with a sly mind and innocent front.

“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. / I pray you, love, remember” (IV.v. 199-200). Ophelia giving out these tokens to her loved ones to cherish and remember Polonius’ memory may have been a foreshadow into her own death. In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, Ophelia puts on an antic disposition when Hamlet kills her father Polonius. Ophelia's mad state appears when Hamlet breaks his promise to Ophelia in the intent to marry her. Ophelia panics because she now feels dirty, used and impure. One may say that Shakespeare paints Ophelia much older than she appears to be in reality. However, her young age becomes clear by seeing how she copes with her father’s death. I believe that her antic disposition transpired

Following Ophelia death in act 4 scene 7, Act 5 scene 1 talks about the events that follow the burial of Ophelia death. This scene takes one into a path of deep thinking whether someone who commits suicide should be given a proper burial and how death is inevitable, it does not matter whether you are rich or a peasant; everyone ends up returning to dust. Death favours nobody but how we die is what makes the difference. Ophelia having a Christian burial is something that challenges the gravediggers. This is because in Christianity, at any one occasion when a person committed suicide, the person was denied a proper burial for the fact that they were taking a short cut to death and they never valued their own life thus rendering it useless to give honour their death.

Eliza after receiving assistance from Senator Bird is reunited with her husband, George. They find a temporary haven in chapter 13 of the novel in the Quaker Settlement which is run as if it's a kind of matriarchy. In the first part of the novel, that plot of escape alternates with Tom’s plot. Tom sailed to a slave owner down South. It's at the end of chapter 17, where was also the first edition of the novel ended.

of a terrible waste of young life. As a result of the way in which

To begin with, Ophelia is a character from the Shakespeare classic Hamlet. She is perceived as a young woman who is kind hearted and obedient towards the male characters within the story. These characteristics cause her to be seen as the victim of the male characters who revolve around the story of Hamlet.