Ophelia In Hamlet Essay

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 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 Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the audience finds a docile, manipulated, scolded, victimized young lady named Ophelia. Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet. Plays have foils to help the audience better understand the more important characters in the play.  The character of Ophelia is necessary so that the audience will give Hamlet a chance to get over his madness and follow his heart.

Shakespeare places many interesting characters in his plays. Claudius, Polonius, Marcellus, and Reynaldo are a few from his play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. However, Ophelia appears to be the most innocent all throughout the play. This character has either indirectly or directly affected the lives of every main characters in the script. Ophelia’s character is portrayed as obedient, maidenly, and a mad young girl.

   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.

During the Renaissance, it was common for women to behave a certain manner in a patriarchal society. Acting as a subordinate to their husband and fathers, women were expected to listen to the men in their lives and carry out their wishes. This cultural expectation exists in Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the father-daughter relationship between Polonius and Ophelia. Polonius is an overbearing father who ultimately plays the most influential role for Ophelia. He demands to have control over every aspect of her life, whether it’s social, emotional, or marital. Without a mother-like figure to follow, Ophelia is forced to succumb to the standards that men have put upon her. Both characters illustrate the superficiality to their personas and how they each curb their intentions due to traditional values.

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.

The second time a man a power lied and it affected other more than himself is shown when Claudius and Polonius lied to their wives. Gertrude’s death is solely the effect of Claudius lies and secrets. In act five scene two, when the plan for Hamlet’s deaths was being executed it took a turn for the worst when Gertrude drinks a cup of poisoness wine that was only meant for the mouth of hamlet to taste. She passed shortly after consuming the poison in cold blood because of deadly lie. Kings says “Gertrude, do not drink” (Shakespeare, V,ii 282). Queen Responds “I will my lord, I pray you pardon me.” (Shakespeare, V,ii 283). King [Aside] “It is the poison’d cup. It is too late.” (Shakespeare, V,ii 284) . During this interaction the King is asking the Queen not to drink the cup of wine, she asks for his pardon and drinks

   In Hamlet, we are introduced to the complexities of a man who is struggling to murder his uncle while trying to understand his mother's motives. His inner turmoil has left him emotionally unavailable and completely disenchanted with humanity in general.

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

In the play Hamlet, the author, William Shakespeare tells the story of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark whose father, the king, was killed by his brother Claudius. The play proceeds to display Hamlet’s struggle to find the strength to get revenge on Claudius for killing his father as well as his disdain for his mother Gertrude for marrying Claudius. The children of the king’s advisor, Laertes and Ophelia, become involved in this familial conflict after Hamlet kills their father and breaks up with Ophelia, who was once his object of affection. In the play, Shakespeare argues that when an individual learns a painful truth, he or she will always search for a scapegoat to blame for his or her pain and seek revenge on that individual, even if the

Hamlet becomes corrupted by his greed for the crown, affecting not just his relationships with his friends and his mother, but seems to spread it like a disease to Ophelia. As the play begins and both Hamlet and Ophelia are introduced in their own times, the personalities and mannerisms of the two seem to be clear. However, as the play progresses, events cause these appearances to blur and change. The play begins with Prince Hamlet having just arrived back in Denmark after the sudden death of his father, the king.

Sometimes the most influential people in one’s life are the ones that are only there for the slightest moment. In humanity losing something that means so dearly can spark a vengeance within one's own madness. Shakespeare uses Hamlet as in an idea to convey how the mind of an human makes decisions based upon their characteristics. Hamlet is the a man who is deeply frustrated by the many women in his life yet he still maintains his relationships with as a tool for advancing his madness. Hamlet love for the women in his life leads to him trying to find stability between madness and his revenge.