Ophelia Madness 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.

However, Hamlet proceeds to murder and hide the body of Polonius, which leads to Ophelia’s insanity and the scene where everyone dies, as well as the completely senseless murders of minor characters Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Speaking of Ophelia’s madness, it becomes apparent to the audience that she is well and truly insane, when she enters, singing, “They bore him barefaced on the bier;/Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny;/And in his grave rain'd many a tear:--/Fare you well, my dove!” which, even by the archaic standards of Shakespeare, is complete and utter nonsense. Ophelia, apparently, due to rejection by Hamlet, her boyfriend, and the death of her father, had become hysterical, possibly having PTSD. PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a mental disease commonly found among soldiers, but can be caused by the murders of close family members, and does result in delusions. Whatever the case may have been, Ophelia later commits suicide by drowning herself in the river, possibly due to delusions, or out of depression over her father’s death. Whatever the case may be, both Hamlet and Ophelia are prime examples of insanity and madness within Shakespeare’s writings.

The character of Ophelia is an excellent element of drama used to develop interpretations of Shakespeare’s text. At the beginning of the play, she is happy and in love with Hamlet, who first notices her beauty and then falls in love with her. The development of Ophelia’s madness and the many factors that contributed to her suicide are significant parts of the plot. “Her madness was attributed to the extremity of her emotions, which in such a frail person led to melancholy and eventual breakdown” (Teker, par. 3). The character of Ophelia in Zieffirelli’s version is the personification of a young innocent girl. “Her innocence is mixed with intelligence, keen perception, and erotic awareness” (Teker, par. 13). This Ophelia is a victim

The name Ophelia has been most commonly associated with William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, where she is referred to as the title character's mad lover. She is believed to have killed herself out of madness by drowning herself in a river. Interpretations about Ophelia's character have ranged from being a woman who lost her sanity upon her father, Polonius' death to being the object of hatred by Hamlet. However, despite her supporting character in the play, her personality has roused numerous criticisms and interpretations from philosophers and critics. This is probably due to the fact that her role in the play is more of a descriptive character rather than a speaking

Midway through Hamlet, Ophelia is well under the control of Polonius and Hamlet. They are both manipulating and using her as a pawn as to get what they want and she has little to no say about it. Act 2, scene 1 serves as a turning point, as it is when Ophelia begins to realize the manipulation she faces at the hands of both her father and Hamlet, and that she can only truly gain her freedom when she herself descends into madness. Polonius’ manipulation, Hamlet’s control and Ophelia’s own thoughts and actions demonstrate her descent, and the aftermath.

Hamlet had treated Ophelia poorly by taking her fathers life and calling her a prostitute. His love for Ophelia was strong but it wasn't strong enough to treat Ophelia with great sweetness. In Doc. C: "Do not forget" he has slain Ophelia's father and that made her go psycho. In Doc.

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.

           Ophelia allowed herself to become a sort of marionette in Polonius' schemes toward understanding the seemingly mad prince. While her relationship with Hamlet was on the line, she allowed Polonius to commandeer the strings that determined her actions. Polonius was determined that Hamlet's supposed madness stemmed from lovesickness for Ophelia. He convinced Ophelia that her betrayal of Hamlet was a necessary evil and she began to relay all of Hamlet's messages and attempts at communication to him. He told the king and queen:

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, a kind of madness ultimately infects everyone, leading to an ending in which almost every major character is dead. Two of these maddened characters are Hamlet and Ophelia, who also share a love for each other. But though their irrational behavior is often similar and their fates alike, one is truly mad while the other is not.

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 before her father’s death was a very sane girl. Even after Hamlets brutal treatment of her: “Hamlet: You should have not believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish it. I loved you not Ophelia: I was the more deceived” (hamlet 3.1.131). Hamlet told her to forget about him. That must have been an unbearable pain, the love of your life to tell you to forget about him god knows how painful that must have truly felt for her. She did not burst into tears or

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet the family members of Hamlet and Ophelia induce madness through controlling and somewhat incestuous relationships, ultimately leading them to their demise. The madness that their family members bring upon them shows that, both Ophelia and Hamlet become fascinated with death/suicide, an escape from the madness. Ophelia lives a life controlled by her father and brother, she is given virtually no dominance in the play. She is assertive, always being controlled and having her feelings controlled by her brother or father. This over controlling relationship with her father and brother leads to her madness and ultimately death/suicide.

Hamlet’s chaotic behavior not only confuses Ophelia, but her state of mind comes into question. She once defended Hamlet’s character to her brother and father; yet, now he demonstrates himself as a “mere implorator of unholy suits” (1.3.130). The death of her father, Polonius, and her final interaction with Hamlet causes Ophelia’s madness go into effect. Hamlet, a man, is the individual who takes Ophelia’s father’s life and her mental and emotional frame of mind. Ophelia displays her newfound madness in Act IV Scene V with her meeting with the Queen Gertrude.

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

The first major point to where Ophelia's madness started was when she was told by her father that she was not to be with Hamlet (I.3.89-136). Ophelia doesn't like this but she had to agree with it because it was her father's orders. Before that, Ophelia's brother Laertes discourage her from being in a relationship as the result of Hamlet's madness, his love isn't sincere, his love isn't fleeting and he can't choose for himself considering that as a consequence of being a prince, he can only marry for reasons of state. The second major point to where Ophelia's madness is shown and starts talking complete gibberish (4.7.20-40). Eventually, Ophelia ends up drowning herself in a river because she is driven to the point of insanity. This was due to the significance of her father's death and how she is lost between her father, Polonius and her relationship with Hamlet. This is how Ophelia's madness is represented in the play,