Ophelia's Suicide Note Essay example

Hamlet is very private with his grief. His mourning for his father is long and drawn out. He mulls over how he is going to act and defers action until a perfect moment.

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

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is laden with tragedy from the start, and this adversity is reflected in the title character. Being informed of his father’s murder and the appalling circumstances surrounding the crime, Hamlet is given the emotionally taxing task of avenging his death. It is clear that having to complete this grim undertaking takes its toll on Hamlet emotionally. Beginning as a seemingly contemplative and sensitive character, we observe Hamlet grow increasingly depressed and deranged as the play wears on. Hamlet is so determined to make his father proud that he allows the job on hand to completely consume him. We realize that Hamlet has a tendency to mull and ponder excessively, which causes the notorious delays of action

When we first meet Hamlet, he is dressed all in black and conveys all the “moods, forms and shapes of grief”. This depression is caused by his father’s recent death. Gertrude, his mother and

It is widely believed that “Living life without honor is a tragedy bigger than death itself” and this holds true for Hamlet’s Ophelia. Ophelia’s death symbolizes a life spent passively tolerating Hamlet’s manipulations and the restrictions imposed by those around her, while struggling to maintain the last shred of her dignity. Ophelia’s apathetic reaction to her drowning suggests that she never had control of her own life, as she was expected to comply with the expectations of others. Allowing the water to consume her without a fight alludes to Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia as merely a device in his personal agenda. Her apparent suicide denotes a desire to take control of her life for once. Ophelia’s death is, arguably, an honorable one,

     Mary Pipher, author of the book Reviving Ophelia, has made many observations concerning young adolescent girls in our society. She wrote this book in 1994, roughly eleven years ago. Although some of her observations made in the past are not still accurate in today’s world, there are many that are still present in 2005. The primary focus of Pipher’s comments is to explain how young girls are no longer being protected within our society.

Young maidens are often described as lush and virtuous. They mind their manners, they focus on etiquette, and above all else, they do not pursue a physical relationship with a man outside of marriage. The consequences of being caught in such a union were severe, including social shunning amongst verbal floggings. Some had it even worse. Those few who were unlucky enough to conceive out of wedlock would be doomed. The psychological and social repercussions would be overwhelming, and often led to suicide. This can be seen in Shakespeare’s Hamlet in his character, Ophelia. It is evident in Hamlet that Ophelia is pregnant and that this pregnancy may have contributed to her death.

Hamlet SR?s death. Hamlet tells his mother ?That I essentially am not in maddness, But

Goethe says, “He feels that now he is not more, that he is less, than a private nobleman; he offers himself as the servant of every one: he is not courteous and condescending, he is needy and degraded” (42). Hamlet, still mourning the death of his father, does not take this shift in stride, but rather lurches forward at a snail’s pace . Hamlet explains to his mother, “’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, nor customary suits of solemn black nor windy suspiration of forced breath, no, nor the fruitful river in the eye, nor the dejected havior of the visage, together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, that can denote me truly” (I. 2. 80-86). As Hamlet’s family falls apart, the growing shade of his paranoia comes fuller into form.

   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.

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

It is this mourning that becomes the foundation of conflicts to come. After an encounter with his father’s ghost, Hamlet learns of his uncle’s treachery and is at first filled with rage, “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift, as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” (Hamlet aside, Act I, Scene V, p.1651), but it is Hamlet’s struggle with himself that leads to not act upon his words as fast as he had clamed to.

2.3 “This is I, Hamlet the Dane” – Why Hamlet is responsible for Ophelia’s death

“I do not know, my lord, what I should think. POL: Marry, I will teach you. Think

Ophelia is piece of art that was painted by Sir John Everett Millais. It was painted in the Tate Britain and completed in 1852 (Lewis par. 2). The painting shows a fictional actor from Shakespeare’s theatre piece the Hamlet. William Shakespeare’s work was a great inspiration for Sir John Everett (Lewis par. 2). The fictional character is called Ophelia. This painting by Sir John has since been celebrated for its uniqueness and attention to detail particularly nature. Ophelia has a value of £30 million.