Shakespeare 's Hamlet - Hamlet And Ophelia

At one point in time, Ophelia was one who Hamlet truly loved and trusted. Ophelia comes and speaks to hamlet to return his gifts from her but Hamlet immediately realizes that something is wrong and finds out that Ophelia is being used by Claudius and Polonius to spy on him to find out the real reason of Hamlet’s facade of madness. After realizing this, Hamlet is incensed and acts as if he is truly insane. Hamlet is clearly hurt because of the fact that Ophelia has been as a pawn in Claudius’ game. The effects of the matter cause him to verbally abuse Ophelia and rejects her love by saying that they will never get married and also degrades women. At this point Hamlet is raged and does not understand how harsh his words can be to a woman, especially a human being in general. In conclusion, the death of Hamlet’s father had looked like as if it has not even affected his mother which he so dearly loved and the one true love he thought he had, seems to him as deceiving and just a pawn for his enemies. These factors continue to diminish the subordinate attitude that Hamlet has towards

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

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.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the stage was used as a way to break the barriers of gender norms. In his creation of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the voice of Ophelia as a means to battle the gender norms that had been placed on Elizabethan society. A good women was seen as someone that was quiet and submissive. If a man could not control a woman’s tongue, there would be no chance that the man would be able to control her body. Though Ophelia’s character was more than capable of exhibiting reason, the control that her father, Polonius, held over her let Ophelia to the the madness that would claim her life by the end of the play. On the other side of the gender spectrum, Hamlet, a prince that should be have been more than capable of

Ophelia’s role in this play first starts with her relationship to Hamlet. Ophelia is Hamlet’s love interest and the feeling is very much mutual. However, Polonius and Laertes aren’t exactly thrilled about this blooming romance. In Act 1, Scene 3 of Hamlet,

Throughout the play, Hamlet and Ophelia have a very strong love connection. They loved each other and wanted to eventually get married. Hamlet and Ophelia hit some bumps in the road in their relationship but they always secretly wanted to be together. In Act 1, Scene 3, It was hard for Ophelia to comprehend when Polonius told her that he thought Hamlet's love for her wasn’t real, but she didn’t know what to believe. When Hamlet could no longer see Ophelia he began to get mad a frustrated, to add on also that he was going crazy over his own father's death.

Do women really need a man to keep their sanity or do they need a man to tell them that they are wanted so that they can live? In the medieval days, women relied on men for everything and anything, from a home to fighting for their family in times of war. Women had very high standards that they had to live up to or they would never find a man that would want to marry them. Some were very weak people who waited upon the thoughts of men. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Ophelia is affected by the corruption of the men which ultimately pushed her to insanity and suicide.

In a play filled with despair and suffering, love can still play an important role. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, is a play about revenge with eight deaths. Despite this, the relationship between two characters, Hamlet and Ophelia is extremely vital to the theme of the work and influences how the characters in the play act. It does this through how Ophelia acts like a foil to Hamlet, how the pair views each other, and what themes present in the play the relationship emphasizes.. One of the important points in the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is how Ophelia acts like a foil to Hamlet.

They believe the relationship will not work due to Hamlet’s higher societal status. She disputes the claim at first, saying, “My lord, he hath importuned me with love / In honorable fashion” (I.iii.119-120). Here Ophelia admits to being showered with love by Hamlet. His love is described as honorable, meaning it is real and true. She states that Hamlet has vowed his love to her, but her father commands her to not waste her time with Hamlet. She obeys her father’s orders and ends things with Hamlet, making him go “Mad for thy love” (II.i.95-96). The break-up affects him so much that he wanders into her room at night and frightens her. Although their romantic relationship seems to be brought to an end at this point, it can be clearly seen that Hamlet’s love for Ophelia did exist. She feels it and expresses it to her family, but ends up breaking it off with Hamlet due to her obedience to her father. Hamlet is shaken by the separation; his strong love for her is forcibly brought to an end, and he begins to show early signs of madness. His unusual behavior is soon brought to the attention of Polonius and

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

Hamlet is a play about intrigue, suspicion, treachery, and revenge. Its characters, the vast majority of whom are experienced members of the court, move through this world with varying degrees of ease, but all are accustomed to the forces at work. Hamlet’s reluctance to act out the revenge he knows is his duty does help the modern-day audience relate to him, perhaps, but at the end of the day he is still a part of this foreign culture, driven by customs and expectations very different from those that govern the life of his audience. There is one character in the play, though, who seems just as bewildered by the startling events swirling around her as the audience is. Ophelia’s main importance in the play

feels a sense of affection for the young prince and connect with him on a level that is unavailable with the other characters. It is in this connection that the interest of the audience is captured, such that one can almost experience his joy and his grief, or his jealousy and love, all things that are encountered by modern day humans. All the choices that Hamlet makes, allows the audience to understand his character a little better. No doubt, this is the result of good acting and excellent play writing, however, there is an element of value that only time brings. Another character that must be examined, is the aforementioned, Ophelia. Stuck in an Elizabethan world where misogynism is the norm and women don't have a say, Ophelia is subject to the will of the men in her life. She is chastised by her brother and father for her relationship

Lastly, Ophelia who is also a character in Hamlet by Shakespeare, does not show to repent but is a victim trap in everyone else’s dangerous plot. Moreover, act one scene three is vital because Ophelia and her father, Polonius’s relationship is shown. Ophelia appears to be an obedient and innocent girl as she obeys everything her father says. Specifically, when Polonius advises her to stay away from Hamlet warning her Hamlet’s status in society verses hers. Ophelia obeys: “I’ll do as you say, father” (Shakespeare, I.iii.135). Even though she loves Hamlet and knows that Hamlet feels the same towards her, she does not oppose her father but instead fulfills his wish. This shows how much Ophelia respects her father. Thus, when Ophelia receives the