Short Story: Ophelia

Sweet and innocent, faithful and obedient, Ophelia is the truly tragic figure in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. "Her nature invites us to pity her misfortune caused not by any of her own self-initiated deeds or strategies"(Lidz 138). Laertes tells us convincingly how young and vulnerable Ophelia is, (act I. iii.10) likening her budding womanhood's destruction from Hamlet to a process as "the canker galls the infants of the spring,/ Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, /And in the morn and liquid dew of youth / Contagious blastments are most imminent". "He advises her to stay away and she lovingly banters back, typically like a young teen, reminding him to act as he advises" (Campbell 104). We

     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.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he has created an adolescent character called Ophelia. The character of Ophelia is minor, yet she plays a significant part in our discovery of Hamlet. Without Hamlet there is no Ophelia. Ophelia is a girl who lets herself be determined by those she trusts dearly. Her naivety allows her to be used by her father Polonius and Hamlet without her even fully knowing. She allows herself to be taken advantage of by these characters because of her loyalty and trust towards them which results in her ludicrous behaviour. Her kind hearted nature has allowed her to fall in love with Hamlet, even though he does not truly feel the same way about her. Having a hard bringing up by her father Polonius, it is evident that Ophelia

If I were to play the role of Ophelia, there are specific characters that I would give certain flowers to. To start off, I would give the rosemary to Horatio. Horatio would receive the rosemary because of his faithfulness to his dear friend, Hamlet. No matter how crazy Hamlet seems to be, Horatio remembers who Hamlet is to him and stands by him. Next, I would give Hamlet the pansy. Hamlet deserves the pansy because he is remaining faithful to his father and country. Another reason why Hamlet deserves this flower is because Hamlet has several thoughts running through his mind all at once. This is seen in his soliloquies, when he jumps back and forth between statements and thoughts. The flower, Fennel, is a symbol of flattery. The characters

Ophelia is a innocent, pure, and a virginal young girl at least in the eyes of her father Polonius and her brother Laertes but she can also act as a blind lover and be taken advantage by the people she cares about. Ophelia is often used as a tool by other characters since she can be easily manipulated and it's not until her madness and death at the end of Act 4 where she sparks anger and sorrow amongst characters. Ophelia's character throughout the play goes through several changes but the most important change happens after her father's death where she begins to act lunatic and deranged. In contrast to Hamlet’s character Ophelia seems to be truly crazy but the love between Hamlet and Ophelia is sincere.

Being in love isn’t always easy. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the protagonist, Hamlet, and his girlfriend, Ophelia, discovered this first hand. Throughout the play, various people made remarks to Ophelia, such as her father Polonius and her brother Laertes, on how her relationship with Hamlet wouldn’t end well. The continuous chiming in of others created a situation that wouldn’t have existed if others would have kept to themselves. Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship wasn’t doomed from the start; their relationship was ruined due to different people pushing their opinions onto Ophelia about her relationship with Hamlet which caused the two young lovers to make decisions they would later regret.

In 1600, William Shakespeare composed what is considered the greatest tragedy of all time, Hamlet, the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark. His masterpiece forever redefined what tragedy should be. Critics have analyzed it word for word for nearly four hundred years, with each generation appreciating Hamlet in its own way. While Hamlet conforms, without a doubt, to Aristotle's definition of a tragedy, one question still lingers. Did Shakespeare intend for the reader or viewer of Hamlet to feel greater sympathy for Hamlet, or for Ophelia, Hamlet's lover? Both characters tug at the heartstrings throughout the play, but it is clear that 'the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark' is a misrepresentation of Shakespeare's true

Hamlet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 16th century, has been subject to evaluation for centuries. Each character has been broken down and analyzed. The psychology of each character has been examined. Every relationship has been studied to find more answer surrounding the play. Harold Bloom and Sigmund Freud have examined it extensively. Scholars have dissected all parts of the play. One character that has recently been analyzed more and more is Ophelia. She has been defended by feminists and criticized by many who believed she was mad. In their article and revisions, “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism,” from Shakespeare and the Question of Theory, edited by Patricia

Polonius, Ophelia’s father, embodies the theories the Other and a lack of female agency while discussing with Ophelia a similar case to her brother. In act 1 scene 3 of Hamlet, Polonius decides to inform Ophelia of the same matters that Laertes provides her. While Ophelia is departing from sending off her brother, Polonius asks Ophelia what her and her brother were discussing, resulting in her receiving unsolicited advice from her father on how to handle Hamlet’s sexual and romantic advances. Polonius states, “Tender yourself more dearly / Or … / you’ll tender me a fool.” (1.3.107-109). What he is stating here is that if Ophelia does not respect herself and succumbs to Hamlet’s lustful actions, Polonius will be painted as a fool. Similar to Laertes disccusion, Polonius’s comment to Ophelia marks the notion that Ophelia cannot be respected if she operates in sexual endeavors. This idea represents Balizet’s notion that women’s sexuality is a patriarchal standard and also represents de Beauvoir’s notion that a woman is not sexual unless with a man. However, there is a deeper standard that is portrayed by Polonius that is a necessity to address. In the quote provided above, Polonius discusses that his respect will be lost as well if Ophelia acts on lust because he is her father. This form of selfishness that is represented within Polonius’s speech supports de Beauvoir’s theory that women are thought of to be as the Other of men. Polonius’s anxiety of loss of respect for himself

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.

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

Ophelia is another one of Shakespeare’s tragic victims. Throughout the years, her character has been analyzed in a multitude of ways. Arguably being one of the main characters in Hamlet, Ophelia is known for being one of the least developed. In her literary criticism piece, Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism, Elaine Showalter goes through countless interpretations of Ophelia’s character.

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.

Some believe that men are rulers or in control of everything. It may even be thought that men are the cause of most disasters in the world today. There is also an outlook on women, that they are innocent and only take responsibility for emotions instead of actions. Hamlet by William Shakespeare depicts how Hamlet falls victim to an adverse outlook on women in the play. The women in this play, Ophelia and Gertrude, take the role of what today’s society thinks a man should act as or have an impact on.

In the story Hamlet, many characters appear to be unstable but Ophelia particularly demonstrates a common mental illness known as, psychosis. The name Hamlet is based off the main character, Hamlet, his father has just died and he is suspicious of his death. His father was a King and recently his uncle, Claudius, has taken over the position in place of his father. Although, Hamlet is unsure if his father's death was unnatural, he suspects his uncle may have had some part in his death. One night, the ghost of the king visits Hamlet and his friends, he says that Claudius murdered him through a poison placed in his ear. Hamlet is still unsure of these accusations so he decides to put this situation into a play and watch Claudius’ reaction. Claudius shows some anxiety and guilt during the play and Hamlet finally knows that his father truly did die at the hands of his brother. Hamlet and Claudius quickly begin attempting to murder each other and by accident, Hamlet kills his lover's father. His lover is none other than Ophelia. Ophelia begins to go mad and eventually drowns herself. In the end, neither side wins and both Claudius and Hamlet die.