Ophelia, By William Shakespeare Essay - 766 Words

Ophelia, as a person, is essentially formed by the men in her life. This is not a radical idea: it has been embraced by centuries of Shakespeare critics. However, to go slightly deeper, one could consider what exactly the absence of Hamlet, Polonius, and Laertes has on her identity (outside of madness). This scene serves to force her into a new persona, as one without a personality. Ophelia is no longer a maid. She says this herself with, â€Å"And I a maid at your window, to be your Valentine...Out a maid never departed more.† (p. 107, 4.5.50-55) And yet she is not a wife, nor a widow, with Hamlet’s abandonment of her. With no father or brother to give her the status of daughter or sister, Ophelia becomes a hollow shell, indicating what she once was. In the short time before her death, her only distinguishing aspect is her mental illness. But how does she react to Laertes when he arrives? One would think he would make the state of things even a little better, but there is almost no discernible effect on her. (This illustrates most painfully how far gone she is from the entire affair.) She simply begins handing out flowers, in what could be construed as a veiled farewell to her brother: â€Å"There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you love, remember.† (p.112, 4.5.170-1) Shortly after Laertes begins talking to her, she also says â€Å"my father died† (p.112, 4.5.179-80) out loud, rather than referring to Polonius as only â€Å"him†. This scene also ushers in several other captivating,Show MoreRelatedOphelia, By William Shakespeare1588 Words   |  7 Pageslife, as a result of their misery and hopelessness. In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, one of the characters, Ophelia, suffers from this disease which sadly goes unrecognized throughout the story. Her symptoms and actions hold a similarity to what someone in present time would display with this mental illness. Shakespeare depicts the symptoms and resulting consequences of depression through the character Ophelia, by drawing attention to how isolation and unrequited love may lead to depressionRead MoreOphelia, By William Shakespeare Essay2442 Words   |  10 PagesOphelia is a terminal character in Hamlet, whose death is caused by a lack of self-control and self-knowledge. Her father controls her life, and when he dies, her life is essentially over. This poses the question: why does the death of Polonius bring on the complete collapse and destruction of Ophelia? Polonius controls Ophelia, and does a substantial amount of her thinking. Without him, she has no direction in her life and no way to express herself as she has been so suppressed her entire life,Read MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet And Ophelia Essay2145 Words   |  9 PagesHamlet and Ophelia were both forced into situations they weren t in a position for due to the fact of instances. Given their royal and social role, they needed to care for distinct things most humans don t seem to be involved about- akin to who has the correct to rule and avenging a father s murder. In addition, they had been each younger. Ophelia had the fact that she was female as good. Hamlet s insanity is feigned, even as Ophelia s is real. Hamlet places on his antic disposition so he canRead MoreHamlet, Ophelia, By William Shakespeare953 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, Ophelia, a main character, is what some would call a product of her environment. The events in this play show us how Polonius, Laertes, and later Hamlet, can affect Ophelia’s environment enough to manipulate her into her madness. Evidently, this is shown when she is underestimated by her father and brother, when Hamlet manipulates her into believing he loves her and when she realizes that the events are causing her madness. To begin, Ophelia is clearly underestimatedRead MoreThe Relationship Between Ophelia and Hamlet: William Shakespeare970 Words   |  4 PagesThe 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 differentRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - Ophelia1472 Words   |  6 PagesSai Neelamraju Mrs.Thoms-Cappello Term Paper 21 April 2016 Ophelia In Hamlet From historical events such as World War I and World War II to present day women have been playing prominent roles. During the 14th and 15th centuries women had no important roles in their families, they were only used to take care of their families and to use their body for sex for men. A women mostly always needed a man by her side to stay stable and strong, otherwise they are known to be weak without them. ThereRead MoreComparison Of Ophelia And Hamlet By William Shakespeare1382 Words   |  6 Pageswhen I was writing this analysis but I wanted to pack in as much information as I could. I took what I felt were the three major points of this play with women in it. I analyzed how Shakespeare portrayed and meant the two major female characters to be (Ophilia and Gertrude), and an example of the interactions between Ophelia and Hamlet, as they were very consistent throughout the story, and are an interesting but very easy display of societal norms at that time. After the fallout of my previous essayRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet, Ophelia, Laertes And Laertes1308 Words   |  6 Pagessmall role socially, economically and politically. Many works in the literature demonstrate this during the Elizabethan Era. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia, Hamlet’s love and also the daughter of Polonius. She is a prime example of this as her father implores her to see Hamlet further more because of the possibility that he takes her name and her virginity. Ophelia truly loves Hamlet and was devastated when he shuns her in addition to pretending to be mad. She was affected by many of theRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - The Characterization Of Young Ophelia1681 Words   |  7 Pagesunquestioning obedience and servitude. Unfortunately this concept is not of new occurrence. In fact, it has been the case for hundreds of years. This idea is well demonstrated in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, through the characterizatio n of young Ophelia. As Shakespeare tells the dramatic story of Hamlet’s incestuous and corrupt family, Ophelia seems to often be cast aside and forgotten. She is subjected to much emotional abuse as she undergoes sexualization, harassment and manipulation at the hands not onlyRead MoreCharacter Analysis of Ophelia in Hamlet by William Shakespeare808 Words   |  3 PagesOphelia is completely virtuous and dependent on the men in her life, which is something I can identify with. Of all the characters in the play Hamlet, the one I liked the most is Ophelia. Shakespeare portrayed her beautifully and put all his emotions into Ophelia’s character. Ophelia showed the exact image of the majority of women from my home country. In the play Hamlet, Ophelia was the most innocent, meek, but distraught character. Ophelia was a young, innocent girl, who was spirited and was the