“The pangs of despised love” (3.1.72). In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare Ophelia is being emotionally abused by Hamlet and the people she cares about. This abuse causes her to feel fragile, and ultimately leads her to commit suicide. Love can lead to many different passages in life.
Ophelia is a gentle, obedient person, who has very limited options as a woman, other than to be docile. Her first priority is to be obedient towards her brother, Laertes, and to her father Polonius, “ ‘Tis in my memory locked, And you yourself shall keep the key of it” (1.3.93-94). Before Laertes left to attend school in France, he advised his sister Ophelia to keep her prized possession away from Hamlet and to keep her distance from him. Ophelia vowed to follow his advice and gave him the key to her memory. After Laertes left for France, Polonius was curious about what his son had told Ophelia, and he approached her and asked her. “I shall obey my lord” (1.3.145). Polonius told Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet because all he would do is use her for his own
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“I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. They say he made a good end” (4.5.207-209). Ophelia has been going mad ever since she found out that her father had been murdered by the one and only person she wants to marry, Hamlet. Hamlet promised Ophelia many things; he told Ophelia that he loved her many times, but in the end he would insult her and make her feel worthless. “ Before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed” (4.5.57-58). Before Hamlet supposedly made love to Ophelia, Hamlet promised her that he would marry her. Instead, he just ended up mocking and offending her. Laertes came home when he found out his father was murdered, but he found Ophelia going mad, “Drowned, drowned” (4.7.210). Queen Gertrude informed Laertes that Ophelia had committed suicide in a creek. She was sunk down by her
One primary example which proves the insanity behind Hamlet’s loss of love for Ophelia is when he berates her for being a pawn of her father. During his encounter with Ophelia, Hamlet states that, “If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell” (x).
(Act 1 Scene 3, Lines 113-114) Polonius tells her that Hamlet is young, and to not believe what he is telling her because they are empty promises. He then goes a bit further stating, “I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth Have you so slander any moment leisure as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.” He is telling Ophelia not to spend any time with Hamlet anymore. Due to this, there is a rift between Hamlet and Ophelia leaving them not as close as
“ My lord, I have remembrance of yours, that I longed long to re-deliver; I pray you, now receive them” (Shakespeare 2. 2. 93-95). Ophelia’s decision to relinquish her love to Hamlet for her father’s sake spurred Hamlet’s decision for his feigned madness and also made it easier for him to reject Ophelia and emotionally abuse her, which in turn, spurred her own internal disappointment and hatred in herself. However,“We see Hamlet’s nobility and realise that his flippant comments to her stemmed from his antic disposition and feigned madness” (Tuohy, 2012).
As the innocent victim of Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s insanity is a product of her inability to cope with Hamlet and her father’s death. Her songs show hidden grief and sorrow; her flowers represent the fact that beneath the innocent exterior, there is a weakness or flaw in everyone. Hamlet was able to look past his grief for his father’s death, but he caused someone he loves to be in pain. Whether it is the frailty of women, sorrow, or death, anything, including love, can appear to be pleasant, but can be the ultimate cause of a person’s
When Ophelia returns all his letters and gifts he tells her that he has never loved her and that she should “get thyself to a nunnery.” This is one example how his mood changes throughout the play. Then after all this her father, Polinous, is murdered by Hamlet. The Hamlet is sent away to England All of these actions result in her feeling such stress that she becomes insane in the end.
Hamlet once again fails to understand that Ophelia much like himself is only trying to stay loyal to her father, much like what he is doing himself. In addition, Hamlet blames woman for giving birth to such evil and deceiving men like Claudius and himself. When he was talking to Ophelia he told her "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better
They did sleep together, and then Hamlet told Ophelia that she needed to go to a nunnery and that he would never marry a girl who slept around. Ophelia's feelings turned around and she felt very disrespected by
Hamlet has come to see his mother, Queen Gertrude, and ends up stabbing Lord Polonius, which ultimately leads to his death. Lord Polonius’ final words include “O, I am slain!” Even though this provides a slight amount of comic relief to the reader, it has a reverse effect on Ophelia’s mental state. Her father’s death seems to be the potent punch in this fight because she officially goes mad after this final event. This is apparent in Scene IV Act I, when Laertes has come back to visit his sister and check on her well being.
(3.1.43-49) Polonius orders Ophelia to distract Hamlet even though he knows the emotional distress it will cause her. He is the reason Ophelia breaks ties with Hamlet, yet he is willing to throw her at him for his own gain. Polonius cannot rationalize that spying on Hamlet is less important than his daughter’s mental stability. His utter selfishness makes him incapable of making rational decisions that are beneficial to both himself, and his children. Polonius gives good advice that he does not take himself, showing his bad decision making.
For the duration of the play, Ophelia was portrayed as a naïve and submissive woman. Her passivity and powerlessness reinforce the voicelessness of women during the Elizabethan era. For example, “I shall obey, my lord” (I.iii.134) shows that Ophelia concedes to her father’s will, even though she believes Hamlet’s love is genuine. She is willing and expected to obey her father despite the fact that she still loves Hamlet, which emphasizes her character’s submissive nature. Furthermore, in Act I Laertes warns Ophelia that it would be shameful of her to love Hamlet, and she responds with “I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as a watchman to my heart” (I.iii.45).
Throughout the play, Ophelia acts as a very honest person in the beginning, willing to tell Laertes and Polonius anything. She then receives mistreated love from Hamlet that leads her to drowning herself in a river. The true face and actions from Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius, Queen Gertrude, King Claudius, and particularly Hamlet lead to their deaths. The end result leads to unfortunate events, including death. The love throughout the kingdom of Denmark becomes toxic, killing all who lives
Love is a very strong feeling and it 's portrayed in many ways. In Hamlet, Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, has fallen for The young Prince Hamlet. In the play, Hamlet confuses us in the beginning because we think he’s just using her for pleasure, and not that he actually has feelings for her. But at the end of the story, we see a whole other side to the story. We see how much he actually loves her and not that he was using her for his own needs.
In Act III, scene i of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, readers will come upon Ophelia’s soliloquy. After Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have failed to find a reason as to why Hamlet is acting in a peculiar and mad way, Claudius is persuaded by Polonius that the reason for Hamlet’s madness is the broken romance between Hamlet and Ophelia. To prove this, Claudius and Polonius plan to spy on Ophelia’s meeting with Hamlet. During their conversation, Hamlet denies ever having loved her and curses her. Ophelia is left fretting over his sanity.
Interviewer: I am here with Hamlet 's rumored love, Ophelia, to ask her how she feels about the love of her life and his father 's death. Ophelia, how are you holding up after you found out about the king 's death? Ophelia: The king 's death was news to everyone. It is very sad to see Hamlet without his father and his mother, marrying the guy that took the king 's life, shame on her.
In the “nunnery scene” which is played in Hamlet, Ophelia (as per her father’s and King Claudius’ instruction) attempts to push Hamlet away. As Hamlet realizes that Ophelia is trying to cut ties with him, his mood changes from sweet and loving to angry and sour. In a fit of rage Hamlet curses Ophelia’s name, ruins her name in a public setting and leaves her, upset (and crying in most adaptations) as she expresses her sorrow about having to leave Hamlet. In Ophelia’s soliloquy following her interaction with Hamlet, Ophelia mourns the loss of her ‘one true love’ and the way that Hamlet was behaving.