The combination of her former lovers cruelty and her fathers death sends Ophelia into a fit of grief. When the Ghost tells Hamlet about Claudiuss murder, Hamlet responds strangely: he tells his friend Horatio and the watchman Marcellus that he is going to pretend to be mad. As long as shes unmarried, she lives by her fathers rules. Why does Laertes break into Claudiuss chamber? This is not an example of the work written by professional essay writers. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! Despite the fact that Ophelia profoundly thinks about Hamlet, she was disallowed to keep seeing and having such chief of naval operations affections towards him by the requests of her dad and sibling. While I agree with your method, I dont agree with your outcome. With Laertes in France and Hamlet (when her sweetheart transformed into her ex-darling) being angry with her, she lamentably feels alone on the planet, making her swing to death. from West Virginia State University Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University. Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership. Mad with grief over the death of her father, Ophelia drowned herself in a river. Ophelia's Madness. B.A. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. While it is evident that Ophelia is grieving over the death of her father, Polonius, as Horatio says of her "She speaks much of her father, says she hears / There's tricks in the . At the top of Act Three Polonius forces Ophelia to return Hamlets letters and renounce his affections. SparkNotes PLUS All rights on 2-49 accounts, Save 30% Web. creating and saving your own notes as you read. southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw. "My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Let's start by finding a writer. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Every teacher of literature should use these translations. Ophelia was a very unique character and was portrayed to us as a female character unlike many of the others weve read about this semester. Ophelia exists as a tragic character inHamletand one that is entirely pitiable because of unfortunate circumstances that she has been put through. In act 1, scene 5, after Hamlet sees his father's ghost, Hamlet decides "to put an antic disposition on" (1.5.192)in other words, to act crazy. Did Gertrude have an affair with Claudius before he killed Hamlets father? Ophelia is extremely controlled by her father Polonius. In act 1, scene 3 of Hamlet, what is Polonius's advice to Laertes? 22 What is the Significance of Ophelia's Madness? Ophelia herself provides the most famous example of madness and music in Shakespeare. Ophelia's world has utterly fallen apart. I like the way that you wrote about Ophelia singing as her madness. If you are such a student, you can use I did a 20 page paper, cited and reference with both currant DSM standards as well as utilizing the play for quotes. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Ophelias madness is driven by the loss of the male influences in her life. our extensive database of written samples to find the inspiration or research youre looking Orders: However, although he agrees with Laertes that Ophelia is a green girl, he poses a different stance to her brothers assertions. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Framing Ophelia: Representation and the Pictorial Tradition, Grinning Death's-Head: Hamlet and the Vision of the Grotesque, Mourning and Misogyny: Hamlet, The Revenger's Tragedy, and the Final Progress of Elizabeth I, 1600-1607, Nobler in the Mind: The Dialect in Hamlet, The 'Heart of My Mystery': Hamlet and Secrets, The First Quarto of Hamlet: Reforming Widow Gertred. Hamlets madness and his quest for revenge ultimately resulted in his death. I think your suggestion that Ophelias madness is also the consequential result of her failed relationship with Hamlet is totally credible. You'll also receive an email with the link. In act 4, scene 5 of Hamlet, in her insanity, Ophelia speaks freely through song. Of course, if she were to marry, shed then have to live by her husbands rules. Ophelia's role in the play revolves around her relationships with three men. My final diagnosis was in fact borderline personality disorder with a side of schizo effective disorder brought on by the death of his father. The fleeing from marraige, I thought was caused do to a lack of purity in Ophelia. Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs Even her brother, Laertes, who might have offered some support, is away in France. Ophelias bouquet is contradictory: there are flowers associated with sorrow and mourning, but also happy remembrances; there are flowers that denote purity and chastity alongside flowers given as tokens of sexual or romantic love between partners. Two significant things happen between act 3, scene 2 and the next time Ophelia appears in the play in act 4, scene 5. This is intensified on by a following line, You guaranteed me to marry,/So would I a done, by there sun,/A thou hadst not go to my bed. and it is this piece of Ophelias tune that presumable damns Hamlet as a reason for her psychological breaking (4.5.62-64). 16 students ordered this very topic and got original papers. A professional writer will make a clear, mistake-free paper for you! The first is her father, Polonius, who bids her stay away from Hamlet, and then go to Hamlet to help spy on him. Why didn't Hamlet kill Claudius when he had the chance at the end of act 3, scene 3? However, as with many other examples of Hamlet's double-speak, there is a method to the (apparent) madness. and more. I do pity her as a character because now she is truly on her own and I feel Hamlet and her family is partially to blame. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. The first time Ophelia appears in the play, Laertes advises Ophelia that Hamlet's apparent interest in her is simply a passing infatuation, "forward, not lasting, / The perfume and suppliance of a minute; / No more" (1.3.911). Hamlet knows that Polonius and Claudius are listening in on his conversation with Ophelia. on 2-49 accounts, Save 30% 20% to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. (https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/articulate/vol1/iss1/6/), Gates, S. (2008). Renews May 7, 2023 (IV.v.713), In these lines a gentleman reports to Gertrude and Horatio concerning Ophelia's descent into madness and her incoherencethat is, her "unshapd use" of language. The first half of the sentence may refer to either of these two understandings of body, but the second half seems to refer directly to Polonius, a "king" who's been separated from his body through death. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Stop wasting your time searching for samples! 4:5. He is unable to cope with his perceived responsibility to his father and is driven further into a state of depression (Shaw). Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. Ophelia's songs are first and foremost a way of illustrating the extent of her descent into madnessand not just because she is breaking into song at socially inappropriate moments. (IV.ii.2324). Its quite the strain to put on anyones mental state. When she goes mad, she sings a song about a woman who is tricked into losing her virginity with a false promise of marriage. Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership. Sam, Shaw, A. When Ophelia returns to the scene, she sings what appears to be a song that relates to Polonius, "They bore him barefac'd on the bier" (4.5.180), but the song ends with the words, "Fare you well, my dove" (4.5.183), which seem more appropriately sung about Hamlet than about Polonius. With lines like Young men will dot if they come tot / By Cock, they are to blame signifies a strange and perhaps oblique reference to a promiscuous or simply flighty man who promises love (or sex here with the word cock) but backs out after a brief time (4.5.59-60). (one code per order). A prime example of Hamlets melancholic state is his famous To be, or not to be monologue in Act 3, Scene 1. She is the daughter of Polonius, the sister of Laertes, and up until the beginning of the play's events, she has also been romantically involved with Hamlet. The reactions she provides for Hamlet, bodes well, yet are excessively short and unimportant. She is used as a ploy by her father to test Hamlets maddness. (2021, Jul 21). I think that throughout Hamlet, madness is exhibited in many forms and Hamlets madness is very different from Ofelias. Her choice of songs seems to reveal two obsessions. I still dont know if I see Ophelias death as a suicide because of the fact that her clothes led to her death and all, but with all of the circumstances around her, I think that she definitely did not fight her death for a purpose. Ophelia hasnt any direct control over the influential characters in her life. Why else would he ask Ophelia, out of the blue, where Polonius is? Hamlet had a chance to kill Claudius early in the play while Claudius was praying, but decided that if he were killed while praying, Claudiuss soul would go to Heaven. Hamlet learns that Claudius, his stepfather and uncle, poisoned his brother and the ghost of his father wants his death to be avenged. Ophelia's Madness - Free Essay Example - 1095 Words | StudyDriver.com With lines like Young fellows will dot on the off chance that they come tot/By Cock, they are to be faulted means a bizarre and maybe angled reference to a wanton or just capricious man who guarantees love (or sex here with chicken) however retreats after a concise time (4.5.59-60). Close as far as possible of Act IV, Ophelia goes distraught and is discovered dead, from suffocating, this symbolizes the demise of the kingdom and can be viewed as the corruptness that happens all through the kingdom and symbolizes the contempt inside. There are many different things that contribute to Ophelias death, and I like that you put it all out there. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Words without thoughts never to heaven go. Explorations in Renaissance Culture, 34(2), 229-248. Purchasing It is interesting to me that you believe her suicide is due to both her fathers death AND her complex relationship with Hamlet. Great points! Frenzy speaking to the disorder, caused by power and insatiability, trailed by death, speaking to the fate of the kingdom if nothing is changed. When Ophelia tells Polonius that she loves Hamlet he orders her to quit seeing Hamlet, she agrees, 'I shall obey my Lord' (145). And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, They say a made a good end. give more credence to Ophelias shattered mental state, as she is constantly fixating on the death of Polonius, so much so that every single thing reminds her of his passing (4.5.180-181). Ophelia - Wikipedia Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. We will occasionally send you account related emails. (one code per order). Ophelia is overpowered with her dads passing, as she goes into the room singing gibberish tunes, which depict mental decay. Free trial is available to new customers only. Ophelia seems to act in a way that implies her words carry intentional meaning, and so those around her seek to rearrange (i.e., "botch") the words in order to make some sense of them. I really liked the points you made about Ophelia and her madness. She is appeared to be extremely harmed and upset, she sings a melody about how her dad is dead and gone. Polonius takes his patriarchal oppression further when he insists on listening when Ophelia returns the presents Hamlet gifted to her during their relationship. While it is evident that Ophelia is grieving over the death of her father, Polonius, as Horatio says of her "She speaks much of her father, says she hears / There's tricks in the world, and hems, and beats her heart" (4.5.4-5), a secondary cause of Ophelia's madness may be in fact about her failed relationship with Hamlet as well. It is [], We provide you with original essay samples, perfect formatting and styling. Gertrude seems to think that she accidentally falls in the water and then simply neglects to save herself from sinking. Everybody in Ophelias life just assume how things are in her life which is another example of how shes so controlled she cant even speak against not having sex with Hamlet. Hamlet And Ophelia's Relationship Analysis | ipl.org Ophelia distributes flowers to Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, and herself, each of which kind of flower has a symbolic meaning, and she remarks, "I would give you some violets, but they wither'd all when my father died" (4.5.197-198), which is a direct reference to Polonius.