Ophelia is a character in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Hamlet curses his mother for being responsible for his inability to love Ophelia. Hamlet accuses Ophelia of deception saying "I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. The cause of Ophelia's death has been debated over the years. The rest is open to interpretation. Hamlet is afraid to die because of the uncertainties of the afterlife. Hamlet and Laertes have been at odds for much of the play over both Hamlet's treatment of Ophelia and because of Hamlet's murder of Polonius, but Ophelia's death near the end is presented as . He also advises her to remain virtuous and pure - as a young maiden should. Laertes' death is tragic because, although he kills Hamlet, he is avenging his father's death, an act, with . Hamlet's madness came first from seeing the ghost of his father. Ophelia's darling Hamlet causes all her emotional pain throughout the play, and when his hate is responsible for her father's death, she has endured all that she is capable of enduring and goes insane. How does Hamlet cause the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Gertrude, though similar to Ophelia in some ways, is an extremely complex character. Killed by Claudius in the garden while napping. In Act 4, sc. June 6, 2022 . Whether Hamlet's madness or Hamlet's rejection of her love drove her to the brink is widely debated, and regardless of Polonius' death, Ophelia clearly has been shaken by Hamlet's wavering attitude and affection. In the midst of her inner turmoil, her depression worsens as she learns that Hamlet, the man she loves departs to England. Beginning with Ophelia's suicide and ending with Hamlet's at the very end of the play, suicide is a continuing action. Killed by Hamlet while Polonius is hiding behind an arras spying on Hamlet and Gertrude. 190-196) It says that "an envious sliver broke" which means a branch broke, which was the cause of Ophelia falling into the brook. Ophelia obeys, but her action sends Hamlet into a fit of misogynistic rage. It is clear that Ophelia is grieving over the death of her father, Polonius, when Horatio says "She speaks much of her father, says she hears" (Shakespeare IV 4-5), but a secondary cause of Ophelia's madness . By Rebecca Mead. She should not take his advances seriously because he is using her. Deaths in Hamlet. She dies while still very young, suffering from grief and madness. Hamlet did not actually hold Ophelia under the water. He is a man with no concern on how he's treating a woman, that he once loved. Or Shakespeare decided to up the ante on Hamlet's guilt. Ophelia is forced to give up the one she loves due to what other's are telling her to do so, and because of her father's prying he ultimately dies. His death alone would have been a tragedy; the fact that it occurred What does Ophelia's death symbolize about the kingdom? This death announcement is considered to be one of the most poetic death announcements in literature. It has orders for the King of England to kill Hamlet as soon as he reaches England. Hamlet tries to find out who the grave is for and reflects on the skulls that are being dug up. At Ophelia's funeral, Gertrude says that she had hoped Ophelia would be Hamlet's wife. by unleashing the chain of deaths whose corpses litter the play" (Ghose 1004), and that Ophelia's death is not actually suicide but was caused by Hamlet. The ghost of his father told him that Hamlet needed to avenge his death by killing Claudius. Even though Ophelia's madness was partly caused by Hamlet's rejection and his debate over suicide, it had many factors. In a bold new production, the director Robert Icke finds resonances in Shakespeare's canonical play which make it feel made for this moment. A Analysing Character: Ophelia's Madness S ince the first staging of Hamlet, the very name of Ophelia has become nearly synonymous with that form of female madness that was once termed "melancholia" and marked by a nostalgic state of depression, a dissociation from reality, and a self-destructive drive. The last member of Polonius' family to die is Laertes, Ophelia's brother and Polonius's son. Mental illness, inner conflict, and determination for revenge are leading factors that results to Hamlet's downfall. Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 5. If Ophelia had for some odd reason decided to kill herself by jumping into the brook, she wouldn't have brought the branch down with her. But if we take that position - that she killed herself - Ophelia might have done so because her father has recently been murdered by Hamlet, her brother is off in France, she is living in Hamlet's family's castle and there. 3. In "Hamlet," the assumption most people make is that Ophelia commits suicide. 5, Ophelia comes into the scene with Gertrude and Claudius. But even in her insanity she symbolizes, to everyone but Hamlet, incorruption and virtue. Gertrude could have not known the whole truth when she reported to Laertes and Claudius. Hamlet reacts to the deaths of each character very differently. He seals it with his royal ring. He reminds her that she is the mere daughter of the King's advisor and that he is the Prince. King Hamlet was killed in a malice way by, Claudius, his own brother. Claudius poured poison in his ear and made it look like he was stung by a snake. The ghost represents a disruption to the accepted social order - a theme also reflected in the volatile socio-political state of Denmark and Hamlet's own indecision. The queen starts her description of Ophelia's death with a tree, a willow tree to be exact, rooted down the soils of earth, and penetrating many layers to form a solid entity "There is a willow grows askant the brook" (4.7, 190). Answer (1 of 5): That Ophelia actually committed suicide is questionable. She becomes confused and starts behaving strangely. Hamlet stabs him thinking it's Claudius, but doesn't really care that he got the wrong guy. She might have been trying to spare Laertes or to diffuse another tantrum on his part. Polonius's death occurs as a result of him being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Hamlet writes a new letter requesting that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern be killed as soon as they reach England. The passing of Ophelia is a tragedy because she does nothing deserving of death, she is merely used for other people's personal gain. -Hamlet, Act IV scene VII Psychological Analysis In scene VII Ophelia drowns. sample response: At the beginning of the play, Ophelia is dutiful and polite; she does exactly what her family tells her to do. Because of Ophelia's all-consuming grief and loss of sanity, she allows herself to drown, Hamlet however doubts the actuality of the ghost and is confused on whether it was the spirit of his late father or just an evil spirit. Ophelia's singing . Conclusion. Hamlet finds the letter from his uncle to the King of England and reads it. 1. Her brother Laertes leaves the family to go to France, after warning Ophelia not to fool around with Hamlet. what does hamlet say the sound of cannons mean. The cause of Ophelia's suicide was mainly from Hamlet's madness. . Hamlet: Branagh's Ophelia and Showalter's Representing Ophelia Ophelia falls to the floor, her screams contrasting eerily with the song pieces she uses as . Answer (1 of 2): Ophelia relies on three men to take care of her (Laertes, Polonius and Hamlet), and she loses the protection of all three of them. She is driven mad when her father, Polonius, is murdered by her lover, Hamlet. The ghost represents a disruption to the accepted social order - a theme also reflected in the volatile socio-political state of Denmark and Hamlet's own indecision. His inner conflict and obsession with revenge played a roll in his mental state. She is used as a ploy by her father to test Hamlet's maddness. 4, Ophelia loses touch with reality. After a long meditation on the nature of being and death, Hamlet catches sight of Ophelia. He declares his father to be many times Claudius' superior as a man. A Hamlet for Our Time. Ophelia's father had recently been killed by Hamlet in a terrible accident, and she has now gone mad, singing nonsense songs and giving people flowers that she has picked from the garden. Ophelia's death, although unknown to Hamlet when he appears in the graveyard, likely spurs his actions during the funeral. Hamlet is disgusted by the impurity and falseness of mankind in general and the gentry he is part of specifically, yet he destroys the life and sanity of the most pure and innocent character in the play. Summary. The following characters die in Hamlet: Before the action of the play: . A funeral procession approaches. As well as the death of polonius which cause the fair Ophelia's suspicious "death". King Hamlet kills Fortinbras Sr. in war. London: John Murray. Laertes and Polonius' misreading of Hamlet's love for Ophelia rests on several suppositions: first, the claim that it is a mere dalliance, on the grounds that a marriage with her would be beneath his station (on the contrary, Gertrude, in mourning her death, had always thought she would be Hamlet's wife, 5.1.237): second is Polonius . "There is a willow grows aslant a brook That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream. Her father Poloneus tries wants to make . Ophelia. The whole play is one giant decision for Hamlet on whether or not he should commit suicide. This death is 'right', or 'just' as the King died in battle. In Scene 4.7 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia's death is described to us by Gertrude in a manner where nature is predominantly present. In the begining of the play Ophelia knows that Hamlet loves her yet decides to keep her distance because her brother tells her to. Their relationship is very tragic, and he becomes crazy from the pressure and guilt. Soon after, Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius. Hamlet soon realizes that the corpse is Ophelia's. When Laertes in his grief leaps into her grave and curses Hamlet as the cause of Ophelia's death, Hamlet comes forward. Ophelia, then, drowns herself by accident, but we can also argue that her mental state contributes significantly to her disinterest in saving herself. The significance of Ophelia's madness is to signify her losing two of the most important men in her life, Polonius and Hamlet. Drowning "Brevity is the soul of wit." Polonius "Get thee to a nunnery!" Hamlet "A little more than kin, and less than kind." Hamlet "Frailty, thy name is a woman!" Hamlet . Laertes tells Hamlet that he, too, has been slain, by his own poisoned sword, and that the king is to blame both for the poison on the sword and for the poison in the cup. Conclusion. A person in her right mind, having fallen . Queen Gertrude's Account of the Death of Ophelia From Shakespeare's Hamlet: A New Commentary by Wilbraham Fitzjohn Trench. The combination of her former lover's cruelty and her father's death sends Ophelia into a fit of grief. This is a pretty obvious theory and a commonly held one by many critics. 7. Read an in-depth analysis of Hamlet. What does Gertrude reveal about Ophelia? The death allowed Claudius, King Hamlet's brother to take the throne and the Queen's hand only shortly after, causing Hamlet to hate both of them. Soon after King Hamlet's death, Claudius married Gertrude and became the new king. He tried to end his inner struggles by turning to religion to seek valid reasons to either commit suicide or find the strength to kill Claudius. View the full answer. By Rebecca Mead. It also made Hamlet consider suicide, and undergo moments of self doubt and betrayal from Queen Gertrude. Answer and Explanation: Ophelia goes mad in Hamlet because her father, Polonius, was murdered by Hamlet. Polonius. Gertrude refuses to see the girl, but Horatio points out that Ophelia's mental state may attract undue attention to herself and the crown. Ophelia's death was triggered by her mental breakdown due to the loss of her father. The placement of the priest's admonition supports the suicide pretty solidly. On the other hand, Hamlet is influenced by the urge to avenge his father's death which further aggravated by the appearance of his father's ghost that asks him to kill Claudius (Johnson 265). When Ophelia's father, Polonius, is killed by Hamlet in Act 3, sc. The ghost of his father told him that Hamlet needed to avenge his death by killing Claudius. But his choices all boil down to death -suicide or killing his uncle Claudius. June 6, 2022 . Gertrude also recounts Ophelia's death in one of Shakespeare's most beautiful, heartbreaking, and poetic speeches. Ophelia enters singing fragments of songs about . . In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Hamlet is unable to maintain a healthy relationship after the murder of his father. Hamlet went to his mother's closet, to discuss her marriage to Claudius, and how Hamlet believed her to be in on the death of Claudius. In Act Four she spirals into madness and dies under ambiguous circumstances. The people of Denmark were told that Hamlet's father die by the stinging of a serpent while sleeping in his garden. A notable minor motif that is developed in this scene is Hamlet's obsession with the physicality of death. The nature of Ophelia's death makes the situation even more tragic: an apparent suicide. Mental illness, inner conflict, and determination for revenge are leading factors that results to Hamlet's downfall. Death permeates "Hamlet" right from the opening scene of the play, where the ghost of Hamlet's father introduces the idea of death and its consequences. Ophelia's tragedy lies in the way she . Previous question Next question. The deaths of King Hamlet, Polonius, Ophelia, Claudius, and even his own have very different effects on the outcome of the play. While gathering flowers next to a brook, a branch Ophelia uses to. Hamlet expresses the depths of his melancholy and his disgust at his mother's hastily marrying Claudius after the death of his father. Shakespeare allows for the cause of Ophelia's death to be unclear; whether she climbed the tree to commit suicide or it was an accident is not known. The cause of Ophelia's suicide was mainly from Hamlet's madness. The cause of Ophelia's death is widely debatable; did she commit suicide because she was mad and upset about how everyone she loved mistreated her, or was her death a terrible mishap? A court gentleman reports that Ophelia has become pitiably insane. Describe Gertrude's account of what happens to Ophelia. Ophelia can't understand him. 17. Not only does Shakespeare's Ophelia display all of these symptoms, the change that . The love that Hamlet claimed he had for Ophelia was not only fabricated, but unhealthy, which untimely led to her death. Losing her husband meant losing male affection and love, an aspect the . Ophelia's death symbolizes a life spent passively tolerating Hamlet's manipulations and the restrictions imposed by those around her, while struggling to maintain the last shred of her dignity. Conclusion The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is certainly one of the most tragic aspects of the play and full of bitter irony. what is hamlets first soliloquy about. Shakespeare leads his audience to believe it was suicide; her lover . Hamlet tells Horatio that he is dying and exchanges a last forgiveness with Laertes, who dies after absolving Hamlet. Death permeates "Hamlet" right from the opening scene of the play, where the ghost of Hamlet's father introduces the idea of death and its consequences. When she dies, Gertrude reports her death to Claudius and Laertes. He was so tied up and focused on planning a perfect revenge that he did not noticed he was also in danger. After Hamlet kills Polonius, he tests Queen Gertrude to see if she knows about the murder of his father and both he and . Though many of his thoughts about death concern the spiritual consequences of dyingfor instance, torment in the afterlifehe is nearly as fascinated by the physical decomposition of the body. Gertrude, The Queen of Denmark, is responsible for Ophelia's death. Answer (1 of 6): Short answer: he went nuts. Hamlet's madness came first from seeing the ghost of his father. This is what the whole play is about and is why Shakespeare wrote on the subject to begin with because of its controversial issues. The picturesqueness of the passage in which [Ophelia's death] is announced may cause it to serve well as material for treatment by Millais in a picture full of imaginative suggestion as well as of detailed nature-study; but such descriptive value as . Did she commit suicide because she . That ought to make a person really nervous when they see a ghost and the ghost says that you have to kill the king. A Hamlet for Our Time. Updated on July 23, 2019. 1) She is heart-broken over Hamlet. But what's odd about Ophelia's death is that it happens offstage and the person who informs Laertes (Ophelia . In a bold new production, the director Robert Icke finds resonances in Shakespeare's canonical play which make it feel made for this moment. Gertrude describes how Ophelia fell into the river while picking flowers and slowly drowned, singing all the while. Ophelia 's cause of death is drowning, but the circumstances around her drowning, according to Queen Gertrude , are definitely odd. That ought to make a person really nervous when they see a ghost and the ghost says that you have to kill the king. As she attempts to return some of the remembrances that Hamlet gave when courting her, Hamlet caustically questions Ophelia's honesty. Laertes' advice to Ophelia about Hamlet is that she should stay far away from him. Hamlet's disgust with women's lustful behavior originates from his mother's choices and sadly gives way to the idea that all women are lustful and cannot control their sexual desires. Wittenberg. But when the Ghost of his father reveal to Hamlet, He came to know that his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius who poured th . Queen Gertrude's actions have caused Hamlet to see all women in a different light because she has taken away his innocence and love for women. His inner conflict and obsession with revenge played a roll in his mental state.