Ophelia was a modern day good girl gone bad. She obeyed her father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes’ wishes to stay away from Prince Hamlet while trying to fight for her love for Hamlet and being herself. Throughout the entire play Ophelia is used as pawn in a game of revenge between Hamlet, Polonius, and King Claudius. Polonius and Laertes forbid Ophelia from seeing Hamlet because they believe that he is only using her for sex, yet Polonius uses her to seek information from Hamlet as though she were his personal spy. Although Hamlet loves Ophelia and genuinely cares for her, he sees the danger he and the royal court pose on her. Hamlet wants to get her away from the corruption while putting on an act for King Claudius to prove that he is really mad, and in that attempt, acts as though Ophelia means nothing to him. He treats her in the same manner he treats his mother and all women for that matter. Hamlet sees all women as ignorant and deceitful. Despite Ophelia’s ability to see through Hamlet’s charade, there is still a sense of pain in the words he speaks to her. “Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell...To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell.” (Act 3.1) This had to have been the largest insult to Ophelia ever spoken, but was not meant in that…
After Hamlet started to turn against Gertrude because of her actions, he took the anger and used it against Ophelia. Hamlet says to Ophelia “God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance.” (III.i.142-145). He comments on the way women mask their faces, all being unfaithful and dishonest. Hamlet completely loses trust in Ophelia after she was not honest with him and turned her back on him and listened to her father instead. Ophelia deceived Hamlet and in turn he is rude to her and continues to tell her that his love for her was false and demands that she go to a nunnery, he also makes it clear there will be no marriage for the…
Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet was one that was very hard to understand. She was in love with him and that complicated things. The character of Ophelia was the daughter of the King’s Advisor. She was not royalty or even remotely from a royal lineage. Hamlet, on the other hand, was a prince. He was the prince in line for the throne. Ophelia was in love with Hamlet and the only chance she had was to conspire with him and earn his trust. Hamlet discovered that his father had been murdered by his uncle. His uncle, Claudius, then became the king. Hamlet pretended to be crazy in order to expose his uncle. Ophelia found out that this was what was happening and went along with it in order to convince her father, Polonius, that Claudius had murdered the king. Polonius was, after all, the king’s advisor. Speaking of Hamlet, she says in Act 2 Scene 1, “He took me by the wrist, and held me hard” (1546). She knew, by telling her father that Hamlet had gone crazy and grabbed her, that he would relay it to the queen and her new king.…
Hamlets emotions, especially those vividly shown in Act II, are similar to those of a teenager girl crazy in love. The thought of Ophelia, Hamlets “star-crossed” lover, has him going completely insane. As Hamlet is left to his lonesome at the end of Act II, he screams of himself, “What’s Hecuba to him or he to Hecuba that he should weep for her? What would he do had he the motive and the cue for passion that I have? “(2.2. 131). His anger filled rant is filled with rhetorical questions claiming he would do anything for his beloved Ophelia. He adds, if another guy was in his situation “he would drown the stage with tears and… make mad the guilty… and amaze indeed the very faculties of eyes and ears” ( 2.2.131). Hamlet’s mental stage at this point in the novel has completely deteriorated as he goes mad balancing his obsession for Ophelia and raging…
Due to Ophelia’s fickle behavior regarding Hamlet, he is unsure of her affection and does not deem her trustworthy. Ophelia is not yet a married woman, meaning she is not admitted to disobey her father, and not able to control her own choices. When her father demands “I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth have you so sander and moment leisure as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.” (I, III, 136-140) Ophelia must heed her father’s commands. When Ophelia is requested to converse with Hamlet by Polonius and Claudius, she must endure. She attempts to return letters that Hamlet wrote for her, this seeming to have a powerful effect on him. Although he has suspicions that their conversation is being eavesdropped on, Hamlet does not restrain himself with his reaction towards Ophelia. Hamlet seems to contradict himself when proclaiming her “Get thee to a nunnery, go.” (III, I, 138). Nunnery, also meaning brothel, shows Hamlet’s indecisive feelings for Ophelia, by using a word that paints her as holy and sinful. As he continues to insult Ophelia, it becomes clear that Hamlet presumes all women to be deceitful, describing that “God has given you one face and you make yourselves another.” (III, I, 145). Although it is not certain whether or not Hamlet truly loves Ophelia, it can be deducted that due to his mother’s actions he cannot be definite in his…
In every play or book that a person reads the characters are never perfect. They always have a flaw that causes a problem or conflict within the storyline. This is true for Hamlet's character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. In several of Hamlet's speeches he discloses many flaws in his character to the readers throughout the play. These are aspects that have thus far only been able to be seen as fragments in other speeches.…
Merriam-Webster 's Dictionary defines insanity as "a deranged state of mind, commonly exhibiting behavior considered abnormal in society," and depression "a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies."₁ Although Shakespeare 's character Hamlet shows classic signs of depression, this does not necessarily mean that he has gone insane. Many signs show that he acts insane intentionally. Despite the fact that depression can lead to insanity, it does not mean every person experiencing depression also goes through insanity as well. Sources from the…
Hamlet and Ophelia loved each other early on in the play, but Ophelia is told by her father to break all contact with him. Hamlet goes to Ophelia on the brink of a breakdown, partly caused by his mother's infidelities. When he turns to his lover for support, his mother's lesson are reinforced and through her actions, Ophelia confirms in Hamlet's mind that women can not be trusted even though Ophelia was only following her father’s orders. Now distrusting Ophelia, they meet again when Prince Hamlet knows Polonius is spying on their conversation. With Ophelia failing to admit her purpose of the conversation, he now calls Ophelia a liar. At that point, he thought all women were adulterous and could not be trusted, like his mother. He then says “Get thee to a nunnery, farewell. Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell” (Shakespeare, Act 3.1.124-127). Hamlet is being very cruel, referring to her as a prostitute. But not only is he insulting Ophelia, but women in general because now, all women are the same to…
As Horatio is describing the conditions during the life of Julius Caesar analogy that the appearance of the ghost is a sign for denmark like the sick mom was the sign for change in rome…
As Hamlet feigns away insanity, Ophelia begins to descend into true madness. In Act 3, scene 1, line 91 Hamlet begins with his malicious sarcasm toward her. "I humbly thank you, well, well, well," (ActIII.i.166) he says to her regarding her initial pleasantries. Hamlet readily refuses that he cared for her. He tells her and all of his uninvited listeners, "No, not I, I never gave you aught" (166). Her shock is genuine when Hamlet demands "get thee to a nunnery" (168). The connotations of the dual meaning of "nunnery" is enough in and of itself to make her run estranged from her once loving prince, and it is the beginning or her sanity's unraveling as well. Hamlet's melancholy permits him the flexibility of character to convey manic-depressive actions while Ophelia's is much more overwhelming and painful.…
Hamlet, himself, exhibits faults in his personality, often acting volatile and reckless in situations beyond his control. In Act 1, Scene 3, Ophelia describes Hamlet as an admirer who had ‘made many tenders of his affection’ to her but later on, in Act 3, Scene 1, when they confront each other about their feelings, Hamlet angrily shouts ‘Get thee to a nunnery’, insulting her and not realising the possible consequences of his actions. Ophelia isn’t without flaws, herself, as shown by her tendency to be influenced by the men around her. Whilst it was common for the women during Shakespeare’s time to be obedient to their men, Ophelia’s submissiveness eventually drives her to insanity and leads to her suicide. Furthermore, Ophelia’s father, Polonius, is also a fatally flawed character, with his peripeteia being his nosiness and propensity to pry, which then leads to his death. Shakespeare uses the weaknesses of each character to emphasise that human beings are flawed to warn his audience that if these flaws are not recognised, they may, and often will, bring…
However, Claudius, whom Hamlet calls inherently evil and corrupt, was lurking on the fringes of the family during Hamlet’s reign. Because the disease, Claudius, was not removed prior to Hamlet’s death, Claudius was allowed to succeed Hamlet as king and corrupt the entire state. By assuming power, Claudius’ disease pervades through the whole family and ruins any vestiges of…
Although Hamlet continued to pursue her as a lover, he eventually discovered that her loyalties did not lie with him, as she became a spy for Claudius and Polonius. It is unclear as to whether or not Hamlet is aware that Ophelia is being used by the men, but he is reassured of her loyalty to them when he asks, “Where’s your father?” and Ophelia replies, “At home, my lord” (3.1, 130-131). Ophelia’s social position as a woman in society is virtually nonexistent as the presences of manipulative men merely use her obedience as a means of improving their social positions, with little regard for hers. In accordance with the time period, Ophelia would have followed codes of conduct “influenced by religious literature, the attitude taken by most writers of deportment manuals reflect the theologians’ traditional dislike and distrust of women” (Kincaid 103). While there is no indication that Ophelia has broken any codes, Hamlet takes out his frustration with his mother on her, and chastises her for shortcomings as a woman when he says, “Let me think on’t. Frailty thy name is woman!” (1.2, 146). Regardless of Ophelia’s proper social behavior, Hamlet reveals that she cannot escape her fate as a woman. Hamlet tells her, “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” (3.1, 135-37). Even if Ophelia follows every social norm and remains chaste, she will always be restricted by society because of the men that define…
Hamlet does not seem confused by the incomprehensibility of the world, nor does he have trouble making choices or deciding how to act. In fact, Hamlet has a lot of power within the play, as symbolized by his lantern. He lights the scene, then plunges the scene into darkness. His ability to control what viewers see signifies his immense power. He changes and affects people’s lives in ways that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cannot. For example, he kills Polonius, then disposes of the body. When Hamlet speaks, he frequently confuses other characters with riddles, another sign of his ability to have an effect on people.…
He has been holding onto the secret about his uncle for a long period of time and is struggling with knowing how to avenge his father’s death. The difficulties in Hamlet’s life continue to add up and cause him to become more on edge. Polonius, the King’s helper and Ophelia’s father, tries to convince the King and Queen that Hamlet is acting crazy simply because he is in love with Ophelia. A plan is then created where Ophelia stands and waits for Hamlet while Polonius, Claudius and Gertrude hide and observe Hamlet’s actions. Once Hamlet approaches Ophelia, he realizes that he has been set up and is furious. Although Hamlet is clearly irate because he is being spied on, it is implied that part of Hamlet’s frustration is due to the betrayal and dishonesty from Ophelia, the one he loves. Hamlet has little trust in anyone at this point, and now he cannot trust the one who holds his heart. Hamlet reproaches Ophelia, “Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go; and quickly too. Farewell” (III, 1, 54). This quote is proof that Hamlet is very upset with Ophelia and no longer wants to be associated with her because he does not trust her. It is likely that Hamlet feels alone because he is facing many problems on his own and cannot trust the people who are important to…