In Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," Ophelia's madness is a crucial element that adds complexity to the plot and the characters. There are several reasons why Ophelia's madness is considered real in the play. Shakespeare shows the developing madness of the character, Ophelia, by showing her madness being triggered by trauma, her behavior, and the reactions of other characters in the play.
Ophelia's madness is triggered by a series of traumatic events, including the murder of her father, Polonius, at the hands of Hamlet. She is deeply in love with Hamlet, but he rejects her and treats her cruelly, causing her emotional distress. Ophelia is forced to deal with the conflicting emotions of loving Hamlet, who is the cause of her father’s death, and
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This line directly references an older man and because of this detail, Polonius’s death has obviously taken its toll on Ophelia’s psyche, causing her to spout such wild and woeful songs. Further specific references to Ophelia’s father, such as “I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. They say it made a good end” gives more credence to Ophelia’s 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’s madness is perhaps overtaking her so much so that she does not even recognize whom she is talking to in this instance–her brother Laertes. Because Polonius was such a vital figure in her life, she is likely bereaved beyond help and thus does not recognize her brother. Another factor that contributes to Ophelia's madness is the pressure she feels from her …show more content…
Her behavior is erratic, and she speaks incoherently. She also sings songs that are full of hidden meanings and symbolism, suggesting that her madness is not just a fleeting emotion but a deep-seated psychological condition. Ophelia's madness is recognized and acknowledged by the other characters in the play. Queen Gertrude is a vital character from the play due to her reaction to Ophelia. The Queen says, "poor Ophelia, divided from herself and her fair judgment," indicating that she is aware of Ophelia's mental state (4.5.91-93). The Queen is taken aback by how Ophelia has presented herself when she walks into the castle with flowers for everyone and by the way she speaks, or so to speak, sang to everyone. However, the explicit sexual references in Ophelia’s songs illuminates her obsession with the now absent Hamlet, as in “promising his love” to her earlier in the play and then being scorned, she is doubly heartbroken alongside the death of her father. With lines like “Young men will do’t if they come to’t / 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). This is compounded on by a following line, “You promised me to wed, / So would I ‘a’ done, by yonder sun, / An thou hadst not come to my bed.” and it is this part of
By verbally harassing Ophelia and estranging himself from her, Hamlet provides the apparent image of losing his prior care without a great amount of consideration. Additionally, Hamlet further displays his anger for his father’s death through this display. By dissolving his relationship with Ophelia, Hamlet furthers his image of insanity to further illustrate himself as incapable within Claudius’s eyes while still communicating distaste for his loss of his father. With Hamlet’s intentionally swift change of heart for Ophelia, Hamlet’s procedure warrants a certain level of sanity. Regardless of the sudden nature, Hamlet’s continual barring from Ophelia possesses procedure which causes further doubt of Hamlet’s mental instability from the audience of the
In all three versions of Ophelia’s mad scene from Shakespeare 's Hamlet shows us Ophelia in a state of despair. This piece of literature written by Shakespeare in 1603 is a Shakespearean tragedy, which clues the reader that everyone will die. This specific scene is driven by the death of Ophelia’s father, which has in turn caused her to go crazy. This scene is essential to the plot of the rest of the story because it infuriates her brother, Laertes, to thirst for revenge, which then sets the rest of the story into action. One part of this scene that all versions depict similarly is that Ophelia talks with Gertrude.
[…] Blasted with ecstasy…” (3.1.151/162). As a result of this innocence and ignorance, Ophelia is easily manipulated by others for their own purposes. An example of this, is when her father, Polonius, sends Ophelia to have an “accidental meeting” with Hamlet in an attempt to understand his sudden change of character, “at such a time I’ll loose my daughter to him…” (2.2.160). Since Ophelia is often not in control of her choices and how she is allowed to interact with others, there is an element of dehumanization which surrounds her.
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
Ophelia’s madness is caused by the actions of others in the story. “Madness becomes Ophelia’s last resort, her unconscious revolt. Indeed what else is left for her to do? Offering her an escape, madness provides her with the ability to finally speak her anger and desire” (Dane,412).Her father tells her to stay away from Hamlet, who she has fallen in love with. Hamlet has warned her earlier that whatever he tells her in the future will not be true but, when he tells her he does not intent to be with her it starts the beginning of her madness.
This is where we first see Ophelia deteriorating a person. The next thing that drove her off a cliff was her father being murdered. Claudius said “O, this is the poison of deep grief;
Another factor is the constant psychological abusive behaviour by Hamlet towards Ophelia. An example of Hamlet’s mistreatment occurred when he insulted her by stating she is a hoar and telling her to, “…Get thee to a nunnery…"(Act 3 scene 1).Ophelia’s victimization represents the patriarchal oppression she experiences which causes her to lose her mind as Hamlets comments are, “…words like daggers …” (Shakespeare).to her mental state. Lastly, the final instance which significantly impacts her mental well-being is the sudden death of her beloved father.
Hamlet views Ophelia as a naive and ignorant girl who is nothing but Polonius and Claudius's puppet. This was revealed when Hamlet said "God has given you one face and you make yourself another. . You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God's creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance." (III, i, 143-146) In this quote Hamlet knows that Ophelia is spying on him for Polonius and Claudius.
Ophelia goes mad throughout the story. She is overwhelmed by the loss of her father and the rejection of Hamlet. Her character is seen spiraling down a dark path that also ends in death. Ophelia is depicted as not having control over her actions; speaking and acting erratically. While Hamlet is speaking erratically and behaving oddly, he still maintains control over his actions and movement throughout the story.
Thus, Ophelia’s “madness” is determined by the extent to which she subverts female gender expectations. The more she exhibits traits traditionally associated with men, the more “mad” she becomes. In this context, Ophelia serves as both a caricature and a warning against female enlightenment as told through a patriarchal lense. She is ultimately ostracized from society, implying that women who seek freedom will receive the same fate as
Ophelia is grieving the loss of her father after Hamlet kills him. Ophelia doesn't know that Hamlet killed her father. But Ophelia has gone mad from learning about her father's death. Also, after Hamlet telling Ophelia that she needs to go to a nunnery, Ophelia is a little bit discouraged. She is discouraged because Hamlet had told her before that if Ophelia would sleep with him that they would get married.
Emily Dickinson once said “Much madness is divinest Sense— To a discerning Eye—“. This type of madness can be found in the play “Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Though many characters show madness throughout the play, Ophelia’s madness is the most prevalent. Ophelia has good reason for this irrational behavior because of the trauma she has gone through. First, her boyfriend dumps her, then he calls her vulgar names, and lastly, he kills her father.
Child-like and easily controlled, Ophelia gives in to family pressure and shuts Hamlet out. Feeling rejected and paranoid, Hamlet knew he had to let her go, he must have felt further away from her than ever
Hamlet has not only become distraught from his conniving and lying stepfather but also his mother, Queen Gertrude as well. The unfaithfulness that Gertrude shows to Hamlet’s father and Hamlet has a toll on him and plays a part in his insanity. The facade that Hamlet displays slowly leads to his insanity, causing him to show mistreated love towards Ophelia. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia displays a very honest
Instead of relying on his love for Ophelia, Hamlet turns to societal expectations to rule if he belongs with her or not. Ophelia is meant to be seen as fragile and pure, partly because that is the old societal standard for women, and partly because her mind is controlled by all the men in her life. Hamlet is very insulting to Opehlia just because she is a young and pretty woman. Ophelia is used by all the men in her life, Polonius, Hamlet and Laertes because they all have some sense of authority over women to fufill. Eventually, it is Hamlet’s disregard for Ophelias own thoughts that lead her to madness.