Hamlet Essay On Ophelia

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Insane or traumatized, that’s what a lot of people may be asking themselves. When we think about Ophelia’s character throughout the play we can’t ignore her outlandish behavior. Is she really crazy or does she have a mental illness. William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” supports us with many reasons why we may believe Ophelia is suffering from a mental health condition such as, post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is caused by a terrifying event that threatens your safety and/or makes you feel helpless. Many people who experience tragic events have a difficult time coping and adjusting to the problem but go back to normal with time and by taking proper care of themselves. It is completely normal to be shaken up after a traumatic experience but when you begin to feel trapped with a constant sense of danger and painful memories from that day you may be suffering the effects of PTSD. ("Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).") Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are depression, hopelessness, shame, self-blame, feelings of betrayal, mistrust, etc.. If your symptoms worsen and begin to intervene with your daily life, that’s when it becomes a problem and you should look into treatments for your illness. Ophelia’s development …show more content…

The eyewitness reports: “Her clothes spread wide, / And mermaid-like awhile they bore her up, / Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds, / As one incapable of her own distress, / Or like a creature native and indued / Unto that element. But long it could not be/ Till that her melodious lay/ To muddy death.” (4.7.164-181). This picture shows that Ophelia started as a sheltered and innocent young girl but then when she suffered the losses, she became a mad-women and she now lays in the water, drowned by the grief that drove her

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