Foils of Hamlet In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the main character, Hamlet, possesses qualities and characteristics that shape him into the man he is. Grief stricken and revenge seeking, Hamlet’s true self is displayed through his actions. Hamlet’s love, Ophelia, serves as a foil to his character highlighting his strong mind, coping methods with emotions, and corruption within families.
Ophelia is portrayed as a sensitive, fragile woman. Easily overpowered and controlled by her brother and father, Ophelia is destined to be weak. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, warns and pushes Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet and is further supported by their father Polonius. “Polonius enters and adds his warning to those of Laertes. He orders Ophelia not to spend time with Hamlet or even talk to him. Ophelia promises to obey” (“Hamlet” 95). Ophelia’s obedience to her father’s directions prove the side she
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While Ophelia crumbles under depression, taking her own life, Hamlet overcomes his troubled mind and faces reality. “Oh that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God!” (Ham. 1. 2. 129-32). Where Ophelia turns her feelings of anger inward, Hamlet turns his anger outward, lashing out at others. “There are overtones here of the slang meaning of “nunnery” as “whorehouse,” but primarily Hamlet consigns Ophelia to a life of pious chastity. Yet in effect, he is murdering Ophelia, and starting her on the path to suicide” (Bloom 41). Ophelia serves as a mirror or foil of Hamlet throughout the play. Being a weak and sensitive woman, Ophelia compliments Hamlet’s strengths in his ability to cope with problems he faces and the corruption within his family. Where Ophelia is weak, Hamlet is
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the audience finds a docile, manipulated, scolded, victimized young lady named Ophelia. Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet. Plays have foils to help the audience better understand the more important characters in the play. The character of Ophelia is necessary so that the audience will give Hamlet a chance to get over his madness and follow his heart.
During Hamlet, Polonius and Laertes use Ophelia for their own self-gain not taking her feelings in consideration. In the article “Jephthah's Daughter's Daughter: Ophelia,” Cameron Hunt reveals that Polonius disregards Ophelia’s wants for his ...
Ophelia is also considered a foil for Hamlet because of the difference in the way each grieved for their father’s deaths. The difference between the way Hamlet and Ophelia grieved is that Ophelia’s grief was actually for her father, whereas Hamlet’s grief was for his mother.
As the play opened, Hamlet and Ophelia appeared as lovers experiencing a time of turbulence. Hamlet had just returned home from his schooling in Saxony to find that his mother had quickly remarried her dead husband's brother, and this gravely upset him. Hamlet was sincerely devoted to the idea of bloodline loyalty and sought revenge upon learning that Claudius had killed his father. Ophelia, though it seems her relationship with Hamlet is in either the developmental stage or the finalizing stage, became the prime choice as a lure for Hamlet. Laertes inadvertently opened Ophelia up to this role when he spoke with Ophelia about Hamlet before leaving for France. He allowed Polonius to find out about Hamlet's courtship of Ophelia, which led to Polonius' misguided attempts at taking care of Ophelia and obeying the king's command to find the root of Hamlet's problems. Ophelia, placed in the middle against her wishes, obeyed her father and brother's commands with little disagreement. The only time she argued was when Laertes advised her against making decisions incompatible with the expectations of Elizabethan women. Ophelia tells him, in her boldest lines of the play:
Leaving her only with the response saying “I shall obey, my lord”(1.3.145 ). Why Ophelia is unable to say more than a few simple words is made clear by societal expectations of the time. During this time daughters were the property of their fathers and were obligated to do their bidding. Campbell says “if she refuses Polonius, she risks social ostracism and grave insult to the man who capriciously controls her future” (58). Ophelia fears the backlash of disobeying her father, believing there is no other choice than doing what he has asked her to do. Even though a woman's virtue is a sacred and a very personal choice, her father leaves Ophelia with one option: to do what he says. “The issue of Ophelia’s chastity concerns Polonius as a parent and a politician—a virginal Ophelia has a better chance of attaining Hamlet’s hand in marriage” (Floyd-Wilson 401). This relationship Ophelia has between her father is very one-sided and unhealthy. It is formal and proper with very few emotions attached to each other. However, because Polonius is the only parental figure Ophelia has and loves him, his death was extremely difficult for her. Her father, hasn’t left her like Laertes and hasn’t rejected her like Hamlet. Making his unexpected death the final straw to her losing her sanity. Without someone to guide her, she is lost. She is unable to blindly follow a man but is to racked with emotion to think clearly.
Hamlet is one of the most controversial characters from all of the Shakespeare’s play. His character is strong and complicated, but his jealousy is what conduces him to hate women. He sees them as weak, frail, and untrustworthy. He treats Ophelia, the women he loves, unfair and with cruelty. Similarly, he blames his mother for marrying her dead husband’s brother, who is now the King of Denmark. Hamlet’s treatment for women stems from his mother’s impulsive marriage to his uncle who he hates and Ophelia choosing her father’s advice over him.
He is famous for his daring plots of revenge and subtle loving characters, that can relate to men and women through every time period. It is this relation that allows Shakespeare to fool the minds of his audience even as his play unfolds in an entirely different direction. In Act 3 Scene 1, Ophelia approaches Hamlet to try and grasp an understanding of his deranged state, and in this state Hamlet accuses Ophelia of being some part of the deceitful ploy that is in his mind. "God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another [...] and make your wantonness your ignorance." (3.1.146-149) This opens the subplot of Hamlet and Ophelia to more than a simple love story. Shakespeare uses this subtle imagery to place a seed of doubt in his audience opening their thoughts to the
Ophelia was an object that male characters, i.e. Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, etc., used to gain more political power or to get what they want. Polonius was greedy, he told his daughter to hold herself to a higher standard than Hamlet. Because Polonius wanted the marriage of Ophelia and Hamlet to happen, he went to the castle in Elsinore, which lead to his death. A connection through marriage to prince would be a huge power for the family. Ophelia was being used to gain more power. Hamlet only used her for sex and affection, which This show how no one really cared for Ophelia other that to use her.
Oh Poor Ophelia Throughout the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare there is a constant theme of Ophelia giving away her power and being treated as though she is nothing. Between her father and brother there is no room for her to make decisions for herself. She is represented as an object that Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet manipulate and take control of.
Ophelia first appears in Hamlet in Act 1. Scene 3 speaking to her brother Laertes of Hamlet. Within her first four lines, she reveals herself to be a strong woman when she says “but, good my brother, do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine, himself… recks not his own rede” (1.3 50-55). At this time period in which women are expected to be obedient, voicing these thoughts of hers, that Laertes is not in the position to give her these commands because he is a hypocrite himself, shows that Ophelia has some strong attributes. Ophelia further demonstrates her ability to appear tough in Act 3. Scene 2. during the pla...
Ophelia and Hamlet are greatly juxtaposed against each other in Hamlet. Ophelias role in the play is the foil to both Hamlet and to her brother Laetres. In the play Ophelia is the catalyst, the means of Laertes and Hamlets actions and she acts like a mirror and enables the audience to view them though a more heroic perspective. Throughout the play, Ophelia sparks events and although she isnt a well developed nor a main character her part in the play is crucial. As the catalyst she causes the battle at the end of the play, as she did persuade revenge on Hamlet by Laertes.
Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, represents a self-confident and aware female character. She analyzes the world around her and recognizes the multitude of male figures attempting to control her life. Her actions display not only this awareness, but also maturity in her non-confrontational discussions. Though she is demeaned by Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet, Ophelia exhibits intelligence and independence and ultimately resorts to suicide in order to free herself from the power of the men around her.
In Hamlet Ophelia is controlled by her father Polonius who is trying to igain more insight into Hamlet’s behavior. Polonius uses Ophelia as a pawn in his schemes to involving his investigation Hamlet’s craziness. She has no opinions or say in his plans. Polonius uses the advantage of having a daughter to try to investigate Hamlet. He tells Claudius the king about his plan “I have a daughter- have while she is mine-Who in her duty and obedience, mark” (Scene 2 Act 2). Polonius suggests to the king that they should use her to try to learn more about Hamlet’s crazy behavior. Polonius does not consult Ophelia about his plan because he is the head of the family and it is her duty to obey her father. Polonius shows his dominance over her, she cannot argue with him about being involved because she is inferior to him. Polonius asserts himself as a dominant male figure in her life. He controls, and manipulates her for his own personal gain. Polonius formulates Ophelia’s behavior and her opinions through his manipulation and his dominance over her. She becomes a pawn in the king and his schemes and is not able to assert herself as a character with opinions ...
In Elizabethan times, Ophelia is restricted as a woman. She is obedient to the commands of the men in her life although she often attempts to do the right thing. Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet all have a grasp on Ophelia and who she is. She does not have the freedom to change her fate as Hamlet does. Shawna Maki states, “Ophelia’s life is determined by the whims of men who control her” (1). Polonius takes advantage of his relationship with Ophelia by using her to achieve a better relationship with Claudius. Polonius and Laertes teach Ophelia how to behave, therefore, abusing their power in allowing Ophelia to become who she wants to be (Brown 2).
Ophelia’s betrayal ends up putting Hamlet over the edge, motivating him in his quest for revenge. Ophelia is one of the two women in the play. As the daughter of Polonius, she only speaks in the company of several men, or directly to her brother or father. Since we never see her interactions with women, she suppresses her own thoughts in order to please her superiors. Yet, however weak and dependent her character is on the surface, Ophelia is a cornerstone to the play’s progression.