Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, we see the true tragedy of loneliness Ophelia encounters in the play. Ophelia, who remains lonely with silence in the play, was not able to express her feelings and had no freedom of choice to make her own decisions. She lived her life with grief under the control of men. The only escape, she saw from her sorrow was madness and death, which was not a willful choice for her to do. However, Hamlet didn’t feel as lonely as Ophelia, as he was allowed to speak to everyone in the palace and he had the power to make his own choices as well. Silence is the true state of loneliness. Thus, Worsley expresses that loneliness is more appropriate to describe Ophelia than Hamlet, as Ophelia remains silent in the background, …show more content…
Ophelia 's loneliness signify her innocence and how she needed love and support in her life. Hamlet’s loneliness show how he needed support to take revenge on Claudius, who have killed his father. However, Worsley states that “Loneliness describes the prevalence of a new form of interiority that arises in parallel with new religious conventions of devotion, new stage conventions, and new ways of being amongst other people” (Worsley 527). Thus, silence is the reason why Ophelia is lonely. However, Worsley is trying to express that the loneliness in the play is what brings changes in the characters and a new way of life, where the characters end their grief and reveal their true identity and obstacle to other characters, through their action and behavior. However, according to Worsley many people say that the reason of Ophelia 's silence is because of the religious books Polonius made her read which could have affected her, “We will bestow ourselves. (to Ophelia) Read on this book/ That show of such an exercise may color/ Your loneliness.—We are oft to blame in this,/’Tis too much proved, that with devotion’s visage ” (3.1.46-49). Polinous states that the religious books Ophelia have read may have caused her to change her behavior and be the reason of Ophelia’s loneliness in the play, as she was devoted to read these books. However, Hamlet becomes lonely when he makes plans to take revenge on Claudius. He needed someone to share his plan and thought so he speaks to the audience, and he tells his mother Gertrude, who eventually finds out and hides his plan from other characters. Hamlet wanted to complete his father’s wish to kill Claudius, who took over his father’s property and married his mother. Thus Hamlet was successful in his plan, but in the end Hamlet became lonely when he completed his
At first, Hamlet is successful, and society is convinced Ophelia is the reason for his madness, thus granting Hamlet more time to plot Claudius’s murder. This is achieved in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be speech” [3,1,57] when Claudius and Polonius spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. During the Act, Ophelia displays traits of dishonesty and Hamlet uses this to his benefit and appears to go insane to convince Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius that Ophelia is responsible for his madness. Hamlet insists his madness is an “antic disposition” [1,5,179] and that “Thou this be madness, yet there is method in it”. [2,2,204] In the play, Hamlet uses his “antic disposition” [1,5,179] to refuse Ophelia’s affections, which is powerfully portrayed when he exclaims to her “get thee to a nunnery.” [3,1,138] By denying Ophelia’s love, Hamlet’s power in the relationship is effectively demonstrated, and it is shown he is in control of their relationship. In addition, this is reflected in Ophelia’s self-destruction, as she has no purpose to live a life without Hamlet or a man. Overall, Hamlet is successful in using his power over Ophelia for the sake of his
For the most part during this time in her life, Ophelia has no one to tell her, or guide her. As her brother does when he warns her of "Hamlet and the trifling of his favor..." (1, 3, 5), that "His greatness weighed, his will is not his own"(1, 3, 17). She is also at a loss for her father, Polonius' words of wisdom of her relationship with Hamlet; he states, "Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers, not of that dye which their investments show..." (1, 3, 126-127). Nor does she have Hamlet to lean to for advice as when he tells her to "get thee to a nunnery..."(3, 1, 121).
Ophelia is a character in Hamlet that is chronically faithful to everyone else but herself. Ophelia is deeply in love with Hamlet, and she is certain that he loves her as well. This is clear from the assertions she makes in Hamlet’s defense: “My lord, he hath importuned me with love in honest fashion. And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord, with almost all the holy vows of heaven” (1795). Ophelia’s downfall emerges when she doubts her own feelings and beliefs about Hamlet, upon instruction and advice from her brother and father. Ophelia, a confident and intelligent woman, begins to rely on others to tell her what to think and how to act. “I do not know, my lord, what I should think” (1795). Upon Polonius request, and going against her own hearts desires, she starts to avoid Hamlet. “No, my good lord, but, as you did command, I did repel his letters and denied his access to me” (1806). By doing what her father advises and wishes Ophelia is no longer capable of making decisions for herself. The loss of Hamlet’s love and the death of her father leave her with confusion and doubts about her future. “Well, Go...
As far as we know, up until the recent events, Ophelia has had a comfortable life. Her father counsel to King Claudius has landed the family in a high part of society, shielded from the effects of poverty. She is beautiful, rich, and has the boy, well only for a little while. During the time of the passing of King Hamlet, Polonius has forbidden his daughter Ophelia to see her one and only lover, the man she believed she was going to marry, she sings, “Quoth she, “Before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed.” He answers, So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, An thou hadst not come to my bed.”(Shakespeare IV.V) She has given herself completely to Hamlet, but on orders from her father she must sever all ties. This has her grieving, grieving over love lost, true love lost. She is still in love with Hamlet, but must obey her father despite her grief; this is putting a tremendous amount of stress on poor Ophelia. She is torn between family, ...
...e turn to? Her brother is in France, her father is dead, her mother is not around and Hamlet is across seas. She could turn to Gertrude, the only other female in the play, but Gertrude only thinks about her external pleasures. Ophelia is very alone, playing a big measure in her insanity. Seeing how she evolved from the storm of insanity that rained upon her.
Hamlet’s apparent antics with Ophelia prove that their relationship begins to fall apart and become unhealthy. Hamlet mistreats Ophelia when she attempts to return the gifts he has given her, and he responds in a harsh manner, asking about her chastity and beauty, saying “that if [she] be honest and fair, [her] honesty/should admit no discourse to [her] beauty” (3.1.117-118). Hamlet continues to belittle her, calling her two-faced and admitting that he “did love [her] once” (3.1.125), his feelings for her now absent. Hamlet’s facade becomes personal through this. The entire exchange shows how Hamlet prioritizes his revenge, over his love because he eventually figures out that Polonius and Claudius spy on him. Hamlet soon speculates Ophelia’s association in their plan and decides to put on a facade for her too. Claudius’s facade also affects his relationship with Gertrude and Hamlet. After his speech to the court, Claudius approaches Hamlet in a way that appears as if he cares about him, even addressing him as “my cousin Hamlet and my son” (1.2.66), despite being aware of Hamlet’s sensitive and depressive state because of his father’s death. Moreover, Claudius expresses his deceitful love when he admits to Laertes that he won’t put Hamlet on trial because he mentions how much he loves Gertrude, and that she “is so conjunctive to my life and soul/that, as the
Hamlet could not acknowledge what had happened, so he made a guarantee to retaliate for his father’s demise by killing Claudius. The soliloquy exhibited by Hamlet, requesting that whether to be or not to be, is one of the speeches in the play that draws the audience. This is something that the audience can identify with it, and they can expect what is to come and see the advancement of the characters. There is additionally the case of Ophelia, who ends up insane on account of the demise of her father Polonius. Ophelia winds up troubled, crazy, and confused while the other characters start to see her madness when her father is killed. She is one of the characters that move toward becoming seen as a prattling fool all through the play in light of the crazy disturbances she has. This exposition will demonstrate that the Elizabethan audience is targeted by Hamlet through the study of the characters Ophelia and Hamlet. In particular, it will be analyzed; Ophelia and Hamlet's craziness, and the play's connection to regular day to day
This can be proven by the change in Ophelia’s actions and behavior. Ophelia starts to sing strange songs in front of Gertrude about her father’s death and Hamlet’s madness. Ophelia sings to Gertrude and sings, “He is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone, at his head a grass-green turf, at his heels a stone” (4.5.26-29).This tells us that Ophelia is a very soft and is a very weak character and can easily get heart broken. She cares about her family and the death of her father has shattered her into pieces, it may cause problems for her to
While Hamlet may still be feeling depressed Hamlet moves into the stage of denial and isolation. Hamlet feels the effects of denial and isolation mostly due to his love, Ophelia. Both Hamlet’s grief and his task constrain him from realizing this love, but Ophelia’s own behavior clearly intensifies his frustration and anguish. By keeping the worldly and disbelieving advice of her brother and father as “watchmen” to her “heart” (I.iii.46), she denies the heart’s affection not only in Hamlet, but in herself; and both denials add immeasurably to Hamlet’s sense of loneliness and loss—and anger. Her rejection of him echoes his mother’s inconstancy and denies him the possibility even of imagining the experience of loving an...
To capture our sympathy, Ophelia goes through a transformation unlike any other character in Hamlet. She is abandoned by everyone she holds dear; her father Polonius, her brother Laertes, and Hamlet, her lover. And yet Ophelia becomes tangled in a web of madness when her loyalty is torn between Polonius and Hamlet. Most horrible of all is Ophelia's suicide-death. The emotion is evokes, coupled with the above points shows that Shakespeare's intentions was to make Ophelia, a minor character in terms of the number of lines assigned to her, into a memorable character evoking the most sympathy.
... Polonius tells her not to get involved with him. This duties cause Hamlet to be isolated from Ophelia. Hamlet has many duties, and responsibilities. He is the highest class compared to all people, and is treated differently. When he is addressed by Polonius he is called a lord: “Do you know me, my lord?...Not I, my lord…Honest, my lord?” (2.2 171-175) Hamlet is treated different from his friends, and all people who are not royalty. This adds to Hamlets isolation because he is treated so differently. Since Hamlet is treated so special, he feels he has more responsibilities. To kill the king, including your uncle is considered to be the most ‘unholy’ of all crimes. Hamlet wants to kill the King, which goes against his duty as a prince to protect the Kingdom. Hamlets duties as a prince cause Hamlet to isolate himself because he does not believe in the Kingdom.
In the play Hamlet, Ophelia’s downfall is dependent on love. Being one of the two women in the play, Ophelia lives in a very male dominated society. When the ties are broken between her relationships with the significant men in her life, it breaks Ophelia to
...She had lost her father and her lover while her brother was away for school, and she was no longer useful as a puppet in a greater scheme. Ophelia was displaced, an Elizabethan woman without the men on whom she had been taught to depend. Therein lies the problem - she lacked independence so much that she could not continue living without Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet. Ophelia's aloneness led to her insanity and death. The form of her death was the only fitting end for her - she drowned in a nearby river, falling beneath the gentle waters. She finally found peace in her mad world. That is how Ophelia is so useful as a classic feminist study - she evokes imagery of the fragile beauty women are expected to become, but shows what happens to women when they submit as such.
Ophelia is a beautiful and simple-minded woman, easily molded by the more powerful opinions and desires of others. The thoughts of her father and her brother influenced her the most. The love letters from Hamlet also swayed her opinions and confused her mind. Ophelia wasn't able to realize herself because of all the pressures exerted on her to be something she's not. That weakness of mind and will, which permitted her obedience to her father and thus destroyed her hope for Hamlet's love, finally resulted in her insanity and death.
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, he portrays a young Ophelia, who battles with her desire to please her father and Hamlet, eventually driving her to her own demise. The way Ophelia is perceived by the other characters in the book is not how the reader perceives her. Her love for Hamlet is strong, and very apparent throughout the play. The other characters, however, view her in the opposite manner. Her own father, Polonius, labeled her as a whore, casting her aside as useless. Ophelia’s pain consumes her as she fails to please her family and the man she loves dearly.