Ophelia's Loss In Hamlet

Ophelia’s Theme There are many themes throughout Hamlet - revenge, love, betrayal, and loss. These are all important to certain characters throughout the play. Loss, for example, is centered around Ophelia. She loses everything as the play goes on. At the beginning, she is forced to stop seeing and Hamlet and obey her father, because that is what girls in her time period did. She believed Hamlet would marry her and she was forced to suppress her feelings and stop seeing him all together. When her father, Polonius, is killed by Hamlet, she loses herself completely. It is also hinted that she lost her purity later in the play by Hamlet. Ophelia represents loss, because she loses her purity and the love that took it, her father is murdered,

He says it many times in Act Three, Scene one. He first admits that he no longer loves Ophelia, after she tries to return the letters he sent her. He replies “This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once.” Ophelia replies that he had her convinced, to which Hamlet harshly replied, “You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not.” (3.1). The things he said here proved to Ophelia that she had lost Hamlet and his love. Not only did Hamlet attack and leave Ophelia, but he took her father away from

We do not immediately see how Ophelia is taking her father’s death, nor do we get to see Polonius’ funeral. After a jump ahead, we find Horatio telling the Queen that Ophelia wants to speak to her. When Ophelia comes in, she is clearly insane and is singing about a dead man and a past lover.. The first two songs she sings are about the dead man. This is clearly referencing to her father. She sings “He is dead and gone, lady, He is dead and gone, At his head a grass-green turf, At his heels a stone,” to the Queen (4.5). She then goes on to sing “White his shroud as the mountain snow— Larded all with sweet flowers, Which bewept to the ground did not go With true-love showers.” (4.5). King Claudius even points out the songs are about her dead father. She tells him not to talk about that and starts singing about a man and a maid, “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine. Then up he rose, and donned his clothes, And dupped the chamber door. Let in the maid that out a maid Never departed more.” (4.5). The last line is the most important. It means that the girl (Ophelia) walked in that room as a virgin, and did not walk out of the room as one. This is further proof that Ophelia lost her virginity and that losing Hamlet has made her crazy. She sings one last song before she is ushered out by the Queen. She sings “Young men