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The Insanity Of Ophelia In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Shakespeare has been known to create many gruesome and tragic plays throughout his career. This fact is no different in Hamlet, a story of insanity and betrayal. Unfortunately, the innocent are not left out of the contest. The loss of a poor girl's father and the one behind the killing are too much for her to handle. Some people would say her insanity is feigned while others describe it as a genuine descent into madness. However, after examining the text, her madness appears to be real. Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, is a naive girl who is eager to fall in love. Luckily, she has a prince willing to give her that “love” whose name is Hamlet. Ophelia is treated as an innocent girl even though she is a grown woman. An example of this is when her brother Laertes is lecturing her about Hamlet or when her dad said, “you speak like a green girl, unsifted in such perilous circumstances” (1.3 105-106). Ophelia cannot be her person with her own choices because she has people who would like to control her. Because of the manipulation, she has to go through, Ophelia becomes dependent on others. This is why I believe that Ophelia is not feigning her insanity because she had too much love and dependency on her father. …show more content…

Her displays of madness have become more and more prevalent by now in the book. She speaks in rhymes prances around the castle, and hands out “flowers” that are just weeds. In addition, she sings songs that make you question whether she is all there. She sings “He is dead and gone, lady, He is dead and gone, At his head a green-grass tuft; At his heels a stone” (4.4 30-33). Ophelia’s descent into madness is a gradual but sure

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I partially agree with Camden about Ophelia’s insanity is due to her father’s death because Ophelia is a “delicate-minded young girl, obedience to her father” meaning Ophelia always obeyed her father’s commands. What I question is, has she not once have the urge to do something that will disobey him? Or even thought about disobeying him? What I believe proves her sanity is mainly based on Polonius’ death is when John Draper [Camden’s source] had quoted “because that father, whom she loved so dearly, come to a sudden shocking end,” as he is her remaining parent figure she had left who is now gone (para. 1). It seems as if she was taught throughout her life to always obey her father, who is the lord of the household or because he is the king’s

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981 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet Journal 1 In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet, appears to be insane, but his mistrust for his uncle and desire for revenge drives him “To put on an antic disposition on— / That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,” (I.v.181). He succeeds in convincing almost everyone around him that he is truly a mad man whose only cure is execution; however, he is enigmatic and ambiguous. By having an appearance of insanity and madness, Hamlet is able to use it to his advantage to achieve his own purpose of ridding his father’s murderer.

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[…] 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.

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798 Words | 4 Pages

Just one of these traumatic events could make a character go mad, but the combination of the three justifies Ophelia’s madness. The use of these three tragic events in Ophelia’s life makes her madness reasonable. The first event to happen that changes Ophelia’s demeanor is her relationship problems with her boyfriend, Hamlet. In Act III, Scene I of the play, Ophelia says to Hamlet “My lord, I have remembrances of yours, That I have longed long

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645 Words | 3 Pages

One definition of madness is “mental delusion of the eccentric behavior arising from it.” However, as Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Much madness is divinest Sense/ To a discerning Eye.” In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character, Prince Hamlet, shows apparent madness which proves to serve an important role throughout the story. This erratic behavior consists of his seemingly senseless dialogues, his loss of care for Ophelia, and his increasingly aggressive nature. Such behavior often proves justified by the play’s audience due to its convincing nature despite Hamlet’s predisposition towards insanity.

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1154 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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932 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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So, she is in a state of mental madness. On top of that, the fact that Hamlet kills her father upsets her further because she loved him. After Polonius death, Ophelia's madness was at its peak. Polonius' death becomes the primary reason for her emotional

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1434 Words | 6 Pages

The character of Ophelia is well known for her tragic ending in Hamlet. She was driven mad by her love for Hamlet and her father’s death; she tragically drowned and died because of the separation from the men she loved most. Ophelia was instructed by her father, Polonius, to break off her relationship with

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Ophelia was also represented as crazy later in the movie. Yes, Ophelia did go crazy after the death of her father, but from reading the play, I did not picture her going to that extreme. I noticed the craziness especially when she was singing in the movie. There were also many

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In some literary works a character’s apparent madness is significant. Analyze the elements and causes of this delusional behavior, and discuss how this character’s condition contributes to the meaning of the work. One of the significant concerns of the play is Hamlet’s madness. Hamlet states that he is in fact not insane, however, his performance is so convincing that it is difficult to tell. Hamlet is asked to avenge his father's death, by the ghost of old King Hamlet.

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870 Words | 4 Pages

In “Hamlet” William Shakespeare uses the character Ophelia to get to the men around her. She’s portrayed as a weak, trusting woman that tells her father and brother everything. They see her as a virtuous, unsuspecting, loyal daughter. Hamlet sees her differently. He sees her as an object, easily disposable.

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277 Words | 2 Pages

For the duration of the play, Ophelia was portrayed as a naïve and submissive woman. Her passivity and powerlessness reinforce the voicelessness of women during the Elizabethan era. For example, “I shall obey, my lord” (I.iii.134) shows that Ophelia concedes to her father’s will, even though she believes Hamlet’s love is genuine. She is willing and expected to obey her father despite the fact that she still loves Hamlet, which emphasizes her character’s submissive nature. Furthermore, in Act I Laertes warns Ophelia that it would be shameful of her to love Hamlet, and she responds with “I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as a watchman to my heart” (I.iii.45).

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1234 Words | 5 Pages

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;

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Sanity on Trial: The Degrees of Madness in *Hamlet*. Madness is a crucial theme in William Shakespeare's *Hamlet*, serving as an essential tool to drive the plot and develop characters. By using a psychoanalytic lens, we can examine the various levels of madness exhibited by characters such as Hamlet's feigned insanity, Ophelia's tragic descent, Claudius's paranoia, and Laertes’s rage. These manifestations of madness explore the effects of guilt and internal rage on human behaviour and the mind.

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