Hannah Thtinen Hamlet Advanced Placement Essay

Some may offer that Ophelia, from William Shakespeares great tragedy Hamlet, never committed s icide! To s ggest s ch a thing is to, "y virt e of ignorance, #a"solve$ her character of any h manity! She "ecomes simply an o"%ect of madness and the plaything of fate! Ophelia committed s icide "eca se she &as conflicted a"o t her feelings for Prince Hamlet, tormented "y his "etrayal, and distra ght from "earing his child o t of &edlock!

#Whos there,$'(!)!)*! +rom the very opening line of the play, Shakespeare crafts an am"ience of an,iety and fore"oding! The a dience learns that -enmark, &here the play is set, is on the "rink of &ar &ith neigh"oring .or&ay! / st as the sho& opens in &hat seems to "e % st "efore the clima, of a long and complicated "ack0story, the a dience similarly meets Ophelia! #+or Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor,1 Hold it in a fashion and a toy in "lood,1 A violet in the yo th of primy nat re,1 +or&ard, not permanent, s&eet, not lasting,1 The perf me and s ppliance of a min te,1 .o more$ '(!2!30))*! 4aertes, Ophelias "rother "rings Hamlet into the conversation entirely nanno nced, and tells his sister to stay a&ay from him! He &arns her that he &ill "e &rong for her! Eli5a"ethan a diences &o ld nderstand 4aertes comparison of Hamlet to a violet, as a statement a"o t his character! 6iolets &ere kno&n to sym"oli5e fidelity, 'Ericksson*! To dra& attention to the #primy nat re$ of his fidelity is to s ggest it &ill "e short lived! Shakespeare s ggests right off the "at that something is going on "et&een Ophelia and Hamlet! 4aertes contin es to advise her to protect her virt e, " t does so &hile contin ally making o"scene inn endos! #The canker galls the infants of the spring,1 Too oft "efore their " ttons "e

disclosed,$ '(!2!72077*! 4ater in lines 89088, she insin ates that hes a hypocrite! She compares him to an # ngracio s pastor,$ &ho #recks not his o&n reed!$ As 4aertes e,its, their father Poloni s enters and offers similar advice! Ophelia is conflicted "eca se she loves Hamlet " t kno&s he does not meet the approval of her family! + rthermore she is angry at her "rother "eca se he is chastising her to remain virt o s &hile he himself is imp re! Here she offers insight into a do "le standard "et&een men and &omen in e,istence at the time! As a &oman, she traditionally &o ld not have any say in &ho she &o ld marry! That &as left p to her father! This is &hy she feels s ch internal t rmoil! She is ca ght "et&een her love for Hamlet and the c lt ral necessity of the fathers approval! Hamlet, as it t rns o t is fairly conflicted himself! He is visited "y his fathers ghost, &ho tells him that he &as killed "y the hand of his :ncle ;la di s! ; rrently, ;la di s is " sy "eing Hamlets ne& Stepfather and marrying his victims &ido&, Hamlets mother the < een! (n his first appearance, Hamlet enters dressed all in "lack! < een =ertr de asks him to #;ast thy nighted color off,$ '(!>!?9* and stop s lking! He is "oth visi"ly and vocally pset &ith the state of things! He deals &ith this "y going off alone and making irrita"le remarks at everyone! This "rings ne& meaning to Ophelia and 4aertes confrontation in scene 2! She is no& conflicted "y society and her feelings, mad at her "rother, and also angry &ith Hamlet for avoiding her, disappearing into the &oods at night and "eing cross! When &e ne,t hear from her she has % st " rst into the room &here her father sits! #@y lord, as ( &as se&ing in my closet, 4ord Hamlet, &ith his do "let all n"raced, .o hat pon his head, his stockings fo led, :ngartered, and do&n0gyved to his ankle, Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other, And &ith a look so piteo s in p rport As if he had "een loosed o t of hell To speak of horrorsAhe comes "efore me!$ '((!)!B?0C7*

To make matters &orse, no& Hamlet st m"les in visi"ly love dr nk! The last thing she &ants no& is to make their relationship p "lic, " t this is nlike him! He &rites her over e, "erant love letters! #Doubt that the stars are fire,/ Doubt that the sun doth move,/ Doubt truth to be a liar,/ But never doubt I love,(II.2.124-122). (n conte,t, this is read "y her father, &ho she sho&ed the letter to! This marks a shift in her attit de! She is gro&ing afraid of the ne& Hamlet, and feels a"andoned!

Hamlets a"andonment is made plain at the clima, of her societal conflict &ith him! She has "een set p "y her father to spy on Hamlet, p tting her in the middle of the t&o! When shes at her most v lnera"le he comes at her &ith pro"ing dialog e that is ta nting her virt eD he asks if shes honest, and fair! This is another e,ample of her "eing ta nted for "eing a &oman! As a &oman she needed to &ear the g ise of p rity at all times % st to preserve her dignity! Eo ng &omen co ld "e p nished in those times for promisc ity! That "eing said, this is &here Hamlet receives m ch criticism! She &alks kno&ingly into his trapD she cant take his "ait for fear of her father &ho is &atching, kno&ing of her imp rity! All she can do is play d m" and demean herself! He contin es to "erate her &ith lines like, #Eo sho ld not have "elieved Fthat ( loved yo G, for virt e cannot so inoc late o r old stock " t &e shall relish of it! ( loved yo not,$ '(((!)!)>?0)>C*D #=et thee to a n nnery! Why &o ldst tho "e a "reeder of sinnersH$ '(((!)!)2)0)2>*! Hamlet re%ects her &hen she is at her &orst! He denies his love for her, or that he ever did love her, effectively calls her a &hore, and insin ates that she is a dirty sinner for carrying his "astard child!

Whether or not her father and "rother kno&, Ophelia is pregnant &ith Hamlets child! Hamlet has Ophelia right nder his th m", and he ta nts her again d ring the play he set p to test ;la di s

c lpa"ility! He e,ploits the p "lic setting, and co ld easily reveal Ophelias secret, " t not doing so gives him more po&er over her! #Thats a fair tho ght to lie "et&een maids legs,$ '(((!>!)>80)>3*! Hamlet kno&s e,actly ho& m ch his &ords tort re her, and &ith them he forces her to contin e on &ith his song and dance that fosters self0hate and mindless o"edience! (n line )?3 of the same act, he says that a &omans love is "rief! This is the "eginning of Ophelias real psychological str ggle! He has made the assertion that he s ffered "y her hand and her "ecoming pregnant is entirely her fa lt, "y virt e of her "eing a promisc o s &oman o t of her place!

The last time Ophelia is seen, she is passed off as cra5ed &ith grief from her fathers death! (n a moment of misg ided % dgment and passion, Hamlet sta"s &ho he thinks is ;la di s in his mothers room! (n fact, it &as Poloni s, &ho died from the attack! At one time, perhaps Ophelia &o ld "e happy &ith her fathers death! Witho t him aro nd telling her &hat to do, ho& to act and &ho to "e, she co ld have "een &ith her lover Hamlet! .o&, despite the accidental circ mstances, her fathers death "y Hamlets hand is eno gh to send her spinning over the edge of sta"ility! The songs she sings are all in the same vein! They talk of lost love and "etrayal! #Quoth she, Before !ou tumbled me,/ "ou #romised me to $ed.% &o $ould I%a done, b! !onder sun,/ 'n thou hadst not (ome to m! bed,% '(6!8!3?0?)*! (f her sanity &asnt "latantly clear already, Ophelia in the midst of &hat &o ld appear to "e madness, offers p one final message of tr th! #Theres fennel for yo , and col m"ines! Theres r e for yo and heres some for meD &e may call it her" of grace o S ndays! Eo m st &ear yo r r e &ith a difference! Theres a daisy! ( &o ld give yo some violets, " t they &ithered all &hen my father died!$ Iemem"ering 4aertes earlier &ords, violets mean fidelity, 'Eriksson*! Theres no faithf lness after Hamlet killed Poloni s! ;ol m"ine sym"oli5es male ad ltery, &hich "oth 4aertes and Hamlet have

rep tations of! +ennel sym"oli5es flattery and deceit, or rather, ;la di s! I e has less of a sym"olic meaning! Jesides #r e$ "eing a synonym for regret, the plant itself is a kno&n a"ortifacient, 'Kershner*! This is the plant she saves for herself! This is solidifying the theory that she has "een driven to the e,treme "y Hamlet, and the " rden of his n"orn child she "ears!

Ophelia &as not cra5ed &ith love and adoration for Hamlet prior to her death! She &as not insane! She &as not grief stricken at the loss of her father, and most importantly, she did not dro&n "y accident! Ophelia committed s icide "eca se she &as demeaned "y the men she loved! They e,erted po&er over her, "roke her, then passed it off as madness!

Whereas for Ophelia fo nd solace in death, her oppressors &ere met &ith their tragic % stice in grief and g ilt! Works ;ited Eriksson, Katarina! LThe H ntington Jotanical =ardens 0 The Shakespeare =arden!L )he *#helia +a,e! Pitts" rg State :niversity! We"! )2 /an! >9)>! MhttpN11&&&!h ntington"otanical!org1Shakespeare1ophelia!htmO! Kershner, (sa"el, and @ark 4andler! LOn Wearing Eo r I e With a -ifference 0 .e& Eork Times!L )he -e$ "or. )imes - Brea.in, -e$s, /orld -e$s 0 1ultimedia! The .e& Eork Times! We"! )7 /an! >9)>! MhttpN11&&&!nytimes!com1)CC71921>>1opinion1l0on0&earing0yo r0r e0&ith0a0 difference082B9B3!htmlO!