The most important difference between Ophelia and Hamlet 's madness in Act 4 is the fact that Ophelia is, in fact, gone crazy, while Hamlet is merely continuing to put his "antic disposition on.   Ophelia wants to act as she thinks but is always restricted with the men around her, and Hamlet’s behavior leads her to madness and suicide in the end. —Hamlet 4.5.7–9. Home Hamlet Q & A Act 3, Sc. A watercolor of Hamlet, Act III, Scene iv: Hamlet makes a pass through the arras. According to Alison A. Chapman, Ophelia’s “ravings display a complex awareness of England's medieval Catholic past.” As she descends into grief after losing the men in her life, she begins to make many “allusions to medieval Catholic forms of piety: St. James, St. Charity, ‘old lauds,’ pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, and other pre-Reformation religious folklore (Chapman).” Religious ideas regarding the role of women may have contributed to Ophelia’s reliance on her father and other men for her sense of self. His madness and melancholy has driven him to the point wanting to commit suicide. WOCHLEY: Ophelia, the mad scene in handing out the herbs is Ophelia … Hamlet has come to distrust all females because of his mother and her unfaithfulness to her dead husband. argued over by countless learned scholars for hundreds of years. It is evident in Hamlet, Ophelia, Polonius and Laertes. Ophelia in the fourth act of Hamlet is demonstrably insane, but the direct cause of her slipped sanity is something that remains debatable. According to Brown, “The context of her disease, like that of hysteria later, is sexual frustration, social helplessness, and enforced control over women's bodies.” Because she has no agency over her own life and body, she is driven further into madness (Brown). Ophelia’s madness is driven by the loss of the male influences in her life. Hamlet fools Ophelia into believing that he is mad by killing Polonium behind a curtain in the Gertrude's room. It is through those scenes of madness that we get to know the real Ophelia, and it is through those scenes that we get to know the opinion of Hamlet and what he thinks of the king, the courtiers and Polonius. The Myriad. This quest for revenge resulted in not only his own death, but in the deaths of many other characters in the play as well, including his mother, Gertrude, who drinks the poison that was meant for him. Hamlet spends much of his time pretending to be mad, that he starts to believe that he really is insane. This causes him to display erratic behavior, indicating that he has become mad with his desire to avenge his father’s death. Previously in the play where Hamlet gives his soliloquy on life and death, Ophelia has been ordered to break off her relationship with Hamlet while Polonius eavesdrops to prove, characters’ affection for Hamlet. He keeps going, too. Project Gutenberg, Nov. 1998. Medical Humanities. Mad with grief over the death of her father, Ophelia drowned herself in a river. Conclusion. by Coke Smyth. There was an order most did not interfere with; however, some did. Several of the characters in Hamlet could be considered mad. Hamlet admits to suffering from melancholy. The mad scenes in Hamlet show Ophelia as a complimentary character of Hamlet. Polonius uses Ophelia to try to determine what the cause of Hamlet’s madness is (although Polonius, arrogantly, already assumes he knows that Hamlet is ‘mad for [her] love’). . Ophelia develops a different variation of madness created by her love and hate towards everyone in her life, which she develops after the death of her father. demands any freedom, nor questions Polonius' curt and misplaced, Ophelia - The Innocent Victim in Shakespeare's Hamlet   While Hamlet feels the need to avenge his father’s death, he also worries that the ghost may actually “be a devil who will betray his soul,” rather than the actual ghost of his father (Frye, 12). Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows how men treated and thought of women during the 1500s. Check out the below videos to help you to better understand the play. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1984. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). 11 December 2015 The Madness of Hamlet and Ophelia Psychotic behavior is prevalent in Shakespeare’s Hamlet as two of his characters, Hamlet and Ophelia, exhibit madness during the play. Hamlet’s madness and his quest for revenge ultimately resulted in his death. Another character that can be construed as mad in Hamlet is Ophelia.    Poor Ophelia, she lost her lover, her father, her mind, and, posthumously, her brother. The significance of Ophelia’s madness is to signify her losing two of the most important men in her life, Polonius and Hamlet. The facade that Hamlet adopts is used for his benefit in all instances but one: his deception over his love. His need for revenge against the man who murdered his father ended in the further destruction of his own family. B. Web. Hamlet and Ophelia both display symptoms of madness, but each become mad for different reasons. Ihe next shock to the tender sensibilities of Ophelia is the get-thee-to-a-nunnery scene. during Ophelia’s short time of madness. As one of only two women in the play, it is perhaps surprising that Furthermore, she never Shakespeare presents water imagery relating to Hamlet’s character in the very first act of the play, both explicitly and implicitly.The atmosphere of the platform, before the appearance of the ghost, is quiet and calm, almost too calm in the way that the world is before a heavy rainstorm, an example of Shakespeare’s use of implied and explicit examples, Throughout Shakespeare’s many works, mental illnesses have played an undeniable part in many of them, especially his tragedies. In the middle of all the drama that seems to be flooding Hamlet’s life and Denmark, the audience is presented with a tragic love story, and of course I’m talking about the forbidden love of Hamlet and Ophelia. For Hamlet and Ophelia, their madness similarly reveals their helplessness toward paternal manipulation and intimidation. It is my conclusion that Hamlet uses a façade of insanity to hide his attempts to kill Claudius and, In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, is seen as a fair maiden who wants her love with Hamlet to be eternal. Hamlet is obviously experiencing grief and despair right from the beginning of Come your ways. Ophelia here is viewed as all other Web. A prime example of Hamlet’s melancholic state is his famous “To be, or not to be” monologue in Act 3, Scene 1. After the tragic death of her father, Polonius, who was killed by Hamlet, Ophelia is devastated. —Carol Thomas Neely Hamlet had a chance to kill Claudius early in the play while Claudius was praying, but decided that, if he were killed while praying, that Claudius’s soul would go to Heaven. Ophelia listens to her kinsmen’s advice and withdraws from him. While it is evident that Ophelia is grieving over the death of her father, Polonius, as Horatio says of her “She speaks much of her father, says she hears / There’s tricks in the world, and hems, and beats her heart” (4.5.4-5), a secondary cause of Ophelia’s madness may be in fact about her failed relationship with Hamlet … Unlike Hamlet’s madness, Ophelia’s madness is unquestionably genuine. Ophelia obeys her father's demands because it was expected during that time of women to comply with men's wishes. Ophelia. He is unable to cope with his perceived responsibility to his father and is driven further into a state of depression (Shaw). All in the morning betime. (Image: John Everett Millais/Public domain) She addresses Gertrude, Claudius, and Laertes with her words about death, burial, and mourning, and also of young girls betrayed by unfaithful lovers. Jennifer Wilber works as an ESL instructor, substitute teacher, and freelance writer. The madness of each of these characters ultimately ends in tragedy. When discussing Ophelia’s character, her madness is almost always at the centre of controversy. Madness in Hamlet The theme of madness in Hamlet has been a widely popular topic in the discussion of the play by both critics and readers alike. Shakespeare, William. However, he is very mad, … Hamlet & Ophelia Differences Between Hamlet and Ophelia's Madness Hamlet's Madness is Feigned while Ophelia's is real Ophelia's true madness is presented in her suicide Hamlet demonstrates his madness by acting aggressively and impetuously; and through his different play of While innocent characters like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe their duty is to simply diagnose the reason for Hamlet’s madness, Claudius uses their care for Hamlet and blind loyalty to plot Hamlet’s death. Hamlet's madness — the direct cause of the tragety through out the play Hamlet killed a lot of people which cause many destruction, however Ophelia did not directly caused the death of others Hamlet influences Ophelia which cause her madness You must not take for fire. in Creative Writing and English. a brothel. Chapman, Alison A. I was the more deceived. 20 May 2016. Shaw, A. For the Elizabethans, Hamlet was the prototype of melancholy male madness, associated with intellectual and imaginative genius; but Ophelia’s affliction was erotomania, or love-madness. Academic Search Complete. My final diagnosis was in fact borderline personality disorder with a side of schizo effective disorder brought on by the death of his father. 2, lines 100-123: Des... Hamlet Act 3, Sc. Ophelia is used by two men in the play – her father and Hamlet – as a pawn for them to enact their deceptions. . In Hamlet, Ophelia disregards her own feelings towards Hamlet. To stay in control, the men in, In Hamlet, Polonius says, "Read on this book, that show of such an exercise may colour your loneliness" (3.1.46-49). This along with several other attempts of spying on and murdering Hamlet eventually lead to the, general public, the character of Ophelia in “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” offers the reader a tantalizing mystery - did Ophelia truly commit suicide? Hamlet suffers from Borderline Personality disorder, as there are three places where he “plays“ mad to great affect. During the Middle Ages and Elizabethan, Shakespeare's Presentation of Ophelia "Depressive Illness Delayed Hamlet’s Revenge." Are you looking for more information about Hamlet? Hamlet seems to know that Ophelia is helping her dad spy on him, and he accuses her (and all women) of being a "breeder of sinners" and orders Ophelia to a "nunnery" (3.1.131; 132), i.e. This indicates that she is too weak-willed to have an identity of her own, which could indicate some type of mental illness or “madness.” Her father’s identity is her identity and this loss of identity propelled her further into madness. Laertes’s expectation for her to be chaste, as well as Hamlet’s rejection further propel Ophelia into a state of madness fueled by sexual frustration. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the motif of water to symbolize madness and the unknown in the characters Hamlet and Ophelia. As a mere Throughout the play, indeed, the appearance of Hamlet's pretended madness is contrasted with the reality of Ophelia's madness. Madness is one of the most pervasive themes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This incident drives Ophelia into becoming insane and leads to her taking her own life. Prior to this moment, Ophelia is taken aside by King Claudius and her father, Polonius. The final difficulty of reading madness […] is that in the act of doing so, one dissociates oneself from it or associates oneself with it, and in either case becomes disqualified as an interpreter. Prince Hamlet, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is not mad, in terms of sanity. (2007): 111-135. Hamlet decided that a better revenge would be to wait until some other time to kill him to prevent his soul from going to Heaven. This is for all: I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, have you slander any moment leisure, as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. the novel, with the death of his father and his, Ophelia's Descent to Madness in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay, People have mostly seen women inferior to men because women have been thought of as simple-minded and could not take care of themselves. People have mostly seen women inferior to men because women have been thought of as simple-minded and could not take care of themselves. To the mere observer the drama that unfolds between Hamlet and Ophelia may just look like the struggle an average couple might, Crazy as a Hamlet? 2, lines 100-123: Describe Hamlet's "madness" with Polonius and explain how and why it changes when he is with Ophelia. "Hamlet." Hamlet genuinely loved her before his father’s death, and this is shown by the love letters they have from before. Hamlet and Ophelia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1866. and her only clear emotions are fear (after Hamlet's reported visit to Medieval & Renaissance Drama In England 20. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father. Ophelia does as she is told: POL. Web. While the argument could be made that, in deceiving Ophelia, he can easily get to Polonius, I would assert that other methods could have been used without sacrificing his relationship with her. Due to the many warnings from her father Polonius and her brother Laertes, she succumbs to her father’s wishes and plays the role of a good daughter, thus betraying Hamlet. 858 Words4 Pages. Ophealia suffers from PTSD and Major depressive episode brought on by the fact she has zero agency, and those closest to her betray her and abuse her, perhaps sexually as well is alluded in places. The death of his father only worsened a preexisting condition. . Hamlet manages to confuse Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius with his madness acts. Religious ideals may also contribute to Ophelia’s madness. Bear in mind that in the deeply religious culture that was the basis for the inception of Hamlet, suicide was a mortal sin, bearing with it the consequence of eternal punishment and damnation, burial in unconsecrated ground and shame to be forever associated with the deceased. Ophelia's madness, brought on by her frustrated love and the bizarre way her father was killed by her loved one, seems less ambiguous than Hamlet's for her language and behaviour are clearly irrational. Project Gutenberg. 20 May 2016. Ophelia is the only truly innocent victim in Hamlet. It is clear that Ophelia is grieving over the death of her father, Polonius, when Horatio says “She speaks much of her father, says she hears…” (Shakespeare IV 4-5), but a secondary cause of Ophelia’s madness may be due to her failed relationship with Hamlet as well. Web. I shall obey, my lord (1.3.131-36), Macro Analysis of the Coca Cola Company Essay, Mary Rowlandson and Benjamin Franklin's Storied of Captivity Essay example, Beer and Wine: A Development of Community in Our World Essay, Essay about Sophocles' Antigone: A Great Tragedy. Web. Paired with Hamlet’s apparent madness, he easily sways them into doing his bidding by feeding them incorrect information, thus influencing their decisions and actions. In particular, Ophelia fails to express any points of view According to Brown, “The context of her disease, like that of hysteria later, is sexual frustration, social helplessness, and enforced control over women's bodies.” From Lady Macbeth hallucination of a bloody spot leading to her suicide, to Hamlet’s faked illness and Ophelia’s very real illness, afflictions of the mind are featured prominently in the Bard of Avalon’s many works. Ophelia is portrayed as a weak character who is unable to think clearly for herself or to have any sense of individuality. Madness is one of the main themes of Hamlet. Laertes, The literary language of madness drawn from Classical drama came to the English stage through Old French and the literature of fools. Ophelia’s madness stems from her lack of identity and her feelings of helplessness regarding her own life. Nevertheless there is a mystery about her mental condition. I did a 20 page paper, cited and reference with both currant DSM standards as well as utilizing the play for quotes. Madness is a theme evident throughout the entire text. Depressive Illness Delayed Hamlet’s Revenge, Feb. 2002. passive. The Renaissance Hamlet : Issues And Responses In 1600. student of advanced-level English Literature, I doubt I can add anything new to Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship is very complicated, and many critics have questioned whether Hamlet genuinely loved Ophelia. 20 May 2016. 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