I think that Hamlet and Laertes carried on Ophelia’s madness when she passed away and they both jumped into her grave. Because of these is, Ophelia certainly is one of the most pitiable characters in Hamlet, and perhaps one of the only characters whose “madness” is justifiable. Ophelia hasn’t any direct control over the influential characters in her life. either. Having been separated from himself, Hamlet argues that he cannot be held responsible for any act that his madness, in fact, committed. The poisonous atmosphere in Denmark has befouled not only her relationship and love for Hamlet but it has destroyed her sanity. Thus, "Her speech is nothing." These two different interpretations demonstrate the ambiguity and flexibility of Ophelia’s madness. I definitely feel that before Polonius dies she is effected by how Hamlet treats her, which the argument I made in my post. Laertes listens to Ophelia’s troubling songs, noting that her madness says more about the depths of her grief than sane words ever could. Speeches (Lines) for Ophelia in "Hamlet" Total: 58. print/save view. There are many different things that contribute to Ophelia’s death, and I like that you put it all out there. Note: Quotes are taken from an edition (Dover Thrift) of Hamlet that lacks line numbers; page numbers are given in their place.. Sources. It is interesting to me that you believe her suicide is due to both her father’s death AND her complex relationship with Hamlet. I wonder which had more an effect? Many of the lines throughout her singing episodes also support your claim, as you aptly discuss. Ophelia is pointing out Hamlet’s madness and how his anti-disposition on his mind is also affecting the way he looks and behaves. It is interesting to me that you believe her suicide is due to both her father’s death AND her complex relationship with Hamlet. He indicates that his fit of madness effectively separated himself from himself, and he underscores this sense of distance from himself by speaking in the third person. 3. I also wondered why she doesn’t reach out to her brother for comfort, with him being so determined to seek revenge for their father, and I wonder how the plot would have changed as he stepped in to comfort her like he should have. Unlike hamlet s madness ophelia s madness is unquestionably genuine. Evil, once unleashed, will attack and destroy without distinction, the good as well as the bad. Ophelia’s madness is overtaking her so much so that she does not even recognize whom she is talking to like her brother, Laertes. I really enjoyed your post any how you revolved it around what you considered to be Ophelia’s madness. 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 as well. Maybe if Hamlet wasn’t such an ass to her she wouldn’t have committed suicide because I think that was truly the last straw for her. White Ophelia floats like a great lily; Floats very slowly, lying in her long veils... - In the far-off woods you can hear them sound the mort. Ophelia is an intriguing character that encompasses virtue, madness, feminism and morbid sexuality and she it also gives us songs or rites to study and better understand. It’s quite the strain to put on anyone’s mental state. The defective effect of Ophelia's madness to come has the same cause; Polonius' prescripts have their effect on Ophelia too. Hamlet quotes … There's fennel for you, and columbines. It’s upsetting to see anyone go through all of these unfortunate circumstances because it realistically can happen to anybody. Well written! O heavens! Even though, in the beginning, Hamlet is only feigning madness, he is certainly troubled (to say the least) at the end of the play. I think both her father’s death and her relationship with Hamlet made her depressed and unfortunately made her commit this awful act of suicide. These consist of Hamlet abandoning her, along with Sam, I definitely feel that before Polonius dies she is effected by how Hamlet treats her, which the argument I made in my post. This has set off a violent chain reaction. Well written! Ophelia is forced to give up the one she loves due to what other’s are telling her to do so, and because of her father’s prying he ultimately dies. Hamlet ridiculed her and her father, I’m assuming a person closest to her as there is no mention of a mother, dies unexpectingly. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. It’s implied through several of Ophelia’s songs, the one you mentioned, and her one just before that where she sings “Let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more” (4.5.54-55). Hamlet’s ‘antic disposition’ is one of the play’s great mysteries. No more but so? However, as with many other examples of Hamlet's double-speak, there is a method to the (apparent) madness. The first half of the sentence may refer to either of these two understandings of body, but the second half seems to refer directly to Polonius, a "king" who's been separated from his body through death. The second is with young men who seduce young women but don’t marry them. RALPH: Gertrude describes how her clothing spread out over the surface of the water, keeping her afloat for a moment, while … X-Axis= Time of important event. Polonius was such a vital figure in her life, she is insane beyond help and thus does not recognize her own brother nor anyone else she speaks to. O rose of May! The lips compressed like those of a person who is in the habit of making up her mind. . At the end of Act 3, Hamlet killed Polonius, in the mistaken belief that he was killing his uncle. I,3,493. These words also contain a warning. Sam, The addition of Ophelia in Hamlet is one that cannot go without discussion because she offers … Hi Sam, Ophelia is pointing out Hamlet’s madness and how his anti-disposition on his mind is also affecting the way he looks and behaves. Great points! Ophelia seems to act in a way that implies her words carry intentional meaning, and so those around her seek to rearrange (i.e., "botch") the words in order to make some sense of them. Thus, "Her speech is nothing.". Her death was doubtful, And, but that great command o'ersways the order, She should in ground unsanctified have lodged. Quote: "Her obsequies have been as far enlarged. Here Hamlet refers to the metaphysical distinction between the king's physical body and the body of the state for which he serves as the head. Should be as moral as an old man's life?----- A document in madness, thoughts and remembrance fitted.----- Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself, Ihe next shock to the tender sensibilities of Ophelia is the get-thee-to-a-nunnery scene. Claudius and Gertrude, recognizing their … It is interesting to analyze this scene to see that both her father’s death and Hamlet’s acts led to her madness. Some of the most popular examples from Hamlet would be Ophelia quotes. In Q2 (the 1604 text based on Shakespeare's own manuscript) Ophelia enters before Gertrude speaks lines 17-20 and in the Folio she enters after. We see in act III that Ophelia is shaken by how Hamlet is treating her harshly where before he was kind and gentle. Her choice of songs seems to reveal two obsessions. Though the man in the song has promised the speaker that they will soon wed, he has left her for no apparent reason and like Hamlet’s alleged claims of love and marriage to Ophelia, so too has Hamlet broken those vows for reasons unbeknownst. The fleeing from marraige, I thought was caused do to a lack of purity in Ophelia. I thought your post was interesting because you had a lot to say about Ophelia! This line directly references an older man and because of this detail, Polonius’s death has obviously taken its toll on Ophelia’s psyche, causing her to spout such wild and woeful songs. Discover and share Hamlet Ophelias Madness Quotes. I like that you included her singing in what you believed to be madness, because I too brought up her “mindless” singing in my post about her death. English By William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team) August 5, 2010 1 Comment. 2. I really liked the points you made about Ophelia and her madness. With the loss of her father, brother, and her lover all extremely close together is enough to make anyone go mad I suppose. I,3,529. Would she have been more proactive with trying to fight the current of the stream? It is almost as though the natural order has been disturbed by the death of King Hamlet and Ofelia is a casualty in the war to get the state of Denmark to not be quite so rotten…. It is likely that Ophelia has fixated upon Hamlet’s “detestable” oath breaking so much so that in not requiting her love, Hamlet has broken both her heart and her poor mind. Ophelia's Madness #1 Analysis of Themes and Imagery Themes Summary of act IV scene V lines 16-94 Imagery Theme of frailty of women Revenge Identification and discussion of key lines Ophelia is the victim of many uninvited events. Ophelia’s maddness I believe, like you, is caused be her loss of her loved ones. Ophelia is forced to give up the one she loves due to what other’s are telling her to do so, and because of her father’s prying he ultimately dies. In her madness, Ophelia sings snatches of songs, most of which sound like popular songs of Shakespeare’s day. It is interesting to analyze this scene to see that both her father’s death and Hamlet’s act led to her madness. Madness is to blame, but it is madness that embellishes her femininity: “Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself/ She turns to favor and to prettiness” (Shakespeare, Hamlet 4.5.187-188) Ophelia: Oh, what an incredible mind which has been overcome by madness! When Hamlet uses the proverbial expression "I know a hawk from a handsaw," he indicates that he remains mostly in control of his faculties and that he can still distinguish between like and unlike things. Ophelia. Ophelia’s songs show her slipping into further madness with a lot of bizarre sexually-laced lyrics and while reading this portion of the play I just felt bad for her. En route, Hamlet has learned that Norwegian troops are marching on Denmark. Would she have been more proactive with trying to fight the current of the stream? We both wrote about Ophelia! The queen is convinced that her son is insane. Ophelia’s imaginary flowers tie in with the thematic representation of women’s issues throughout the play: Ophelia has had to change so much to survive in the world of men that she’s literally driven herself mad. O, you must wear your rue with a difference! I too agree you regarding Ophelia as a pitiable character in this Shakespeare play. However, the explicit sexual references in Ophelia’s songs perhaps account for her obsession with the now absent Hamlet, as in “promising his love” to her earlier in the play and then being scorned, she is doubly heartbroken alongside the death of her father. A document in madness! Boston, Stratford & Co. I also think that before Ophelia died Hamlet had a huge effect on her which might have played a huge role with her death. Ophelia’s Road to Madness Thesis Statement: The origin of Ophelia’s madness is rendered through examination of her relationships with her father Polonius, her brother, Laertes, and her lover Hamlet. Explore our collection of motivational and famous quotes by authors you know and love. I never picked up on those lines of her song in relation to Hamlet breaking his promise of marrying her. For more than a thousand years sad Ophelia Has passed, a white phantom, down the long black river. Hi Sam, I like the way that you wrote about Ophelia singing as her madness. The fact that the water completely weighs her down and she doesn’t even car is shocking because she shouldn’t have died but her showing that shows how depressed she was. Although she is tragic, she is also used at will with the men around her. Ophelia’s flowers, then, symbolize her many-faceted personality and desires, which have been stripped, squashed, and corrupted by society’s expectations. Ophelia's Road to Madness 1119 Words | 5 Pages. SO many questions that are generated by your post. While doing so, she slipped and fell into the brook. Because Polonius was such a vital figure in her life, she is likely bereaved beyond help and thus does not recognize her brother. Ophelia is pointing out Hamlet's madness and how his anti-disposition on his mind is also affecting the way he looks and behaves. I really liked the points you brought up about Ophelia, I wrote about her in my blog post as well. B. Her death can be viewed as a suicide which is what I had originally thought, but now after reading what you wrote, it can be viewed as Ophelia seriously becoming mad from all the tragedy she faced all at once. Hamlet directs these lines to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. With lines like “Young men will do’t if they come to’t / By Cock, they are to blame” signifies a strange and perhaps oblique reference to a promiscuous or simply flighty man who promises love (or sex here with the word “cock”) but backs out after a brief time (4.5.59-60). The First Folio (1623) omits the role of the Gentleman completely, and gives his lines to Horatio. Further explicit references to Ophelia’s father, such as “I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. Hamlet says this to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight, Till our scale turn the beam. Sam, Till the last trumpet. Many readers have wondered whether she is thinking of Hamlet—but it’s impossible to know for sure. The character of Ophelia has fascinated directors, actresses, writers and painters since she first appeared on stage. his own rede”) and keep to the “steep and thorny way to Heaven,” rather than succumb to the “primrose path of dalliance.” Ophelia’s playful riposte exhibits a quick, intelligent mind, which makes her eventual descent into madness that much more tragic. But the gentleman persists in thinking that her words represent pure madness. Sam, At that point in time, it seemed to be an attribute to Ophelia letting herself go; but since you are comparing and including it within the madness of Ophelia I now find myself second guessing whether or not it was her letting herself go or if she was in fact mad. There's a daisy. Ophelia begins passing out invisible flowers —she gives out rosemary, pansies, fennel, and daisies, but states that all her violets withered with the death of her father. I shall th' effect of this good lesson keep As watchman to my heart. Sam, In the begining of the play Ophelia knows that Hamlet loves her yet decides to keep her distance because her brother tells her to. Hadst thou thy wits and didst persuade revenge it could not move thus. Along with it are some quotes that will be analyzed for their significance to the topic of madness regarding the listed characters: Ophelia Ophelia is seen as a level-headed and very much sane character at the beginning of the play. Ophelia/ Madness: Ophelia's madness is revealed to the court. I wonder which had more an effect? OPTIONS: Show cue speeches • Show full speeches # Act, Scene, Line (Click to see in context) Speech text: 1. Thoughts and remembrance fitted. Ophelia in the fourth act of Hamlet is demonstrably insane, but the direct cause of her slipped sanity is something that remains debatable. Entries tagged with "Madness quotes in Hamlet Ophelia’s madness" Madness in Hamlet. 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.”. I think that throughout Hamlet, madness is exhibited in many forms and Hamlet’s madness is very different from Ofelia’s. Unlike Hamlet’s madness, Ophelia’s madness is unquestionably genuine. And I like the way he looks and behaves claudius, ophelia's madness quotes, sent Hamlet off to,. His mind is also used at will with the reality of Ophelia ’ madness. And thus does not recognize her brother tells her to further his own (... We may call it herb of grace o ' Sundays see anyone go through of. Because Polonius was such a vital figure in her life of Ophelia ’ s madness directly... 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