Dionysus of Zeus
2004-08-11 02:59:18 UTC
Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
Then, Hamlet goes on to ask Ophelia is she is honest and fair, and
then he tells her to become a nun. Before he rejected the remembrances
Ophelia is offering back to him, I think the term of endearment, "[ ]
Nymph [ ]," is very important. It represents to Ophelia what she was
to Hamlet before he rejected her and told her to become a nun.
of all, which gave him certain boundaries. He was also stuck not
knowing exactly what to do about the fact that Claudius killed his
father, and now his uncle was married to his mother. In Act II, scene
2, when speaking with Gildenstern and Rosencrantz, Hamlet compares
Denmark to a prison, and then accuses the two of having been sent to
spy on him by both the king and the queen. So now he knows he cannot
trust Claudius or the queen, Gildenstern or Rosencrantz. Although
Hamlet could trust Horatio, Hamlet was much more intelligent than
Horatio; if Horatio was the only person Hamlet could trust, this is
still a dismal existence for Hamlet because, in my opinion, life is
made of up having several friends and several people one can trust and
relate to. Life must have been incredibly monotonous for Hamlet,
waking up each day not knowing what he should do about his situation,
but yearning to do something about it and not being able to trust or
communicate his thoughts with anyone except for himself (in his
monologues). So he drove himself mad with all of this thinking he was
doing about acting, rather than making an action. He became incredibly
lonely and felt betrayed by almost everyone, and this type of reality
must have also been incredibly boring. In Either/Or, Soren Aaby
Kierkegaard writes that "Boredom is the root of all evil." Conversely,
Ophelia would have viewed Denmark as a prison as well. She was a young
woman in Denmark in the late medieval period who had to answer to the
men in her life. Once Laertes left for France, she was without her
brother, then Hamlet rejected her. Hamlet killed Polonius and was sent
away from Denmark. Without the three most important men in her life,
Ophelia was left with no one, and it's obvious in Act IV, scene 5 of
the Shakespeare that the queen did not wish to see her: "I will not
speak with her." Ophelia must have wondered if she had caused her
situation. She must have asked herself if she had done something to
cause this horrible situation she was in. Her life must have been
similar to Hamlet's: incredibly monotonous, waking up each day not
knowing what she could (not should, but could, because of her station
in life) do about her situation; yearning to do something about it and
not being able to trust or communicate her thoughts with anyone.
Again, boredom and loneliness must have followed, and then madness and
death because she really couldn't do anything about what she had no
control over.
her past experiences in the castle. I can see this clearly. Ophelia
must be upset about her time in the castle when telling her story at
the beginning of the sceneshe must at least be sad. Her fantasies
about Hamlet being her husband and of she being his nymph are the only
way she can respond to the way her life has turned out because of what
her options were and because of who she was. These fantasies were all
she could do to regain her former life and to find, I would use the
word entertainment, in her boredom and loneliness. It was very fatal
entertainment, but entertainment nonetheless. As the fantasy shatters,
she is confronted again with her sadness and griefher reality. So the
coloratura sobs are not only from her heart, we're not just talking
about love here, but also from her frustrations with the fact that she
has little control over her situation and yearns for a solution to her
problem. Actually, this whole scene stems from Ophelia's desires to be
with people and to resolve her loneliness. She sees these villagers
celebrating the arrival of spring. How symbolic! Young people who are
dancing, happy, and celebrating life & new things. She yearns to be
happy, but she cannot accept the fact that she must accept a new way
of lifeshe is stuck in her desires to return to the past and this is
her great mistake. So here is Ophelia, who desires happiness and
relief, but cannot accept that her life must change as a result of her
current situation, and so she creates a fantasy world for herself,
which shatters, and she is then stuck in the past forever.
opinions on the symbolism in the Mad Scene? Why do you think Ophelia
went mad? Who is your favorite Ophelia and why?
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
Then, Hamlet goes on to ask Ophelia is she is honest and fair, and
then he tells her to become a nun. Before he rejected the remembrances
Ophelia is offering back to him, I think the term of endearment, "[ ]
Nymph [ ]," is very important. It represents to Ophelia what she was
to Hamlet before he rejected her and told her to become a nun.
In the Shakespeare, Hamlet described Denmark as a prison, and there
are many reasons that Hamlet would feel this way. He was royal, firstof all, which gave him certain boundaries. He was also stuck not
knowing exactly what to do about the fact that Claudius killed his
father, and now his uncle was married to his mother. In Act II, scene
2, when speaking with Gildenstern and Rosencrantz, Hamlet compares
Denmark to a prison, and then accuses the two of having been sent to
spy on him by both the king and the queen. So now he knows he cannot
trust Claudius or the queen, Gildenstern or Rosencrantz. Although
Hamlet could trust Horatio, Hamlet was much more intelligent than
Horatio; if Horatio was the only person Hamlet could trust, this is
still a dismal existence for Hamlet because, in my opinion, life is
made of up having several friends and several people one can trust and
relate to. Life must have been incredibly monotonous for Hamlet,
waking up each day not knowing what he should do about his situation,
but yearning to do something about it and not being able to trust or
communicate his thoughts with anyone except for himself (in his
monologues). So he drove himself mad with all of this thinking he was
doing about acting, rather than making an action. He became incredibly
lonely and felt betrayed by almost everyone, and this type of reality
must have also been incredibly boring. In Either/Or, Soren Aaby
Kierkegaard writes that "Boredom is the root of all evil." Conversely,
Ophelia would have viewed Denmark as a prison as well. She was a young
woman in Denmark in the late medieval period who had to answer to the
men in her life. Once Laertes left for France, she was without her
brother, then Hamlet rejected her. Hamlet killed Polonius and was sent
away from Denmark. Without the three most important men in her life,
Ophelia was left with no one, and it's obvious in Act IV, scene 5 of
the Shakespeare that the queen did not wish to see her: "I will not
speak with her." Ophelia must have wondered if she had caused her
situation. She must have asked herself if she had done something to
cause this horrible situation she was in. Her life must have been
similar to Hamlet's: incredibly monotonous, waking up each day not
knowing what she could (not should, but could, because of her station
in life) do about her situation; yearning to do something about it and
not being able to trust or communicate her thoughts with anyone.
Again, boredom and loneliness must have followed, and then madness and
death because she really couldn't do anything about what she had no
control over.
I believe Ophelia initially trusts the villagers, but the occasional
suspicions that the villagers are gossiping about her are a result ofher past experiences in the castle. I can see this clearly. Ophelia
must be upset about her time in the castle when telling her story at
the beginning of the sceneshe must at least be sad. Her fantasies
about Hamlet being her husband and of she being his nymph are the only
way she can respond to the way her life has turned out because of what
her options were and because of who she was. These fantasies were all
she could do to regain her former life and to find, I would use the
word entertainment, in her boredom and loneliness. It was very fatal
entertainment, but entertainment nonetheless. As the fantasy shatters,
she is confronted again with her sadness and griefher reality. So the
coloratura sobs are not only from her heart, we're not just talking
about love here, but also from her frustrations with the fact that she
has little control over her situation and yearns for a solution to her
problem. Actually, this whole scene stems from Ophelia's desires to be
with people and to resolve her loneliness. She sees these villagers
celebrating the arrival of spring. How symbolic! Young people who are
dancing, happy, and celebrating life & new things. She yearns to be
happy, but she cannot accept the fact that she must accept a new way
of lifeshe is stuck in her desires to return to the past and this is
her great mistake. So here is Ophelia, who desires happiness and
relief, but cannot accept that her life must change as a result of her
current situation, and so she creates a fantasy world for herself,
which shatters, and she is then stuck in the past forever.
What do you think about the differences between the Shakespeare and
the Hamlet? What are your opinions on the Mad Scene? What are youropinions on the symbolism in the Mad Scene? Why do you think Ophelia
went mad? Who is your favorite Ophelia and why?