Ophelia in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay - 2759 Words

Ophelia in William Shakespeares Hamlet â€Å"Follow her close, give her good watch, I pray you† (IV.5.73). Ostensibly, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the riddling, enigmatic, inscrutable theatrical character par excellence. His motives, madness, conflicting morals and existential struggles are ambiguous to say the least. When analysing his character, Laertes and Fortinbras are often brought in as examples of less extreme characters dealing with similar but more tangible dilemmas. The idea that there may be someone who exceeds Hamlet in instability and incomprehensibility is unfathomable. But if one looks at the character of Ophelia, this notion not only becomes a viable possibility: it becomes unignorable. For while Hamlet is†¦show more content†¦She is weighed down with others’ expectations, and the fact that we do not hear her contemplate the meaning of it all is not due to her mindlessness, but rather to her never having obtained the privilige of either voicing her thoughts or of questioning her situation. Her mechanical responses to Polonius â€Å"I shall obey, my lord† (I.3136), â€Å"as you did command† (II.1.105) and to Hamlet â€Å"No, my lord† â€Å"Ay, my lord† â€Å"I think nothing, my lord† â€Å"What is, my lord?† â€Å"Ay, my lord† â€Å"What means this, my lord?† â€Å"‘Tis brief, my lord† (III.2.106-141) are automatic. Resignation has become second-nature. With the lines â€Å"‘Tis in my memory lock’d,/And you yourself shall keep the key of it† (I.3.85), Ophelia surrenders all responsibility to Laertes: the image of his access to her memory is a powerful one. This, in turn, juxtaposed against Polonius’ demand to possess full access to their relationship, creates a disturbing picture of a young woman’s complete lack of privacy. The very language Polonius uses, â€Å"Give me up the truth† (I.3.98) implies surrender. The fact that the word â€Å"truth,† is used to describe what she is meant to give up, loads the demand to breaking point. But Ophelia is not only fenced in and loaded down. She also lacks the capacity to act, so that even if she were released from her confines, she would be at a loss with what to do with her freedom. And this state of precariousness is evident in her frightend reply to Polonius â€Å"My lord, I do notShow MoreRelatedComparison Of Ophelia In Hamlet And William Shakespeares Hamlet713 Words   |  3 PagesBoth Ophelia from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet along with the unnamed woman from â€Å"Anne Sexton’s Music Swims Back To Me† both face very horrendous tragedies, this proves to be the undoing of their sanity. 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