Ophelia in Shakespeare's "Hamlet"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet",
Ophelia, sister of Laertes and the daughter of the king's councilor Polonius, is often seen as weak and pathetic because of her obedience to her father and of how easily she loses her mind when he dies. The way that Hamlet unknowingly destroys her in his plot to seek revenge on Claudius is described by the author. The paper concludes that without this character, who is easily manipulated by the people around her, the play would be completely different.

From the Paper:

"When Ophelia appears again after the "nunnery scene", it is act III scene ii and Hamlet has set up "The Mousetrap" play. During the play Hamlet sets next to Ophelia and responds to her attempts at conversation with angry and sexually suggestive remarks. After this conversation with Hamlet, I believe that Ophelia has absolutely no idea what is going on with him and has pretty much given up hope on them being together. Following this incident, the next time we see Ophelia is after Hamlet has killed her father and he has
been sent away to England."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hylton, Jeremy. "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: Entire Play." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. 1993. 12 February 2009. <http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html>

More papers on Ophelia in Shakespeare's "Hamlet":

• Comparison Essay # 23334 : "Revenge in Shakespeare"
• Analytical Essay # 1627 : "The Oedipal Complex in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'"
• Analytical Essay # 7976 : "Women in Shakespeare's Plays"

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