what are the circumstances of ophelia's death?

Ophelia's death serves as a poignant reminder of the destructive power of the conflicts and intrigues that drive the actions of the characters in "Hamlet." The second is Hamlet himself, who promised much to Ophelia, and whom Ophelia has probably has sex with. There are many different things that contribute to Ophelias death, and I like that you put it all out there. In the Ophelia painting, the vegetation in the foreground and background creates a framing effect, which places our, the viewers, attention on Ophelia in the center. Note the use of horizontal lines in the painting Ophelia (1851-1852) by John Everett Millais;John Everett Millais, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. But, we cant ignore the lines that signify the other figure her grieving is fixated upon: Hamlet. Vote everyone! 1) Upon seeing the full title of the play (The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark) it can we inferred about Hamlet that: C. He will die at the end of the play. Many of the lines throughout her singing episodes also support your claim, as you aptly discuss. I do pity her as a character because now she is truly on her own and I feel Hamlet and her family is partially to blame. WebOphelias actions in the scenes leading up to her death suggest it, but in truth it was caused by a terrible accident. I agree with the fact you believe her suicide is due to both her fathers death and her complex relationship with Hamlet. This implies that she has taken her own life. What Does the Ophelia Painting Symbolize? The fleeing from marraige, I thought was caused do to a lack of purity in Ophelia. For example, the monocot leaves from the sedge plant in the bottom left foreground. I wonder which had more an effect? Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. The questions behind Ophelia's death has to do with her mental state at the time of her tragic flower-gathering. To access all site features, create a free account now or learn more about our study tools. Both the loss of her beloved father and Hamlet 's rejection of her The evidence suggesting that she is simply mourning her father is obvious, as lines from one of her many songs points towards grieving over an aged relative His beard as white as snow / All flaxen was his poll with flaxen here indicating a white or grayed head of hair (4.5.190-191). Fly high, lovely spirit, Hersl Dana.. Her face is still out of the water, and we can see she has an almost listless expression; her eyes are staring out ahead and her mouth is slightly parted. RALPH: The second image of Ophelia that Gertrude proposes is as if she were "a creature native and endued unto that element" in other words, as if Ophelia were a water nymph, or, as Gertrude said a few lines earlier, a mermaid, who fits in so well with this scene that its as if she belonged there, as if it were her home. Furthermore, if Ophelias death was, indeed, a subliminal expression of an unconscious desire to die, it is essential to discuss the reason for this unconscious desire; whether or not it was However you dont have to take her description at face value. I definitely feel that before Polonius dies she is effected by how Hamlet treats her, which the argument I made in my post. I know the focus is mainly on Hamlet and his questionable madness, but in a way I definitely see how Ophelia went somewhat mad as well! WebHe suddenly reveals all his secrets and admits that the burden of having killed his brother is bothering him. He and Hamlet then quarrel over who loved Ophelia more, and The painting Ophelia (18511852) by John Everett Millais explores several themes, from death, love, life, madness, and nature. The fact that this grief drives Ophelia to madness reveals her overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness, and the power that the men in Ophelia's life wield over her. SARAH: Gertrude offers two different visions here of Ophelia singing as she sinks into the water the first is of someone unaware of her life-threatening danger, and seems to convey Ophelia's actual state. I still dont know if I see Ophelias death as a suicide because of the fact that her clothes led to her death and all, but with all of the circumstances around her, I think that she definitely did not fight her death for a purpose. Hamlet ridiculed her and her father, Im assuming a person closest to her as there is no mention of a mother, dies unexpectingly. It is likely that Ophelia has fixated upon Hamlets detestable oath breaking so much so that in not requiting her love, Hamlet has broken both her heart and her poor mind. It depicts the scene of Ophelias death described by Queen Gertrude in Act 4, Scene 7. SO many questions that are generated by your post. 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. 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 / Theres tricks in the world, and hems, and beats her heart (4.5.4-5), a secondary cause of Ophelias madness may be in fact about her failed relationship with Hamlet as well. Log in here. Her death is reported by Queen Gertrude, Hamlets mother, in great poetic Ophelia, a decided and determined young photographer, leaves So Vicente, by water, to swim across the sea until she reaches Ubatuba, where she believes her father is located. Ophelia (18511852), painted by John Everett Millais, was based on the character from William Shakespeares famous play Hamlet (c. 15991601). While doing so, she slipped and fell into the brook. The original frame is gilt plaster with ivy moulding, the Hamlet quotation, in red and blue, on either side of the painting in Gothic script. 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 Hamlets alleged claims of love and marriage to Ophelia, so too has Hamlet broken those vows for reasons unbeknownst. Below we will look at the visual composition of Ophelia by John Everett Millais, starting with a description of the subject matter and then how the artist created it in terms of color, texture, line, shape, form, and space. Its implied through several of Ophelias 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). In Hamlet, does Ophelia actually drown herself by accident? Her madness stems from the death of her father but carries over once shes lost Hamlet. Sam, It is a tragic loss that underscores the human cost of the events of the play, and serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of being caught in the middle of such conflicts. I think that youre absolutely right in saying that Ophelias insanity is caused by a combination of Poloniuss death and Hamlets spurning of her, and murder of her father. Despite whether or not the cause of her madness is her fathers death or the loss of her boyfriend or something entirely different, Ofelia almost falls into madness. Further explicit references to Ophelias father, such as I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. She is depicted in a beautiful, soft dress barely keeping her buoyant and her midsection is submerged in the water. WebDeath is the pervading theme of the play. Hamlet performs a soliloquy. Because Polonius was such a vital figure in her life, she is likely bereaved beyond help and thus does not recognize her brother. CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione said police officers showed tremendous restraint before fatally shooting an armed man late Tuesday night. Then, Ophelia's funeral procession takes place, and Hamlet and Ophelia's brother Laertes confront each other. London and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul. who tells Claudio and Laertes the circumstances of Ophelias death? Maybe if Hamlet wasnt such an ass to her she wouldnt have committed suicide because I think that was truly the last straw for her. Towards the middle foreground is a mossy/algae patch with small white flowers growing from it, which could be stream water crowfoot. The composition is depicted in a horizontal orientation, and the main protagonist and focal point, Ophelia, is floating in a body of water. And you remember the whole business of Ophelia 's burial. WebOphelia obeys, but her action sends Hamlet into a fit of misogynistic rage. Over all, your post cleared up some misconceptions for me and went in depth on a character I would have liked to discuss more in class. I think that Hamlet and Laertes carried on Ophelias madness when she passed away and they both jumped into her grave. Would she have been more proactive with trying to fight the current of the stream? Over all, your post cleared up some misconceptions for me and went in depth on a character I would have liked to discuss more in class. horatio queen gertrude marcellus a messenger. Cirencione detailed the circumstances that led to the death of Brandon M. Zurkan, 31, of Warren, Pa., during a media briefing at the sheriffs office Wednesday. Whether or not her death was a suicide is the subject of much debate among Shakespearean scholars. The first is her father, Polonius, who bids her stay away from Hamlet, and then go to Hamlet to help spy on him. Claudius then promises to have a monument constructed in her memory. Subsection. I assumed her song at 4.5.62-64, insinuates an alleged intimacy she had with Hamlet, and his promise to marry her if she were to agree to intimacy. John Everett Millais painted from nature at the Hogsmill River in Ewell, Surrey, which is in South East England. There is a necklace of purple violets around her neck and a small pink rosebud on its stem near her right ear. I think your suggestion that Ophelias madness is also the consequential result of her failed relationship with Hamlet is totally credible. Ophelia by John Everett Millais has invited many a discourse, from feminism and how women are depicted in art, their role in a patriarchal society, and Ophelia herself as the subject for many paintings during the 19th century, to the Victorian eras penchant for flowers, their significance, and symbolic meanings. Ophelia seems to be much a more complex character the more that I read about her and I think she is underrated because of that. The reappearance of the mad Ophelia is devastating to Laertes. Furthermore, women would often be the main protagonists, and artists would depict them from live models. SO many questions that are generated by your post. Ofelias madness seems a little more delicate and sudden. There arent any other characters in the play that her references to promised love could be accountable for John Everett Millais depicted some of these flowers in the Ophelia painting, which we will explore in the visual description below, but he also depicted the flowers and foliage from the Hogsmill River and its bank. Ophelia is doing as a proper lady should, and for it she is punished. Ophelia is forced to give up the one she loves due to what others are telling her to do so, and because of her fathers prying he ultimately dies. The second is Hamlet himself, who promised much to Ophelia, and whom Ophelia has probably has sex with. In the process, they all redeemed themselves by dying because, somehow, their deaths advanced the cause each of them stands for. I never picked up on those lines of her song in relation to Hamlet breaking his promise of marrying her. Regardless of the exact circumstances of her death, it is clear that Ophelia is a victim of the political and personal conflicts that plague the Danish court. 2007, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/describe-the-fate-of-ophelia-as-reported-by-441. I wonder if her father didnt die would she have reacted to this accident in the same way? Her unexpected death left her loved ones in mourning. I think that throughout Hamlet, madness is exhibited in many forms and Hamlets madness is very different from Ofelias. Both the loss of her beloved father and Ophelia's death is one of the great Shakespearean mysteries that is never fully explained in Her clothes spread wide, And mermaid-like awhile they bore her up, Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds, As one incapable of her own distress However, Ophelia's innate weakness probably assured that she would not have had the courage to kill herself. WebA semi-circular canvas set in a rectangular frame. In the midst of her inner turmoil, her depression worsens as she learns that Hamlets madness is directly correlated to his fathers death and the appearance of his fathers ghost. The priest refuses, saying that, because she committed suicide, he must deny Ophelia the requiem mass and other trappings of a Christian burial, even though Ophelia will be buried on sacred ground. It is interesting to analyze this scene to see that both her fathers death and Hamlets acts led to her madness. The soliloquy is not about suicide, as some people believe, but rather about Hamlet's existential dilemma. I really liked the points you made about Ophelia and her madness. If it had been a suicide, she would not have a Christian burial at all, and only at the urging of the king was With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. RALPH: These two images of Ophelia in fact are complementary Ophelia is tragically unaware that she is about to die, and yet visually she also seems at home here in this brook, as her madness has finally taken her completely out of her unhappy situation back at the court. Ophelia cannot trust her beloved father or her lover, Hamlet, because they are all simply using her against each other. By this logic, of course she went insane. Carol Camden wrote a fantastic article titled Ophelias Madness in which she pretty neatly goes over a variety of theories and quotes several critics. Ophelias death was triggered by her mental breakdown due to the loss of her father. Clamb'ring to hang, an envious sliver broke, Fell in the weeping brook. This behavior is consistent with Ophelias having gone to the brook intending to kill herself. (Hint: I believe it is about why we act or fail to act it is not about suicide.)

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