A tragedy is a serious story presented in dramatic form whose purpose is to accomplish the catharsis of emotions. William Shakespeare's Hamlet is widely considered to be the greatest tragedy ever written because of its depth, contributed in part by its secondary characters, such as Ophelia. Shakespeare suggests innocence and virtue cannot exist in a world of corruption and evil through Ophelia's innocence and virtue, her decline into madness, and ultimately her death.
Ophelia's goodness and purity conflicts with the corruption and evil in Denmark. Her guileless nature is demonstrated in the following conversation with Hamlet:.
Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap?.
Ophelia: No, my lord.
Hamlet: I mean my head upon your lap?.
Ophelia: Ay, my lord.
Hamlet: Do you think I meant country matters?.
Ophelia: I think nothing, my lord.
Hamlet: That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs.
Ophelia: What is my lord?.
Hamlet: Nothing.
(III, ii, 111-119).
Ophelia will not accept Hamlet's lewd advances. Her last reply suggests she may not even be aware of the sexual undertones in Hamlet's remarks. Ophelia's innocence is shown in her many conversations with her father:.
Ophelia: He hath, my lord, of late made many tendersOf his affection to me.
Polonius: Affection! Pooh! You speak like a green girl,Unsifted in such perilous circumstance.Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?.
(I, iii, 104-108).
Polonius continues on about Hamlet's false love, but the personality of his character suggests his true intentions are so his daughter's relationship does not interfere with his pursuit for power. This reveals Ophelia's nave belief that her father will provide her with the best advice for her life, instead of his own. It also reveals the corruption of the nobleman in his abuse of his child's trust in order to obtain power. The evil in Denmark is also reflected in the evil of its ruler Claudius, who murders his brother to obtain the crown and then tries to murder Hamlet, his nephew, stepson and heir to the throne, in order to solidify his hold on power.
Hamlet Hamlet is a young man who's father dies and his life is turned upside down. ... Hamlet is battling his conscience. ... Hamlet is extremely indecisive. ... Hamlet wants to kill his uncle because he killed hamlets father. ... Hamlet only trusts Horatio. ...
The old king Hamlet is murder by Claudius and therefore Hamlet must take his revenge. ... Hamlet begins to doubt the ghost. ... Hamlet is contradicts himself. ... Hamlet's next problem is that of morality. ... Hamlet's flaw of irresolution, the uncertainty on how to act or proceed, is shown when Hamlet sees a play and the passion the actors had, after Hamlet's third soliloquy, in Hamlet's fourth soliloquy, and in Hamlet's indecisive pursuit in avenging his father's death. ...
Hamlet In the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet never loses his sanity, in his plan to feign madness. ... It is after this statement that Hamlet begins to act mad. ... Guildenstern asks Hamlet what he means by this and Hamlet professes he is "" . . . but mad north-north-west. ... Polonius believe he [Hamlet] was mad. ... In a conversation, Gertrude questions Hamlet's sanity. ...
Hamlet In the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet never loses his sanity, in his plan to feign madness. ... It is after this statement that Hamlet begins to act mad. ... Guildenstern asks Hamlet what he means by this and Hamlet professes he is "" . . . but mad north-north-west. ... Polonius believe he [Hamlet] was mad. ... In a conversation, Gertrude questions Hamlet's sanity. ...
Laertes is a mirror to Hamlet. ... Laertes is decisive and Hamlet is not. ... Fortinbras acts as Hamlet's inspiration; he motivates Hamlet to go forward with his plan to kill Claudius, which in the end leads to Hamlet's downfall. ... Horatio is Hamlet's friend and solid rock on whom Hamlet can trust and depend. ... Horatio cared for Hamlet greatly, and so Hamlet cared greatly for Horatio. ...
KING Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius? HAMLET At supper. ... If Claudius does not stand on one side of a titanic conflict, his betrayal of Hamlet's father and Marriage to Hamlet's mother, do ignite one: Hamlet's conflict with himself. ... In the end Hamlet dies along with most of the principle characters whether they were duplicities against Hamlet or not. ... By the end of the play Hamlet has thoroughly explored the question but like Hamlet, it remains an enigma. ...
Hamlet The study of Shakespeare's Hamlet has been one that is very extensive as well as enormous. ... A critic of Hamlet once said, "a man set out to read all the books about Hamlet would have time to read nothing else, not even Hamlet." ... "Hamlet is the tragedy of reflection. ... For where Hamlet saw that "the time is out of joint," Hamlet himself was "out of joint." ... (Mack. 64) Hamlet begins his questioning with the death of elder Hamlet. ...
Hamlet 1 Throughout Hamlet, Hamlet expresses his thoughts via several soliloquies. ... In this scene, Hamlet is being "set up" by Ophelia, Polonius, and Claudius. ... This is quite different than the "emotional Hamlet" seen in 1.2, or the "vengeful Hamlet" seen in 1.5. ... The three claim to be concerned for Hamlet's mental state of mind. This is ironic, because as the characters within the play see Hamlet mentally deteriorating, readers see Hamlet mentally developing. ...
Hamlet Tania Kozie-Slobodzian Hamlet is categorized as one of Shakespeare's tragedies. ... Horatio a friend of Hamlet tells Hamlet that he is afraid because he thinks he has seen a ghost who resembles the late King. ... The Ghost of Hamlet's father appears in front of Hamlet. The ghost is in fact Hamlet's late father. ... Now that Hamlet is said to be crazy, Polonius goes to the King and tells him about Hamlet's strange behavior concerning Ophelia. ...
