The death of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet: how and why it maters - prompt

My teacher gave us the prompt:
The death of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet: how and why it matters.

I asked him about it and he said he wants me to talk about where it fits into the play (like it being in act 4) and how that matters. and then talk about the implications of her death for the rest of the characters. I can do the latter part, but the structure part I don't really understand other than it sort of foreshadows the rest of the deaths. Help!

Hmmmmmmm . . . if only Ophelia's madness and suicide had some relation to some other character in the play, maybe someone who had feigned madness and considered committing suicide, but then avoided doing so because, after all, his madness was just fake. That would give you all sorts of parallels to talk about, and a way to discuss the development of some of the key themes of the play . . .

Such a pity there is no character like that in the play. Oh well, I can't think of anything. Clearly this is a hopeless topic.

:-)

Wow, I will definitely include that.

Right now I am trying to write about how Ophelia's death was a result of the corruption of the state. Any ideas? This is how the body of my paper looks so far: Ophelia as the only innocent character in the play, her death contrasting with the deaths of the other not-so-innocent characters. Her death as a result of the corruption of the state and manipulation of other characters, and what that says about Denmark. What her death says about the true state of Hamlet's love, and as the final push he needs for revenge.

It definitely needs to be flushed out and tweeked though. Any suggestions?

You've adopted an interesting approach. Certainly your ideas could be worked into a defensible argument. Try writing up a draft, incorporating the key quotations that prove your points. Then post it here for some feedback.

Innocence- throughout the play, she is conflicted with her love of hamlet and duty to be faithful to her father. She attempt to deceive Hamlet, but only out of fear for her father. Other than that occurrence, she is innocent. Unable to take her father's death at the hand of the one she loved, she goes crazy and dies in the brook. All of the other characters are guilty of something. Polonius is a conniving hypocrite (weak argument I know), Claudius killed king Hamlet, Gertrude committed adultery, Laertes premeditated the murder of Hamlet, and Hamlet (though not planning the ultimate killings of Polonius and Claudius) premeditated the murders of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Disorder of the state- this is my weakest standpoint. I want to show how she was simply the victim of the manipulations of Polonius, Claudius, and Hamlet. I want to take this to say that when the authority is corrupt it negatively effects the innocent citizens. I'm trying to make an example with how Laertes's instructions to avoid Hamlet due to political obligations are incorrect, made evident when Gertrude at her funeral says she wishes she were instead decorating her bride bed with Hamlet.

How her death effects Hamlet- when he fights Laertes in the grave and says that he truly loved Ophelia, it shows that he had true and honorable intentions all along, and had simply been side tracked with thoughts of revenge.

Also, how it is the final straw in his procrastination. He declares himself as Hamlet of the Danes, taking his father's name as an indication that he is ready to stand up now. (Also going to work into this his inaction as opposed to Ophelia's action urging him to take revenge --thanks for that one :) )

You might need to rethink some of your points:

"Innocence- throughout the play, she is conflicted with her love of hamlet and duty to be faithful to her father" Innocence is conflicted? Perchance you should introduce the character you are talking about?

Hmmmm . . . no quotations. That's never a good sign.


Is that why she goes crazy? Or does it have to do also with her rejection by Hamlet? Several of the songs she sings in her madness have to do with women seduced and betrayed, and some people have read into them indications that she is pregnant by Hamlet. This would make her anything but innocent by Elizabethan standards, btw. You don't have to take this approach, but you might want to justify your assertion that her father's death is the central reason for her descent into madness.


Ah, but Laertes gives the advice he does because there has been no bride-bed. His point is that Hamlet may not be free to marry Ophelia, and that if he seduces her without marriage, it will not affect him anywhere near as much as it does her. Finding out that Gertrude would have supported the marriage is ironic, but it doesn't take away from the essential truth of Laerete's advice.


How, pray tell? It may only show that he feels bad for having undertaken actions that drove her to madness and suicide, not that he intended to be honorable, or that he was honorable in his dealings with her.

I think you may be working backwards. It seems your teacher wants you to show how the death of Ophelia operates within the overall theme and framework of the play. So, first, you need to decide what you think Shakespeare was trying to convey with this play and then say how the death of Ophelia -- as and where it occurs in the play -- expresses and/or helps to set up that message.

Simone has a good point, here. True, Hamlet arguably does deal with the way corruption spreads from a wicked ruler to the rest of the state. Hence the ghost rising, the omens everywhere, the civil disorder that Laertes could have used to overthrow Claudius, etc. It just isn't the main theme, so much as a general idea from that period that often comes up in Shakespeare's plays. You would be much better off dealing with Ophelia as a foil for Hamlet, operating to show that Hamlet really is sane (which audience members have some reason to doubt ere the end of the play).

Ok so then how would I set up the paper?

The reason I argue she is innocent is mainly because my teacher has attempted to beat the idea into our heads in class. I'm trying to incorporate his thoughts with my own, and it's messing me up. He is also the one who said that Ophelia's death proves Hamlet loved her all along, so I just went with it. Obviously the wrong thing to do.

Basically, you're telling me I need to narrow my focus to just how her death affects Hamlet?

Once you know the things you are going to say, we can help you come up with the best method of organization.

Here, again, is your prompt: "The death of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet: how and why it matters."

Here, again, is what your teacher told you to do: "talk about where it fits into the play (like it being in act 4) and how that matters. and then talk about the implications of her death for the rest of the characters."

You've gotten advice from both Sean and me. Taking that advice into account (or not), decide exactly what you are going to say. Then organize your points into a draft outline and post it here. Once we see your outline, we can help you tweak it into shape and also offer ideas concerning what you can use for your introduction, conclusion, supporting evidence, etc.

Simone's advice is excellent. As for what themes you decide to work with when discussing the role of Ophelia's death in the structure of the play, you will have to decide whether to go with your ideas or those of your teacher. The best teachers don't want you to just regurgitate what they have said in class, and will approve of your work if it is well argued, regardless of their own views. That said, you many not have one of the best teachers for this class. In fact, you may have one who is a big fan of regurgitation. In which case, regurgitate away.

OK so this is what I'm trying to work with now: how Ophelia's death matters when she is considered as a parallel to Gertrude and a foil to Hamlet.

Gertrude: parallel: Ophelia is caught between the conflicting wills of men (Hamlet, Father, Brother)-example in scene where brother and father urge her to forget Hamlet while she makes known that he has given her affections as of late, or in her becoming an instrument for Claudius to spy on Hamlet because of her father's belief that she is the reason Hamlet is mad.

Gertrude yields to Claudius without knowing of the murder, loves both Claudius and Hamlet and sinks into passivity over which to believe and follow (Before Hamlet kills Polonius, when he is speaking with the Queen he reveals that he is not truly mad and trusts her to keep his secret, Claudius in his planning with Laertes says he can not kill Hamlet because the Queen loves him.

Meaning of Death: Since Ophelia died due to her weak-willed acquiescence to the evil of others (causing confusion of priority, who to believe and listen to, the one she loves or her patriarch, then the death of Polonius by the one she loves--its too much for her to handle)

Her parallel to Gertrude suggests a foreshadowing that Gertrude too may die due to her feminine weakness and surrender to male aggressiveness. (although her death is not a suicide it is passive and expiatory much like Ophelia's)

Hamlet: Foil: Hamlet is determined to feign madness and revenge his father's death, yet is hindered by delays and thoughts of suicide, leading him to a state of inaction.

Ophelia has also lost a father through violent means yet she has truly gone mad and taken action in her death (possibly suicide?)
Meaning of Death: Ophelia's death is the final push for Hamlet to commence action. He states he had always loved Ophelia, takes his father's name, and shortly afterward in 5.2 resolves that it will come one way or the other and that he is ready to take his revenge.

If those are the things that you want to say, then the next step is for you to organize them into an outline.

Obviously, but my question is does that adequately fit the prompt? Or do you think it would be better to focus just on Hamlet and not Gertrude, and then discuss how it adds to the theme of duality in the play with appearance v. reality, reason v instinct, thought v action, etc.

I've got so many different ways to approach this paper, I'm finding it difficult to decide which is the best approach.

Right, and that is why I specifically did not comment on content. I've seen you, on your own and in conversation with Sean, raise and drop a plethora of perfectly good ideas. You just need to choose a theme and stick with it, keeping the prompt in mind while framing how you will write it up.

Ok, I think I'm going to stick to the Gertrude and Hamlet one, and try to do this on my own now. If I fail utterly, I'll be back.

I'm sure you won't fail utterly. Look up the etymology of the word "essay." If you try your best to write down your thoughts coherently, you have in some sense succeeded in writing one. That said, you can still write one that your teacher will grade harshly, so you should post your draft here for feedback before handing it in.

oops, too late. I turned it in today, and while there are some rough spots I think I did pretty well overall. I focused only on Ophelia's death in terms of how it affected Hamlet. Thank you so much for your help! I don't know what I would have done without you guys!

Well, I hope you get a good mark. Let us know how it turns out for you.

i have a smiliar paper with this post it back bro when you get it back

how can Ophelia's death illuminate the meaning of the work "Hamlet" ?

im having trouble getting three points to explain Ophelia's death and its meaning towards Hamlet. I have to avoid plot summary. or in other words i have to explain a death scene in hamlet and how it can develop a theme.

Could you put the summary first regarding the Ophelia's death? it wasn't clear