What type of character is Ophelia in Hamlet?
She is a naïve girl who wants to please both her father and her boyfriend Hamlet. She behaves innocently and is not trying to use her feminine nature to deceive or control a man as Hamlet suspected. Ophelia is loyal to her father and brother who raised her.
What does Ophelia represent in Hamlet?
Ophelia represents femininity in Hamlet. Hamlet acts out his aggression toward his mother on her, which finally leads to her madness.
What is the story of Ophelia?
Ophelia is a character in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. She is driven mad when her father, Polonius, is murdered by her lover, Hamlet. She dies while still very young, suffering from grief and madness. Gertrude describes how Ophelia fell into the river while picking flowers and slowly drowned, singing all the while.
What is Ophelia’s weakness?
In Act 1, Scene 3 and Act 2, Scene 1, Ophelia’s weakness as a character is only suggested to the audience, disguised by the differing possible interpretations of her spoken lines and the lack of clarity of her true thoughts/feelings.
How would you describe Ophelia?
Three adjectives and a noun to describe Ophelia: ingenuous, naive, guillible, and a foil to the other characters. Ophelia is a character of purity, trust and innocence in Hamlet. Ophelia has been shielded by the love of her father Polonius and has been in love with Hamlet from before Hamlet’s tragedies occur.
Is Ophelia a strong character?
Gertrude and Ophelia can definitely be viewed as strong characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. While they have no back story and limited lines, they prove through their words and actions that they are indeed important characters in and of themselves.
Why is Ophelia a tragic character?
Another reason why Ophelia can be seen as a tragic figure is because her father, Polonius was killed by Hamlet accidentally. Ophelia becomes mad with grief. Her father has been murdered by the man she is in love with. Ophelia writes a letter to Laertes to tell him the disgraceful news, which she is saddened about.
What mental disorder does Ophelia have?
Ophelia’s diagnosis with PTSD humanizes a character that audiences have pitied for centuries, but with whom they could not empathize. Unlike many psychological ailments, this disorder does not connote “insanity,” to which many viewers cannot relate.
Does Hamlet truly love Ophelia?
Hamlet has no reason to defend his love for Ophelia now that she is dead, but he still does. Hamlet really did love Ophelia, and tells Laertes, “Be buried quick with her, and so will I” (V.i.296). Although many could argue that Hamlet never loved Ophelia, he was just trying to throw everyone else off.
How was Ophelia treated in Hamlet?
Ophelia clings to the memory of Hamlet treating her with respect and tenderness, and she defends him and loves him to the very end despite his brutality. She is incapable of defending herself, but through her timid responses we see clearly her intense suffering: Hamlet: I did love you once.
How is Ophelia manipulated by Hamlet?
Ophelia is obviously being used and manipulated by her father and by Claudius in act III, scene 1, as they set up a situation in which she will meet with Hamlet and speak to him. After the “To be or not to be” soliloquy, it is Hamlet who then uses and manipulates Ophelia.
Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius , sister to Laertes , and rejected lover of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. Ophelia is a symbol of innocence gone mad.
Who has played Ophelia in Hamlet?
Ophelia has been portrayed on screen since the days of early silent films. Dorothy Foster played her opposite Charles Raymond ‘s Hamlet in the 1912 film Hamlet. Jean Simmons played Ophelia to Laurence Olivier ‘s Oscar-winning Hamlet performance in 1948 and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress .
Is hamlet suspicious of Ophelia?
Both her father and her brother are very protective of the young Ophelia. Other than Hamlet who is very suspicious towards Ophelia, everybody else is aware of her good nature. Her good nature is also apparent to the audience.
What effect does Ophelia have on Hamlet?
One of the vital dramatic functions of Ophelia is to give insight into Hamlet’s character and situation. She gives Hamlet’s actions and thoughts greater significance. His personality is highly complex, but through Ophelia the audience are perhaps better equipped to begin understanding it.