Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Character Description of Shakespeare's Ophelia

This article is a description of the character Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Ophelia is trying to pursue Hamlet, who is the heir to the throne of Denmark.  Her brother, Laertes, warns her of Hamlet's status and her father, Polonius, forbids her to pursue Hamlet.  Polonius soon realizes that Hamlet must be lovesick which is causing his madness.  He suggests to Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and stepfather, that they eavesdrop on Hamlet and Ophelia's conversation.  This then leads to the 'Nunnery Scene' which has Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy.  Hamlet ends up leaving Ophelia heartbroken.  Hamlet then kills Polonius and Ophelia is thought to have gone mad after that.  Ophelia climbs up a willow tree, a branch breaks, and she falls into the brook where she drowns.  The last scene where Ophelia is mentioned is at her funeral.
I have never read Hamlet and have no idea what the plot is.  I believe the description of Ophelia is very clear.  I'm not sure why she went mad after her father's death or why she died.  I believe it has to do with Hamlet, whether it was him breaking her heart or killing her father.  Based on the description of Ophelia, I can tell that the book "Hamlet" has a similar plot to "Romeo and Juliet."

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