Ophelia; Character profile Flashcards
(14 cards)
In A1S3 how is Ophelia described and by who?
Laertes;
‘Violet in the youth of primy nature’ Violets are quick to bloom and quick to die, her naivety will be her downfall in Laertes eyes.
‘Chaste treasure’- Her innocence is something to be protected from corruption. During this period, virginity had value as the payment of dowry would be lower, making women more valuable.
‘The canker galls the infants of spring’
The cankerworm - a phallic image that suggests that purity becomes corrupted by sex.
Polonius;
‘Tender yourself more dearly’ - should be protecting her innocence more carefully for ‘true pay.’
‘You speak like a green girl’ - naive and gullible
‘Think yourself a baby’
How does Ophelia respond to A1S3?
‘I shall obey, my Lord’ - Caesura emphasises the final words that show the relationship between Ophelia and her father, highlighting her role as subservient. Furthermore, it echoes Hamlet’s words to his mother ‘Obey you madame’ raising ideas of filial responsibility in the play.
How is Ophelia presented in A1S3?
Shakespeare presents Ophelia as a ‘maiden saint’ rather than a ‘loathsome sinner’ (Mcgrory)
What is the significance of male roles dominating Ophelia’s decisions?
‘Opelia is deprived of thought, sexuality and language’ (Showalter)
What is Ophelia being cherished for A1S3?
‘In Shakespeare’s society, the ideal female is cherished for her youth, beauty and purity’? (Rogers)
How does the presentation of women link to contextual knowledge of the period?
‘I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart of a king’, she was valued as the ‘virgin queen’ instead of her impressive role as queen.
What quotation presents Ophelia as weak and vulnerable, A1S3?
‘Springes to catch woodcocks’
Polonius - suggesting that Hamlet’s promises are traps (springes) to ensnare Ophelia (a ‘woodcock’ - an easily caught bird)
How does Hamlet’s presentation of Polonius as a ‘fishmonger’ relate to Ophelia, A2S2?
A fishmonger was another name for a brothel-keeper (or a fleshmonger - a seller of ‘flesh’). Hamlet is suggesting Polonius treats Ophelia like a prostitute, using her for his own gain.
How does Polonius respond to Ophelia’s ‘affrighted’ emotional state in 2.1?
He tells Ophelia ‘go we to the king’, using his daughter’s distress to gain favour with Claudius.
How is Ophelia portrayed as a ‘loathsome sinner’ in A3S1?
Beauty will sooner transform/honesty from what it is to a bawd’
Bawd = woman in charge of a brother. Hamlet says to Ophelia in 3.1, ‘beauty will sooner transform/honesty from what it is to a bawd?’ He is suggesting that beauty is a corrupting force.
‘get thee to a nunnery’ A place where nuns live - a setting of purity and virtue. 2. Slang for a brothel - a place stereotypically associated with disease and corruption.
‘You jig and amble and you lisp’?
That she talks and moves in an affected and artificial way, performing innocence
How is Ophelia’s madness portrayed?
‘Through madness, Ophelia makes a forceful assertion of her being’ (Charney)
‘She may strew dangerous conjectures’ -Ophelia is viewed as a threat, existing outside patriarchal control, presents her as having a ‘dangerous’ and influential voice, which is very different to how she is silenced earlier on in the play.
- Ophelia further symbolises the decaying Denamark as she falls into madness.
‘Pray your mark’ - Empowered, imperatives
Ophelia is dominant in the conversation, controlling the conversation. This is shown through line length, most verbose contrasting A1S3.
Why does Ophelia give out flowers in A4S5?
She gives out Columbines, a symbol of deception. An Elizabethan audience would recognise this as a comment on Claudius’ corruption of the kingdom.
‘Privileged in madness to say things about the corruption of human nature’ (Mack)
‘larded with sweet flowers/Which bewept to the grave did not go’ Further suggested Polonius death was concealed, without proper burial.
‘I would give you some/violets but they withered all when my father died’,
Violets symbolise innocence and faithfulness - therefore she is suggesting that her father’s murder has left Denmark corrupted and impure.
How may Ophelia be argued to not be mad in A4S5?
She speaks in regular metre.
How is Ophelia treated in death?
She’s described as ‘mermaid-like’ and a ‘creature native’ when Gertrude gives news of her death;
This shows how, even in death, Ophelia is not given a true or real identity - she is instead presented as a mythical, magical being.
