"The world of Shakespeare is the world transformed into images and metaphors; an object becomes a word which turns it into an idea or an emotion. There are also double meanings, puns and wordplay, at times ironic, often obscene, always witty, even in the greatest tragedies." (Delville) as ...

Hamlet infamously declared 'Frailty, thy name is woman' (1.2.146). To a modern audience this may seem deplorable, however Elizabethan philosophy relied heavily on the grossly misogynistic Great Chain of Being. Gertrude and Ophelia, as the only female characters in the play, provide us wit...

Ophelia, in this tragedy many see her as just Hamlet's lover, a character who is selfish in not helping Hamlet when in need, or just a psycho lover with a lot of problems. What if the story was twisted so that the play wasn't a tragedy and actually turned into a love story due to Ophelia? This is ho...

Ophelia has a unique, very powerful and interesting form of madness; she carries out an important role in the elaboration of the plot because she presents a theme of love and innocence. In the beginning, she starts off in a healthy state of mind, in love with her boyfriend Hamlet, yet controlled by ...

To what extent do you consider the female roles in the play to be subservient to the male roles? Women are represented in this tragedy, but on first analysis seem to be drowned in the mist of the deceitful power-game played out by a number of male figures, who in one way or another contribut...

How far is Shakespeare's presentation of Elizabethan attitudes towards death in Act 5 a development of earlier attitudes expressed in the play? Write about the ways attitudes to death are presented in Act 5. When Shakespeare wrote 'Hamlet', as with many of his plays, death was alw...

Who's There?Ben BonomaIn Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the protean characters mask their true identity with misrepresentations, appearing to be one person on the outside, but on the inside we see an entirely different person. It is as almost the characters walk around with masks on to hide who th...

Humans go through many hardships throughout life that may be hard to deal with. Loosing a loved on is a hardship that is very difficult to deal with for most people. Some people even go crazy when they loose someone they love because loss of love is very much connected with the loss of life. Peo...

During Act One Scene Three, we are presented with the growing attraction between the young Hamlet, and Polonius' daughter, Ophelia. However, we learn of this attraction solely through the blunt advice that both Polonius and Ophelia's brother, Laertes, give heavily. Unfortunately for Opheli...

"Hamlet" is often thought of as a drama primarily about one man's relationship with a dead father and a living and murderous stepfather. According to the Bedford Introduction to Literature, one of the critical components of any story, drama or novel, is that of "Plot," forming one of the d...

When Hamlet utters the words "Frailty, thy name is woman" in act one, scene two, he prepares the audience in a very specific way for the two female characters of the play, Ophelia and Gertrude. Before either sets foot on stage we expect them to be rather weak, fickle, as opposed to the m...

In Hamlet, taking a closer look at Ophelia's limited scenes with the help of feminist and deconstructionist interpretations give a better understanding of her character. Throughout Hamlet, Ophelia appears in only five scenes and is only one of two females present in the play. "Using fem...

Like Lavinia, Ophelia falls victim to the abuse of the men she trusts. Ophelia is the most innocent victim of Hamlet's revenge in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ophelia's trust and dependency upon the men in her life lead to her madness and ultimately to her death. "While suggesting complete mental derangem...

Females were "the future wives, mothers, and housekeepers" (Pearson 211) of Elizabethan times. Not many options were open to them. They were dominated by men, and by society. The obedience of women to men was evidenced in their educational, marital, and household opportunities. Althoug...

THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN Strong, ambitious, and independent. These are all characteristics that are associated with many of the women today. The role of women has made great strides over past eras, as we move closer toward a state of equality. From labels such as, "Frailty, thy name ...

Ophelia: In Living ColorWomen throughout history have constantly been analyzed more than men. Their every move can be used to stereotype a sub-culture of people. This is especially true for women in literature. It is here that a woman becomes more than a solitary being. No longer distinguishabl...

Ophelia: In Living ColorWomen throughout history have constantly been analyzed more than men. Their every move can be used to stereotype a sub-culture of people. This is especially true for women in literature. It is here that a woman becomes more than a solitary being. No longer distinguishabl...