Ophelia (daughter of Polonius)
“like a puffed and reckless Ophelia points out Laertes’s
libertine, Himself the primrose hypocrisy: he warns her about
path of dalliance treads And recks chastity while he himself pursues
not his own rede.” pleasure. Exemplifies her quiet
insight and the double standards
imposed on women versus men.
“Tis in my memory locked, And Ophelia promises to remember
you yourself shall keep the key of Laertes’s warning and let him
it.” “keep the key.” Exemplifies her
passivity and willingness to let
male relatives govern her choices.
“He hath, my lord, of late made Ophelia tells Polonius about
many tenders° Of his affection to Hamlet’s love. The word “tenders”
me.” suggests both affection and
financial transaction. Exemplifies
how love is reduced to bargaining
language, stripping Ophelia’s
emotions of sincerity.
“ I do not know, my lord, what I Ophelia admits confusion when
should think.” asked about Hamlet’s love.
Exemplifies her lack of autonomy
and how her opinions are shaped
(or silenced) by male authority.
“With almost all the holy vows of She recalls Hamlet swearing
heaven.” eternal love with sacred promises.
Exemplifies the conflict between
spiritual language and physical
desire, and Ophelia’s naïve trust in
Hamlet’s words.
“I shall obey, my lord.” Ophelia submits to Polonius’s
command to reject Hamlet.
Exemplifies her obedience and lack
of agency, showing how she is
trapped in patriarchal duty rather
than free will.
“I was sewing in my closet, Lord This vivid description of Hamlet by
Hamlet, with his doublet all Ophelia exemplifies the prince’s
unbraced, No hat upon his head, descent into a state of apparent
his stockings fouled, Ungartered, madness and emotional torment.
and down-gyvèd to his ankle, Pale His disheveled appearance—
as his shirt, his knees knocking clothes undone, pale face,
each other, And with a look so trembling knees—reflects his inner
piteous in purport, As if he had chaos and despair. Ophelia’s
been loosèd out of hell To speak of comparison of Hamlet to someone
horrors—he comes before me.” “loosèd out of hell” emphasises the
gravity of his suffering, as if he
carries the weight of a vision too
, terrible to articulate. Shakespeare
uses this imagery to externalise
Hamlet’s psychological unraveling,
showing how grief and obsession
manifest in both his body and
demeanor.
“He took me by the wrist and held Hamlet’s sudden physical grasp of
me hard; Then goes he to the Ophelia’s wrist exemplifies his
length of all his arm,” struggle between intimacy and
distance. The tight grip suggests
urgency and intensity—perhaps a
desperate attempt to communicate
without words—while the extended
arm that keeps her at a distance
reveals hesitation and restraint.
This moment illustrates Hamlet’s
conflicted emotions: he is drawn
toward Ophelia yet simultaneously
pushes her away, reflecting his
broader inability to act decisively in
the face of his father’s murder and
his own anguish.
“And thrice his head thus waving Ophelia’s account of Hamlet
up and down, He raised a sigh so sighing “so piteous and profound”
piteous and profound As it did exemplifies the destructive weight
seem to shatter all his bulk And of suppressed grief and despair. His
end his being.” sigh is described as if it could
“shatter” his whole body,
portraying sorrow not as a fleeting
emotion but as an existential
burden that threatens to consume
him entirely. Shakespeare
emphasizes the physical impact of
Hamlet’s anguish, suggesting that
his suffering has grown too large
for mere words, spilling over
instead into gestures and breaths
that carry the weight of his
unspoken torment.
“No, my good lord; but as you did Ophelia’s response to Polonius
command, I did repel his letters exemplifies the theme of obedience
and denied His access to me.” versus personal desire. Though she
may feel affection for Hamlet, she
obeys her father’s command to
reject him, cutting off his letters
and access. This act demonstrates
the restrictive power of patriarchal
authority in Elizabethan society,
where a daughter’s duty to her
“like a puffed and reckless Ophelia points out Laertes’s
libertine, Himself the primrose hypocrisy: he warns her about
path of dalliance treads And recks chastity while he himself pursues
not his own rede.” pleasure. Exemplifies her quiet
insight and the double standards
imposed on women versus men.
“Tis in my memory locked, And Ophelia promises to remember
you yourself shall keep the key of Laertes’s warning and let him
it.” “keep the key.” Exemplifies her
passivity and willingness to let
male relatives govern her choices.
“He hath, my lord, of late made Ophelia tells Polonius about
many tenders° Of his affection to Hamlet’s love. The word “tenders”
me.” suggests both affection and
financial transaction. Exemplifies
how love is reduced to bargaining
language, stripping Ophelia’s
emotions of sincerity.
“ I do not know, my lord, what I Ophelia admits confusion when
should think.” asked about Hamlet’s love.
Exemplifies her lack of autonomy
and how her opinions are shaped
(or silenced) by male authority.
“With almost all the holy vows of She recalls Hamlet swearing
heaven.” eternal love with sacred promises.
Exemplifies the conflict between
spiritual language and physical
desire, and Ophelia’s naïve trust in
Hamlet’s words.
“I shall obey, my lord.” Ophelia submits to Polonius’s
command to reject Hamlet.
Exemplifies her obedience and lack
of agency, showing how she is
trapped in patriarchal duty rather
than free will.
“I was sewing in my closet, Lord This vivid description of Hamlet by
Hamlet, with his doublet all Ophelia exemplifies the prince’s
unbraced, No hat upon his head, descent into a state of apparent
his stockings fouled, Ungartered, madness and emotional torment.
and down-gyvèd to his ankle, Pale His disheveled appearance—
as his shirt, his knees knocking clothes undone, pale face,
each other, And with a look so trembling knees—reflects his inner
piteous in purport, As if he had chaos and despair. Ophelia’s
been loosèd out of hell To speak of comparison of Hamlet to someone
horrors—he comes before me.” “loosèd out of hell” emphasises the
gravity of his suffering, as if he
carries the weight of a vision too
, terrible to articulate. Shakespeare
uses this imagery to externalise
Hamlet’s psychological unraveling,
showing how grief and obsession
manifest in both his body and
demeanor.
“He took me by the wrist and held Hamlet’s sudden physical grasp of
me hard; Then goes he to the Ophelia’s wrist exemplifies his
length of all his arm,” struggle between intimacy and
distance. The tight grip suggests
urgency and intensity—perhaps a
desperate attempt to communicate
without words—while the extended
arm that keeps her at a distance
reveals hesitation and restraint.
This moment illustrates Hamlet’s
conflicted emotions: he is drawn
toward Ophelia yet simultaneously
pushes her away, reflecting his
broader inability to act decisively in
the face of his father’s murder and
his own anguish.
“And thrice his head thus waving Ophelia’s account of Hamlet
up and down, He raised a sigh so sighing “so piteous and profound”
piteous and profound As it did exemplifies the destructive weight
seem to shatter all his bulk And of suppressed grief and despair. His
end his being.” sigh is described as if it could
“shatter” his whole body,
portraying sorrow not as a fleeting
emotion but as an existential
burden that threatens to consume
him entirely. Shakespeare
emphasizes the physical impact of
Hamlet’s anguish, suggesting that
his suffering has grown too large
for mere words, spilling over
instead into gestures and breaths
that carry the weight of his
unspoken torment.
“No, my good lord; but as you did Ophelia’s response to Polonius
command, I did repel his letters exemplifies the theme of obedience
and denied His access to me.” versus personal desire. Though she
may feel affection for Hamlet, she
obeys her father’s command to
reject him, cutting off his letters
and access. This act demonstrates
the restrictive power of patriarchal
authority in Elizabethan society,
where a daughter’s duty to her
