The Role of Ophelia in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- Papers Sh

The Role of Ophelia in William Shakespeares Hamlet Although Ophelia is not a main character in the penalize tragedy Hamlet her dramatic purpose is vital to the play. It emphasizes the poisoned body politic and its affects on the innocent. The role of women in the sixteenth century is to be obedient and dutiful, the plainly way to accomplish this was to be passive. Women in the sixteenth century were meant to be obedient to their aims, for they were their property until such a time came when she was married, it would then be her husband to whom her duties lied. Denmark is in a severalize of crazy house sh sustain by the theory death of the legitimate King Hamlet who was murdered by his own brother Claudius, Claudius then seduced his brothers wife and took over the thrown of Denmark. Due to this chaos innocence, loyalties and love are corrupted and all that was good and dutiful travel into darkness under the ruling of evil. Ophelia is a women of th e court her duty is to her father Polonius, and her brother Laertes. It is her fathers intentions to marry Ophelia off to a suitable and profitable match. We depression meet Ophelia whilst she is saying farewell to her active brother, Laertes, who is going with friends to university leaving Ophelia with exactly her father to tend to her needs. Unlike her brother, Ophelia is passive, a dutiful daughter and everything she should be for a women of the court in the sixteenth century. However this is only agreeable in a righteous Court, Denmark however is in a state of chaos and Ophelias passivity can only lead to her destruction. Whilst Ophelia is talk to her father once Laertes has left for universi... ... play to measure the corruption, she is a gas pedal for the revenge tragedy, for without her death we would not be able to understand the unfeigned corruption and evil that runs its course through Denmark like poison. Ophelia may not be a main charac ter or agent in the play but her dramatic purpose is vital to the plays understanding and interpretation. To solve Ophelia is vital to the play and its understanding even though she is not a protagonist, without her innocent and passive character it would be hard to understand the true destructive nature of the mislead court. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Rebecca West The Nature Of Will in Hamlet Norton critical edition p.230 2 Rebecca West The Nature Of Will in Hamlet Norton critical edition p.231