Ophelia's death in Act 4

So as the title implies, Ophelia died. It was rather sudden and out of no where like wow she's dead when did this happen. I've kinda noticed that death isn't really important in Hamlet. It's nothing like Othello where when a character died it was a big deal. However right before Ophelia died she wanted to speak to the queen. In that scene she acted a little mad in which she would start singing as a response to everything. I kinda think she acts this way because well of course her father died but it's much more. Without her father, the man controlling her she's lost with no direction. She is that weak character that needs an authority figure and without one she's lost. Shakespeare used her death to display that death is simply arbitrary. It's just a means to an end. But in the case of Ophelia she was weak and died. We can refer back to Hamlets to be or not to be soliloquy in which he Saids we must bear to troubles we have for the unknown troubles may be much worse.  Ophelia was one of the few who were too weak to deal with her troubles and perhaps that's why she died. Not only that but her death was used to fuel the idea that women are weak.

The word poison as I have noticed comes up over and over in Hamlet. It is always used to refer to the old kings death. It may just be me but I believe that the "poison in the ear" line we always see refers to something much more. Perhaps Shakespeare is comparing the poison to words. How words can sometimes enter our ears and poison us with lies. And its these very same lies that make us do crazy things. Just how in Hamlet the character Hamlet is doing all these crazy things because of something a ghost told it. Not only that we also see how deception is a persistent theme in the play. And how is someone deceived? Exactly, through words. When people are deceived they can be lead to believe something that might make them go crazy, ie.Hamlet. And it is this very idea i believe Shakespeare is attempting to portray.

Act 3

Act three has definitely been a rather climactic act with a lot going on. Scene one gives us that wonderful little interaction between Ophelia and Hamlet. With Hamlet being rather rude/aggressive towards his now ex lover. However she kinda deserved it for spying on Hamlet with the king and her father. Oh and not to mention his famous to be or not to be scene. That was truly magnificent. In scene two we finally get Hamlets great play. He and Horatio plan on watching the king to see if he will show any signs of guilt. Once the play begins Hamlet torments Ophelia with sexual puns and when the king in the play is killed with poison the real king stops the show. We also get a little interaction between Hamlet and his friends and he accuses them of trying to play him like a flute.In scene three we finally see some guilt from the king. he begins to pray due to the guilt of killing his brother which he refers to as the oldest sin. Hamlet hears him praying and decides to kill him. Before this happens Hamlet decides to wait for him to sin again otherwise he would enter heaven. Scene four was by far the most dramatic. We see Hamlet finally telling his mother what he thinks. He shoves all her sins down her throat and tells him what has happened with his father and his plans. Not to mention that Polonius was killed by Hamlet thinking it was the king. For some reason it wasn't all that important. One weird thing though is that the ghost appeared again and this time only Hamlet could see it. Thats really it for this Act. One interesting thing however is how the characters have evolved. We see the king showing more guilt and remorse rather than nothing in the beginning. Hamlet is still a little crazy but somehow his madness has given him clarity. Ophelia is still the same weak character except now her dad is dead so thats sad. Poor her. Not to mention the queen who has now realized her mistakes and seems to be more involved rather than a voiceless character shes been. If you read closely we see the theme of revenge and theme of deception really evolve here.