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.

Act 3 Scene 1

In this scene we finally see Hamlets famous part, his "to be or not to be" soliloquy. His part is significant because he essentially asked himself weather it was better to be alive or dead. He ultimately decided to live because it is better than the unknowing world of the dead. Not only that he is afraid of what might happen if he kills himself. Soon after his line we see Ophelia approach him. In this instant we get an exiting exchange between the two. I kind of imagined Hamlet being a bit aggressive towards Ophelia when this occurred and Ophelia sort of just taking it. I would imagine she would act afraid and surprised by Hamlets responses. She is essentially doing this because she is worried about Hamlet. Knowing that it is a plan devised by the king and her father. She plays her part while knowingly being watched. It seems as if Hamlet is alone in this play. I wonder if anyone will join his side later on in the play.

So i finally read act two and theirs quite a bit. In scene one we see Polonius, Reynaldo and later on Ophelia. In this first act we see Polonius taking to his servant Reynaldo about spying on his son, Laertes. Polonius tells Reynaldo to spread rumors about his son in order to see what the people think of him. I honestly dont like Polonius hes quite annoying. Every single time he speaks he rambles on and on about absolutely nothing. And i dont understand why he wants to spy on his son hes kinda of a weirdo. Anyways later in the scene comes Ophelia and shes talking about what Hamlet had done. I spoke about that incident in an earlier post so i wont waste my time repeating the same thing. But really thats scene one. Now, Scene two is where we see the juicy stuff. Act two we see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. These are two of Hamlets friends. They came because the king and queen asked them to come and see what was going on with Hamlet. Hamlet obviously knew from the moment he saw them what was going on. He told them what the king and queen wanted to hear. Later on Polonius comes back to see just how crazy Hamlet really is. They argue a bit and Hamlet sort of plays the crazy act. Im really not sure if Hamlet is acting that way to trick people or if he actually is going a bit mad. Anyways later comes a band of actors and one actor recites a speech about Greek mythology. Hamlet cries and at the very end of the scene we see him angry and sad that he cannot feel the way the actor felt when he was reciting the speech. But ultimately we see him come up with a plan that will make the king confess to the murder. He will organize a play about a brother who kills his brother and will see if the king will feel guilty enough to say something. I dont really think it'll work but im glad Hamlet has evolved into this fox like character. It'll make for an interesting story.

Act two scene one was just a bunch more of crazy Hamlet. In this scene their is a particular part in which Hamlet and Ophelia interact and Hamlet seems to act a little crazy. He grabs her and said nothing the whole time then suddenly leaves. shakespear hasn't really explained what that whole thing was for but i guess we can make some predictions. I personally think he wanted to desperately tell her about his father and what had happened. He needed someone to confide in but he couldn't tell her. She was too weak and would tell her father and everyone would think he was crazy. Another alternative is perhaps he really did just love her so much but he realized he could not have her. I really hope this gets answered in later parts. We'll just have to wait and see.

• So far Hamlet has been my least favorite character. I mean this guy has some serious daddy and mommy issues. Too bad anti-psychotics hadn't been invented yet so i guess he'll have to deal. So far the story has progress so much in act 1 that its a little confusing at this point. But heres is the gist of it. His dads brother married his mother so his uncle is also his step father. AND funny thing is that his uncle killed his father. Kinda funny honestly just how messed up this all is. Anyways we know this because that mysterious ghost that looks like his father was in fact ACTUALLY his dad. I mean way to mess with a kids head huh? Now Hamlet wants revenge. OH and theirs a girl. I mean isn't their always? Ophelia is a young noble woman of Denmark who is in love with Hamlet. Shes kinda a wimp to be completely honest. Shes such a weak character and that's why i don't like her. She needs to start having a voice of her own. Anyways her daddy told her to stop sleeping with Hamlet so she was like, "oh ok" *insert sad face*. I guess thats really the gist of act 1.