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Ophelia's Madness in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Painting of Ophelia painted by John Everett Millais in the mid 19th century

Introduction

William Shakespeare created the play Hamlet. He included the character Ophelia as the main love interest who goes mad after the death of her father, Polonius. Ophelia has been portrayed by many actresses who all exhibit her madness in varying ways. Helena Bonham Carter for example, plays her madness as you can see here very differently to Kate Winslet in this video

Monologue

Ophelia's monologues are one of the few ways she is able to express herself in both madness and sanity.

How should I your true-love know

From another one?

By his cockle hat and staff,

And sandal shoon.

The majority of Ophelia's monologue is actually sung in Act 4 Scene 5.

I hope all will be well. We must be patient; but

I cannot choose but weep, to think they should lay him i'th'cold ground.

Ultimately Ophelia's madness causes her to go to a body of water where she then drowns.

There is a willow grown aslant a brook,

That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;

There with fantastic garlands did she come

Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples

That liberal shepherds give a gross name,

But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them:

There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds

Clambering to hang, an envious silver broke;

When down her weedy trophies and herself

Fell into the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide,

And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up;

Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes,

As one incapable of her own distress,

Or like a creature native and indued

Unto that element: but long it could not be

Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,

Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay

To muddy death.

Madness or Grief?

Both Ophelia and Hamlet supposedly "go mad" due to the loss of their fathers. The reasons for the argument of whether Hamlet's madness is genuine are

1. Hamlet is the central character and the audience is aligned with him.
2. Hamlet tells Horatio and Marcellus that no matter "How strange or odd soe'er [he bears himself] as [he], perchance, hereafter shall think to meet to put an antic disposition on" to which many have regarded as Hamlet admitting to faking his madness.
3. There is a debate whether the ghost is genuine or the devil attempting to corrupt Hamlet.

Why is Ophelia's madness not thought of as a mirroring of Hamlet's? Amanda Mabillard states that "Ophelia is...static and one-dimensional" but I believe people view her this way as we do not get to see into her own head more.

References

Shakespeare, William (2007). The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare. Wordsworth Editions. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

Amanda Mabillard's essay An Introduction to Ophelia in Hamlet