(Hamlet) Ophelia
- Created by: NHow02
- Created on: 24-02-19 18:13
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- Ophelia
- As weak
- 'That sucked the honey of his music vows'
- 'Blood burns, how prodigal the soul lends the tongue vows'
- Protestant belief that the Devil arrives in disguise
- Sensual words 'honey'/ 'music' creates an alluring effect
- Christian belief in temptation. Ironic as women were seen as 'temptresses'
- 'Blood burns, how prodigal the soul lends the tongue vows'
- 'Frailty thy name is woman'
- 'That sucked the honey of his music vows'
- As a victim
- 'And from her fair and unpolluted flesh may violets spring'
- Laertes' perception of Ophelia blind shim to the reality of her death/life
- Violets represent faithfulness and sexual longing
- Virginity was considered virtuous and to lose it was destructive to a woman's status
- Elaine Showalter: There exists 'only a Cubist Ophelia of multiple perspectives'
- 'Enter Ophelia distracted'/ 'distracted multitude'
- By giving away her flowers, she is symbolically 'deflowered'
- 'Hysteria' originates from the latin 'Hyster', which means 'womb'
- 'sick at heart' corruption spreads and infects others
- 'weedy trophies'
- Oxymoron suggests as a highborn lady she is partially exempt from a suicide's funeral
- Suicide was seen as a sin as your life was not your own, but belonged to God
- Suggests her virginity is her only virtue, as flowers symbolise fertility
- Ophelia's 'trophies' are corrupted by society and her means of survival destroyed
- 'unweeded garden'
- References the Garden of Eden (but overgrown)
- Bible teaches that women are subordinate and to blame for the fall of man
- Oxymoron suggests as a highborn lady she is partially exempt from a suicide's funeral
- 'And from her fair and unpolluted flesh may violets spring'
- As a sinner
- 'Mermaid-like'
- Mermaids seen as sinister creatures who lured sailors to their deaths
- 'sea of troubles'
- Elizabeth audience would have resonated with the dangers of the ocean
- Sir Frances led glorious escapades (paralleled with wooden ships)
- Elaine Showalter argues that Ophelia is 'a female counterpart to Hamlet'
- Elizabeth audience would have resonated with the dangers of the ocean
- 'If the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion - Have you a daughter?'
- 'a breeder of sinners'
- Hamlet believes all women have the potential for sin
- Biological Determinism
- She inadvertently contributes to the corruption of society
- 'unweeded garden'
- References the Garden of Eden (but overgrown)
- Bible teaches that women are subordinate and to blame for the fall of man
- Hamlet believes all women have the potential for sin
- Cutting 'c' alliteration creates a violent effect + but also suggests brevity
- 'Carrion' could mean a crow (omen of death) or dead flesh (associates female love with death)
- 'dead dog' suggests loyalty leads to death OR counts for nothing
- 'Let her not walk i'th'sun'
- It could also symbolise the king/'head' of state
- The 'sun' could represent God due to heavenly imagery
- 'a breeder of sinners'
- 'Mermaid-like'
- As weak
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