Hamlet: Ophelia's Madness, Act IV Scene V, and the Flower Symbolism

This discussion post analyzes Ophelia's descent into madness in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, with a specific focus on Act IV, Scene V, and the symbolism of the flowers she distributes. The assignment explores the factors contributing to Ophelia's mental breakdown, including the pressures she faces from her father, her love for Hamlet, and the events surrounding her father's death and Hamlet's rejection. The analysis examines how Ophelia's madness manifests, drawing evidence from the play to support the arguments. The symbolism of the flowers, representing emotions such as innocence, adultery, and remembrance, is carefully deciphered to understand Ophelia's state of mind. Additionally, the post touches upon the characters of Queen Gertrude and Claudius, exploring their roles and influence on Ophelia's fate. The assignment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Ophelia's character and the tragic circumstances that lead to her madness, enriched by insights from the Folger Shakespeare Library's resources.

Running head: HAMLET
Hamlet
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HAMLET
1. The Madness of Ophelia
Hamlet, also known to the readers as The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a
well-known play which is written by William Shakespeare. In the play itself, the readers are
introduced to a character named Ophelia. Ophelia is portrayed in the play to be a young
noblewoman of Denmark, who is the daughter of Polonius and also the sister of Laertes. She
had also been portrayed in the play to be the potential wife of Hamlet himself.
In the play, however, the readers notice that the character of Ophelia slowly goes mad
in the days before she dies. The main reason for this fact is that Ophelia is confused between
her obedience to her father and her love for Hamlet (Graf, 2013). On one hand the readers
find her obeying her father’s wishes and on the other hand, she is romantic in nature, which
makes her fall for Hamlet. It is the pressure which she encounters from all sides which finally
makes her lose her mind and she succumbs to madness as well as mental illness. In Act IV
Scene V, it is seen by the readers that Hamlet’s rejection as well as the murder of her father
causes her to lose her mind completely (Graf, 2013).
The flowers which Ophelia hands to the people of the court symbolises her emotions
as often seen in the Shakespearean plays. By the image of the flowers, she urges her brother
to remember her true loyalties. Through presenting the flowers, Ophelia speaks of the themes
of abortion, adultery, innocence and loyal love as well as the modesty and the integrity of the
characters in the court room itself.
2. Analysis of Queen Gertrude
Queen Gertrude is one of the characters that the readers are introduced to in the play
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She had been portrayed to be the mother of Prince Hamlet
and the wife of his father and his uncle.

2HAMLET
In the play Hamlet portrays Gertrude as a woman who is devoted to her husband, but
he cannot understand the reason for Gertrude marrying his uncle (Bialo, 2013). Many experts
are of the opinion that Gertrude’s role is of a diabolical and scheming woman who can do
anything to get what she wants. This is supported by the fact that even the ghost of King
Hamlet sad things about her, which can be interpreted to be not good (Bialo, 2013).
As far as the question of Gertrude’s loyalties in the play, it can be said that she is
loyal only to herself. This is the reason why she had married Claudius she can remain the
queen of Denmark herself. It is because of her ambition of remaining in power herself that
she remains the wife of Claudius instead of listening to Hamlet. The fact can be stated that it
is because of the shame that she feels for the death of her husband and her actions that she
drinks the poison and kills herself at the end of the play.

3HAMLET
Reference List
Bialo, C. (2013). Popular performance, the broadside ballad, and Ophelia's madness. SEL
Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 53(2), 293-309.
Graf, E. (2013). Gertrude's Role in Hamlet.