Hamlet's Describe Ophelia's Mad Scene - Essay Example

5 May, Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 5: Analysis: Ophelia went mad after the death of her father, Polonius. In the scene 4.5, Gertrude says she no longer want the services of Ophelia for she has gone mad. It is after Horatio and the gentleman convince her that she allows Ophelia to talk to her. Ophelia shows up singing songs that depict her remembrance of her father. Claudius enters and gets upset because of the madness of Ophelia. The topic of Ophelia’s songs changes and now her lyrics depict maids whose masters seduce them.

Ophelia leaves and re-enters, this time singing of the way her father was buried. Her lyrics are quite meaningful and bring the weaknesses of Gertrude and Claudius to the limelight. Her madness is important for Claudius because he thinks it to be the reason for a change in Hamlet’s attitude. Laertes is provoked by the saddening songs of his sister. Her songs remind Laertes of his killed father. Therefore, his passion to take revenge of his father’s murder flares up because of ophelia’s songs.

Ophelia’s indication of the seduction of maids causes the audience to think as if Hamlet has had an affair with her on a physical level, though this mystery remains unresolved throughout the play. Gertrude is particularly disturbed by Ophelia’s song because inspired Laertes may harm Claudius taking him for the murderer of Polonius. Later, Ophelia offers different flowers to Claudius, Gertrude and Laertes. To Laertes, Ophelia presents Rosemary and Pansies. To Claudius, Ophelia hands over Daisies and Rues and she gives Columbines and Fennel to Gertrude.

In Shakespeare’s age, each of these flowers had standard meanings. Pansies and Rosemary were used to signify remembrance. Thus, by giving Laertes these flowers, Ophelia essentially makes Laertes remember his father and encourages him to take his revenge. Columbines and Fennels signified unfaithfulness and flattery respectively. Therefore, by giving these flowers to Gertrude, Ophelia meant to remind her of her infidelity. Daises were used in Shakespearean literature for seduction. Moved by Ophelia’s predictions, Laertes fully suspects the king and proceeds to hurt him.

Gertrude intervenes to save her husband. Claudius responds by assuring Laertes of his innocence. He offers Laertes to use any means to see if Claudius is the murderer of his father. Claudius says that if Laertes succeeds in finding him guilty of the crime, he would be made the King of Denmark instead. This is essentially to assure Laertes that Claudius is not the murderer, because the crown Claudius offers in compensation is too big a possession to risk. The scene contributes to the plot of the play by telling the story from Ophelia’s perspectives.

Ophelia is an important character of the novel, Hamlet. The scene tells all what Ophelia knows and the extent to which she knows the facts. Through her songs, Ophelia tends to suspect Claudius the murderer of her father as he had quickly buried Polonius. This seemed fishy. The flowers which Ophelia offered to Laertes, Claudius and Gertrude speak volumes about the knowledge and perceptions of Ophelia.