Ophelia drowned because she fell into the water and did not have the will, in her grief, to save herself.

Why does Ophelia have to die?

Ophelia kills herself because the fate of Denmark is placed on her shoulders when she is asked to more or less spy on Hamlet, her father has been murdered (by her former lover no less), from the confusion created by her father and brother with regard to the meaning of love, and her suicide is even an act of revenge.

How did Ophelia really die?

In Act 4 Scene 7, Queen Gertrude reports that Ophelia had climbed into a willow tree (There is a willow grows aslant the brook), and that the branch had broken and dropped Ophelia into the brook, where she drowned.

Why did Ophelia go mad?

Why does Ophelia go mad? Ophelia goes mad because her father, Polonius, whom she deeply loved, has been killed by Hamlet. The fact that this grief drives Ophelia to madness reveals her overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness, and the power that the men in Ophelia’s life wield over her.

What is ironic about Ophelia’s death?

The fact that Ophelia’s clothing is what pulled her down and essentially drowned her into a muddy death is something that I found heavily ironic. Ophelia in a sense marked her death as a monument, as she also hung flowers, which is something that people generally do on a loved one’s gravesite.

What is Ophelia’s syndrome?

Ophelia syndrome is the association of Hodgkin lymphoma with an autoimmune limbic encephalitis, as a result of anti-metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antibodies (mGluR5) ¹.

Was Ophelia’s death accidental?

Gertrude states that Ophelia fell into the water when she was trying to hang her “fantastic garlands” on a tree and one of the branches broke. Ophelia’s death therefore was an accident to the extent that her madness made her blind to the danger that she was in.

What were Ophelia’s last words?

She emphasizes the finality and fatality of her father’s end by asking twice, “And will he not come again?” and then answering her own question with the straightforward ” No, no, he is dead ” and “He never will come again.” The next line, “Go to thy deathbed,” echoes Hamlet’s spurning of Ophelia in act 3, scene 1 and the

Was Ophelia’s death accident or suicide examining the scene make a case for how it may be viewed as either one?

Examining the scene, make a case for how it may be viewed as either one. Ophelia’s death was possibly a suicide. Especially taking into consideration the music she would sing to Gertrude of the beauty in the ground, it is highly likely that her death was a case of suicide.

Is Hamlet to blame for Ophelia’s death?

In conclusion, Hamlet definitely had a massive part to play in Ophelia’s death. However, he was not the only one to blame. Laertes did hardly anything wrong, other than going when she needed him most, which was not his decision to make but Claudius’s.

What act does Ophelia go mad?

As befits a scene full of anger and dark thoughts, Act IV, scene v brings a repetition of the motif of insanity, this time through the character of Ophelia, who has truly been driven mad by the death of her father.

Why do you suppose Ophelia’s madness takes on the form it does?

They assume that Ophelia’s madness is a combination of the stresses of her father’s death, Hamlet’s being sent away, and the fact that Hamlet is her father’s killer. As a woman, Ophelia can’t act, so she goes mad.

What evidence is there that Ophelia has gone mad?

In her madness, Ophelia sings snatches of songs, most of which sound like popular songs of Shakespeare’s day. Her choice of songs seems to reveal two obsessions. The first is with the death of fathers and old men, which isn’t surprising, because her father has just died.

How does Ophelia’s death affect the play?

Ophelia’s suicide in Hamlet influences the play as a whole. Ophelia’s suicide results directly from madness and indirectly from Hamlet and other characters; she seems simple on the surface, but Shakespeare gave her a very complex, emotional downfall.

What does Ophelia’s grave symbolize?

Even Ophelia whose political status allows her to be buried in the cemetery when she has committed suicide will be equal to the lowly beggar. The skulls of all the dead are equal; they might belong to any person. So, they symbolize the dead person stripped of all status from life.

What does Ophelia symbolize?

Ophelia represents femininity in Hamlet. Hamlet acts out his aggression toward his mother on her, which finally leads to her madness.