Eulogy of Ophelia

I want to begin by placing this lavender, Ophelia's favorite flower on her coffin. It seems incredibly fitting that the lavender represents faithfulness. A trait that all of us here today can testify too, Ophelia certainly possessed it.  Here lies the sweet Ophelia, a girl who had hopes and dreams. She was just a normal innocent girl, but all of a sudden things started to change bit by bit in her life. People think that she does not deserve a proper burial, but I indeed think she does.

Before she committed "suicide", Ophelia did do things that God would be very proud of. She did listen to her father, Polonius (rest in peace), when he told her to stop seeing Hamlet. She was not a wild girl, yet she was a girl who was always to herself and she brought joy to the kingdom.

When one looks back on the life of such a beautiful person, it seems so easy to break down at such a loss, but to me, today is not about loss, sadness or despair. It is about celebrating the life of a beautiful, loving, caring and special young lady. Ophelia's pure heart and loyalty to all, gave her credibility the rest of us could only dream of. To me she was the epitome of goodness. She represented in my eyes all things true, all things honest and all things innocent. I could not imagine a person more perfect and faithful than our sweet dear Ophelia.

How I dearly wish that she would have wed with hamlet .Their love seemed to be so strong that it would last through any trouble and turmoil. Like a tree in the wind that hung to its leaves for dear life, Ophelia cared for his love and cared for him like only true soul mates could have. When my son began to act strangely I feared that his love would not last. They had differences and for a short while we all questioned their love, however, I think I speak for us all when I say that our questions were answered just moments ago when hamlet said,

I lov'd Ophelia, forty thousand brothers

Could not, with all their quantity of love,

Make up my sum

Ophelia was a great inspiration. She was a strong woman and tried her best to make those she loved happy. May she rest in peace and God take care of her.

Ophelia Questions

What do you notice about the way that Ophelia is portrayed in the John Everett Millais painting?

Ophelia is portrayed as if she was in a peaceful and serene deep sleep as you can see. Even though she drowned and died, she is surrounded by flowers right at her side and some of them look like they are in her hand. Her dying face up makes me wonder if her drowning self -conflicting.  Meaning, usually when you drown you sink or are face down in the water, never are you face up with your hands out the way she has them. The water looks a little shallow too for Ophelia to be drowning in, in my opinion.

What characteristics does the artist imbue in his version of Ophelia?

The artist imbues that Ophelia's character had innocence. In his painting Ophelia looks as if she wasn't intending to die or shouldn't have died. It seems a little too perfect on how the flowers are arranged next to Ophelia. As if she just gave up and let fate take charge of what would happen next.

How do you believe Shakespeare intended Ophelia to be portrayed? 

Shakespeare intended that Ophelia's world and character revolved around Hamlet. She could have been upset about the fact that Hamlet killed her father and that Hamlet and her are no longer together. This could have played a role in Ophelia's death and character.

*I feel like I should change the one above or re word it or add more*

What were her final moments like?

Ophelia's final moments where peaceful with a hint of some madness. Ophelia was devastated over her father's death and Hamlet's non existence in her life. She was using sticks as flowers and was by the stream or brook and all these flowers before she died.

Did she intentionally drown herself?

Ophelia did not intentionally drown herself. I believe once the branch snapped and fell into the water she wanted to be be save. But, once she water was rushing into her lungs she could possible believe this is a way to end all of her pain and suffering from her father’s death.

Did she give in after the branch underneath her broke?

I believe she did give in after the branch broke underneath her.

Did Gertrude sit idly by and watch her struggle?:

I don't have the right answer but my theory is that maybe a guard saw what happen to Ophelia and then told the Queen.

What do you believe is the reason for Ophelia’s madness?

Ophelia's first cause of madness was by Hamlet and her break up. The second was the death of her father Polonius.

What contributed to her demise, in your opinion?:

Ophelia's madness and reaction to her father's death and Hamlet's rejection caused her demise. If she didn't react in such an insane way then maybe her death could have been avoided. But still we never know if her death was accidental.

How might you represent Ophelia?:

I represent Ophelia as a naive, innocent, and pure, very loyal to her family, obedient character. There isn't just one side to her. She has multiple personalities and views. She really loved Hamlet but listened to Polonius on not seeing or speaking to him anymore. She also seemed very happy sometimes during the play until, she went insane at the end of it.

Hamlet's Dilemma

I believe hamlet has done the right thing to think carefully about taking care of Claudius.  Even though Claudius is alone and defenseless he yields his reaction of killing.  Hamlet says he doesn't want to murder Claudius while he is praying because he's afraid he'll send Claudius's soul straight to "heaven." Revenge, for Hamlet, isn't simply about killing Claudius —it's about making sure he suffers in Hell, just like he thinks his father is doing. He wants to kill Claudius while he’s sinning so, that when he kills him he’ll go straight to hell.

There are thinkers, and there are doers. François de La Rochefoucauld says, “Thinkers think and doers do. But until the thinkers do and the doers think, progress will be just another word in the already overburdened vocabulary by sense.” François de La Rochefoucauld is trying to say that thinking is great and that it is always better to plan your action for the future and to weigh out the pro and cons of the plan. Doers do what comes first to their mind because it would seem to be a good idea at the time.

Hamlet is a thinker, I say this because Hamlet procrastinates when killing Claudius. His thought stops his process of revenge. He was always considered a thinker when he became indecisive after father's murder and also he contemplated about killing himself. He needed motivation to take action. He would watch others take action in order to take action.

In the end, he knew it was time to take revenge for his fathers death but he had to think when would be the perfect time to take revenge.

To Be or Not To Be Scenes

In the first soliloquy hamlet’s version the movie was played in black and white portraying its more dramatic appearance. It has a foggy ocean scene. The appetence of this scene was ominous in the beginning. In this scene hamlet appears to be contemplating about killing himself.  Olivier uses stage direction, dramatic music, and an expressive voice to conclude the soliloquy. In the final line, Olivier changes the tone of his voice to match the meaning of the words.  The camera’s view closes into his head, symbolizing that the soliloquy will offer the offer the viewer insight into Hamlet’s mind. The Olivier versions of Hamlet’s superior use of music and camera techniques are demonstrated perfectly near the end of the soliloquy. At the lines “With regard their currents turn awry/ and lose the name of action.” Olivier uses stage direction, dramatic music, and an expressive voice to conclude the soliloquy. The fact that each interpretation of Hamlet’s act 3 Soliloquy has their own advantages and disadvantages, I believe that Olivier balanced the music, lines, and stage movements.

The Mel Gibson version of hamlet gave the most “Elizabethan feel”. The scene showed the castles mysterious chamber of death as it created a dark mood for Hamlet as he moped around the basement. Hamlets speech also becomes very intense at moments. When Hamlet first walks down the stairs and mutters “to be or not to be that is the question” Gibson depicts a shot of the coffin infused death chamber which sets a negative mood for the rest of the speech. As Hamlet walks through the room he becomes more and more dramatic both vocally and visually.

The Branagh version adapts of the famous scene with much thought. Kenneth Branagh, being the director of the film as well as the protagonist, portrayed an eerie Hamlet that was extremely believable. The reflection in the mirror shows the Prince in deep in thought. His beginning is powerful, yet calm, starting off with “To be or not to be” in an intense trance. His voice has such a great affect on the audience, captivating their attention from that very moment on. Compared to Gibson’s version, where these crucial lines are said too fast, this version gives the viewers a chance to absorb these powerful words and consider them.

The camera angles that were chosen for this version are also very effective, as the over-the-shoulder shot is intimate and seems like the audience is standing right behind Hamlet, yet he is completely unaware. Although this shot is usually used in a dialogue scene, incorporating this angle in the soliloquy was strategically used for the audience to get lost in the mirror image of Hamlet. During his speech, the audience finds themselves lost in the words, almost in the same trance that the protagonist is in.

The Almereyda’s version put on an outstanding modern rendition of the Elizabethan classic. Hawke’s raw emotions were very believable however they portrayed Hamlet to be more truly psychotic than suicidal. The setting was inside a Blockbuster; hawk walks the isles aimlessly while reciting the soliloquy, “To be or not to be”. Hamlet is undecided on if should act on his emotions which is ironic considering Hawk is walking through the action section. Standing in the action section he sees on the television, violence, death, and murder; symbolizing whether h want to kill himself or not.