ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet’s actions, ends up in a state of madness that ultimately leads to her drowning. Along with Queen Gertrude, Ophelia is one of only two female characters in the original play.

Detailed explanation-2: -Ophelia’s character is important in the story because she represents femininity, and Hamlet is able to act out his aggression towards his mother on Ophelia. Although she is really a naïve and innocent girl, Hamlet believes all women are manipulative and use their feminine nature to take advantage of men.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Prince of Denmark, the title character, and the protagonist. About thirty years old at the start of the play, Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius.

Detailed explanation-4: -To her father and brother, Ophelia is the eternal virgin, the vessel of morality whose purpose is to be a dutiful wife and steadfast mother. To Hamlet, she is a sexual object, a corrupt and deceitful lover. With no mother to guide her, she has no way of deciphering the contradictory expectations.

Detailed explanation-5: -Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, sister to Laertes, and rejected lover of Hamlet in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. Ophelia’s mad scene (Act IV, scene 5) is one of the best known in Western literature, and her tragic figure, that of innocence gone mad, has often been portrayed in art.