Identify and discuss different interpretations of Ophelia Essay Example

Identify and discuss different interpretations of Ophelia Paper Hamlet is the story of a Danish prince whos father, the late king whom he loved passionately, has recently been murdered. Hamlets mourning is unnaturally deep as he suspects the murderer to be his fathers brother, now king, Claudius, who has also just married Hamlets mother, Gertrude. Hamlet seeks to avenge his fathers murder and is constantly seeking to find out the truth behind the suspicious death. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in early 17th century, with the first print being dated back to 1603, he incorporated ideas from other sources such as Saxo Grammaticus and the history of Denmark. Various themes run throughout the play, the most significant being revenge, as well as death, insanity and suicide. Shakespeare borrows ideas for Hamlet from the story of Saxo Grammaticus, which was written in early 12th century, the outline of both plots are almost one and the same. The protagonist in Saxo Grammaticus is Amleth, also a Danish prince, who again seeks to avenge his fathers murder, it can be said that Hamlet is a contemporary version of this same character. However in Hamlet, Shakespeare goes to great lengths to achieve in-depth characterisation for each protagonist. All the characters are developed and have their own place in the play whereas in Saxo, the characters have small roles to play and have little dramatic purpose, it can be said that they are merely used as devices to help build the bigger picture. All the characters in hamlet have a dramatic purpose. Ophelias being the title characters love interest and being the victim of his revenge. By giving Hamlet a contemporary setting, Shakespeare was able to depict the views and morals of his own society and incorporate them in the play. We will write a custom essay sample on Identify and discuss different interpretations of Ophelia specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Identify and discuss different interpretations of Ophelia specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Identify and discuss different interpretations of Ophelia specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Shakespeare was writing for a modern audience so it made sense giving the play a contemporary setting, as would be easier for them to relate to the themes that run throughout the play. By using Ophelia in one of the sub-plots of the play, although she also plays a major role in the main plot, Shakespeare depicts how women were viewed at that particular time. We see that she is the title characters love interest and also the victim of his revenge and that this leads to her eventual insanity. The only other female character we encounter in the play is Gertude, Hamlets mother, who has married her departed husbands brother only two months after his death. Both these characters are weak and show us that women at that time were seen to be of little importance and were defiantly inferior to men, this is further proven by the fact that the only two women in the play die before the end. Shakespeare depicts both characters as being weak, Ophelia for being unable to handle the rejection of the man she loves, Hamlet, which leads to her insanity and eventual suicide. Gertude is portrayed as being weak as she marries only two months after her husbands death, which shows that she couldnt survive without a man. Her sexual lust also drove her to remarry, which was also seen as a weakness at that time. Ophelias character has always been interpreted in two contrasting lights, one as being an innocent and sexually unknowing and the other as being a reckless but sexually knowledgeable/experienced young woman. Two critics, Rebecca West and Mary Salter, have completely contrasting views of Ophelia. West claims that it would be extremely nai ve to suggest that Ophelias relationship with Hamlet was of an innocent nature. She claims that this interpretation would only suffice in a society that frowns upon sex, something that this society has left behind. She also adds that this interpretations credibility would have been dismissed if it hadnt it been for pre-raphaelite picture by John Millias. She says Ophelia is not a young chaste woman. This is shown by her tolerance of Hamlets conversation. Ophelia is not as inexperienced as she portrays herself to be, she is extremely perceptive and only appears to be obedient to her father she knows that it would be beneficial to her if she were to do so. Her strong character is evident when she challenges Laertes own chastity when he tells her to be careful with Hamlet. Salter on the other hand describes Ophelia as the innocent pawn who is sacrificed during the course of the larger drama which is taking place around her. This is a bold assertion as it claims that Ophelia is merely a device used by Shakespeare to help build the bigger picture, similar to the beautiful young women presented in Saxo Grammaticus. Here she is portrayed as being extremely passive as she apparently agrees with all her brother and father have to say to her and is obedient to their wishes. She is sexually inexperienced and innocent when it comes to that subject, as her relationship with Hamlet is of respectable nature and her chastity is never in question. From when we first see her in Act 1, Scene 3, Ophelia is a kind; affectionate and loyal to her family she is respectful towards both her father and elder brother and shows much love towards them. Leartes asks her to keep in touch with him once he has left for Paris, she replies by saying do you doubt that? This shows her love for her brother, as she has no doubt in her mind that she will stay in touch with him. In act 1 scene 3, both Laertes and Polonius advise Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet, as the love he declares for her is not true and being obedient she replies by saying I shall theffect keep watchman to my heart. Polonius warns her of the intentions of Hamlet not being dignified and that instead of carrying on her liaison with him she should take on the role of dignified young woman. Polonius then advises her against any form of relationship with Hamlet due to his disreputable motives. However she does try to convince Polonius that Hamlets love for her is more than a mere act of lust but of true love, she says the love they share is honourable and is nothing to be frowned upon, my lord, he hath importuned me with love in honourable fashion. After this comment she fails to defend her relationship with Hamlet and appears to become subservient to her fathers orders and eventually replies to him I shall obey my lord. This interpretation of Ophelia supports Mary Salters view of Ophelias passive nature and that her relationship is of an innocent and honourable fashion, a relationship not of a sexual nature but one of the bond of love. To counter this interpretation of Ophelia we see the contrasting view that she is sexually aware. Rebecca west interprets Ophelia as being sexually active and not as passive as she may portray herself to be. When reading Act 1, Scene 3, we see this when she retaliates to Laertes assertions about her relationship with Hamlet by saying, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, While, Himself the primrose path of dalliance. This show shows that she is not as submissive as some critics may suggest, as she clearly defies that assertion by questioning her brothers own integrity. It also shows her strength of character, as it would take some valour to question her elder brother. The metaphor she uses and the comfort with which she uses it also suggests her sexual knowledge, which supports the idea that her relationship with Hamlet is of a sexual nature. It would be cynical to believe Ophelia was an innocent and chaste young woman, these interpretations take all that Ophelia says and does in Hamlet at face value and fail to realise the deeper meanings of what is being said by Shakespeare. The actress Francis Barber played Ophelia in a stage version of the play in 1984. Barber initially had a fairly traditional view of Ophelia but to make the character her own, she searched for a hidden trait within the text that would distinguish her portrayal from any previous actresss. However Barber pursuit to find that hidden characteristic was soon neglected and instead she chose to portray her as acutely intelligent and highly perceptive. Barbers Ophelia disregards her fathers counsel and comes across as more argumentative than Mary Salter would suggest. Barbers portrayal was an alternative to previous depictions of the character, in that she was not sexually active nor was she nai ve and passive. In recent productions of hamlet, notably Brannaghs film, Ophelia is portrayed as a complete contrast to the pre-Raphaelic image. Brannaghs interpretation throws out any notion of Ophelia being a virginal young lady, as we see erotic flashbacks of her and Hamlet, during her conversation Laertes and Polonius. She is portrayed as being a victim of the patriarchal society she lives in, her sexuality is suppressed and she also suffers psychologically, as we see when she loses sanity. Ophelia is also given more of a role in recent productions such as in the Ethan Hawke, Mel Gibson and Brannagh productions. As women now play a more pivotal role in society, it has become easier giving them larger more significant portrayals, as would not have been the case in the Shakespearean era. Directors can now afford a more in depth characterisation of Ophelia instead of just using her as a device to build the bigger picture. Each portrayal of Ophelia closely relates to the view of women in society at that particular time. These depiction stretch from the 17th century to present day and during that time period there have been many differing views of Ophelias character traits. Productions before the 20th century depict Ophelia as being the passive, nai ve and sexually inexperienced woman that the sir John Millias pre Raphealite image represents. Elaine Showalter supports the view that women were seen as being innocent and having little status in society and were merely objects for male lust, she says that this is why Ophelia was portrayed in this light during that period. The change in portrayal happened post feminist movement, after which woman were seen to be of equal standing with men in society. Showalter states that the fact that attitudes towards woman have changed has allowed for an intelligent and sexually knowledgeable Ophelia to be portrayed. The most notable example being Kate Winslets portrayal in the Brannagh production.

The Lost World, Michael Crichton. Explains the book and gives a personal critique of it

The Lost World, Michael Crichton. Explains the book and gives a personal critique of it I read Michael Crichton's The Lost World. ‚Â ® In the following paragraphs, I will not only explain the book, but also give my critique of it. I will also give a paragraph that was probably the best paragraph in the book, in my opinion.The book starts out with Ian Malcolm, a mathematician who had already had an experience with live dinosaurs a couple of years ago on another island. He has pretty much blocked that experience from his mind. Anyway, it also talks about a man named Doctor Levine. This man talks at a lecture that Malcolm is watching about the theory of there being a lost world, an island, undiscovered, that has extinct animals on it, particularly dinosaurs. Malcolm dismisses this idea saying that is the dumbest thing he ever heard. After the lecture, Levine talks to Malcolm to help him in finding this 'Lost World.' Malcolm again dismisses him.The Lost World (Crichton novel)After a couple weeks of Levine nagging him, he sort of gets more into the idea, and starts to b elieve it. Levine Narrows it down to one island, Isla Sorna, and just leaves without telling anyone.Two of Levine's students, Kelly and Arby, get worried when he wasn't there to teach their class, because they were supposed to go on a field trip with him that day. They go to a guy named Doctor Thorne, a guy that was making specialized equipment for their trip. He said that he didn't know what was going on. They contact Malcolm and they go to Levine's apartment. They go to his computer room and see all this stuff on the wall about site B. They go onto the computer and Arby gets all this stuff about site B on it. Malcolm then finds out that the island that Levine...