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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Essay & Composition Writing

Did I make any grammatical errors in my essay?

It has been said that William Shakespeare, the most famous playwright in history, was scared of or at least hated his wife. When he died, all she got was the second best bed in the house. So it is obvious that Shakespeare was not very fond of his wife. Therefore, could it be possible that his feelings for his wife affected how he imagined the female characters in his plays? It is clear that in Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote women as unrealistically incapable and at times more sinful compared to the men.
The difference between the male and female characters in Hamlet is that the female characters are written as mentally frail compared to the male. This is most obvious in Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest. After her father’s death it is evident that Ophelia’s reaction was much worse than Hamlet’s. This idea is corroborated in the flower sequence[4.5.140-160]. In this scene, the sadness caused by Claudius’s death has led to Ophelia’s insanity. Not only was she handing out flowers without a stated reason, she was also singing a very despondent song, with intense lyrics that suggest that she is now helpless without her father. The character Hamlet shared a very similar moment in which he exclaims,
Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on ’t, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this. But two months dead—nay, not so much, not two.
So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr. So loving to my mother-- [1.2.129-140]
Comparing this passage to Ophelia’s passages in the flower scene, it seems like Ophelia’s state was much worst than Hamlet’s. Though Hamlet was contemplating suicide which is very bad, he still seemed sane compared to Ophelia who was almost completely mentally unstable. In retrospect, all of Ophelia’s grieving points to the fact that she was very reliant on her father, most likely because he had control over her and also because she was dependant on him.
Though it is normal for people to be somewhat dependent on other people, the character Ophelia is completely dependent on other people, especially the male characters. She is especially reliant on Polonius, who was her father. And although he loved her greatly, he was obsessed with protecting her from the outside world, believing she is too immature and naive. And in light of that, he raised her to become very obedient, and as a result, Ophelia had no “voice”. She did not oppose to anything. She mindlessly obeyed commands, replying to every one with, “ I shall obey, my lord.” [1.3.136] This meant Ophelia was almost completely pure and innocent, for she was unable to think for herself and all of her actions were influenced greatly by her father.
While Ophelia represented purity, Gertrude is the opposite, representing uncleanliness and selfishness. When the Ghost of King Hamlet talked to his son, he said the following about Gertrude:
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. O Hamlet, what a falling off was there! From me, whose love was of that dignity, That it went hand in hand even with the vow I made to her in marriage, and to decline. Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor To those of mine. But virtue, as it never will be moved, Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven, So lust, though to a radiant angel linked, Will sate itself in a celestial bed And prey on garbage.[1.5.46-57]
This passage suggests that Gertrude was a seemingly virtuous queen at first to King Hamlet. But after his death, her true nature was revealed as a lustful person who will go for anyone, whether or not he has good morals. This seems to point to Gertrude being rotten person which further illustrates that Shakespeare is portraying
Though they have differences, Ophelia and Gertrude shared a common similarity. The queen had a man that she was dependant on. That man was Hamlet. Gertrude loved Hamlet to a great extent. The mother loved her son with that unconditional love that is not evident in her relationship with Claudius. She loved him even though he was disrespectful and mean to her, at one point saying “Frailty, thy name is woman!”[1.2.146] This quote conveys Hamlet’s belief that Gertrude is weak and is easily persuaded, describing her as “frail”. It also further proves that the male characters within the play saw women as feeble.
The female characters Gertrude and Ophelia had the chance of becoming very complex characters. They were both very important to the play. With such an engaging and deep storyline as seen in Hamlet, Shakespeare could have made the characters very deep. Yet, he chose not to. He decided to make the female characters feeble and acquiescent. But if he did, could it have affected the storyline...or maybe women in literature and history as well?
  
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