Ophelia's Suicide In Hamlet

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In Act IV scene 5, Ophelia enters "distracted" and sings a strange "song" that serves as her final significant act before her apparent suicide, while also foreshadowing the death of King Claudius. Upon entering, the "distracted" Ophelia begins to converse with Queen Gertrude and inquires about Gertrude's deceased first husband, King Hamlet. Ophelia inquires, "how should [she] [Gertrude's] true love know from another?" (4.5.28), wittingly asserting that Gertrude surely must have mistaken Claudius for her husband King Hamlet, and that the marriage between Gertrude and Claudius is nothing more than a case of mistaken identity. Ophelia's clever critique of Gertrude's flighty sensibilities and her decision to marry Claudius so quickly that "the funeral baked meats did furnish forth the marriage tables" (1.2.187), demonstrates that Ophelia still maintains some strength of mind.…show more content…
Taking one final jab at Gertrude, Ophelia further describes the grave of King Hamlet as "larded all with sweet flowers", however, as Gertrude grieved so little over the death of her husband, the flowers at his grave "did not go with true love showers" (4.5.42). With the entrance of Claudius, not only does Ophelia foreshadow the death of Claudius, but she also makes clear her criticisms of the new
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