References to Ophelia

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Ophelia is often referred to in literature and the arts, often in connection to suicide, love, and/or mental instability.

Contents 1 In art 1.1 Arthur Hughes 1.2 John William Waterhouse 1.3 Other artists 2 In literature 2.1 Novels 2.2 Non-fiction 2.3 Drama 3 In film 4 In poetry 5 In music 5.1 Classical works 5.2 Albums 5.3 Video clips 5.4 Songs 5.5 Other 6 In computer games 7 In science 8 In other mediums 9 See also

[edit] In art

[edit] Arthur Hughes

1851

1863

[edit] John William Waterhouse

1889	1894	Circa 1908 Study for next painting	1908 Also known as "Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May"
1910

[edit] Other artists

John Everett Millais 1852

Pierre Auguste Cot 1870

Alexandre Cabanel 1883

Jules Joseph Lefebvre 1890

[edit] In literature

[edit] Novels

• Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, in the first chapter of his 1880 masterpiece The Brothers Karamazov, described a capricious young woman who committed suicide by throwing herself off a steep cliff into a river, simply to imitate Shakespeare's Ophelia. Dostoevsky concludes that "Even then, if the cliff, chosen and cherished from long ago, had not been so picturesque, if it had been merely a flat, prosaic bank, the suicide might not have taken place at all."

• Ophelia's Revenge, a novel by Rebecca Reisert, is a retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view.

• Dating Hamlet, a novel by Lisa Fiedler, tells Ophelia's side of the play's story.

• Ophelia is the name of a "desiring-machine" in Yury Olesha's 1927 novel Envy. Invented by Ivan Babichev, the machine "sings our love songs now, stupid love songs of the old age, and gathers flowers of the old age. It falls in love, is jealous, cries, has dreams..."

• In Anne Rice's novel Blackwood Farm Mona Mayfair says that she wishes to die like Ophelia on a bed of flowers.

• In Agatha Christie's novel Nemesis the protagonist, Miss Marple, continuously compares one of the suspects in the murder to Ophelia.

• Justine Ettler's novel The River Ophelia Ophelia is a supporting character, owner of a local brothel, who supports Justine through a difficult time, but is also struggling with her own demons.

• Ophelia is mentioned several times in the novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Kurt Vonnegut.

[edit] Non-fiction

• Mary Pipher alluded to Ophelia in the title of her nonfiction book Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. The book puts forth the thesis that modern American teenage girls are victimized, lost, and unsure of themselves, like Ophelia.

The 14th episode of the anime Ergo Proxy's title is Ophelia.

[edit] Drama

• Dying Like Ophelia is an award winning six-minute drama about a woman who wants to die in a manner resembling Millais's painting. It was based on an excerpt of the play, Lion In The Streets, by Judith Thompson.

• Jean Betts, a playwright from New Zealand, wrote a feminist version of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view. The play contains original writing by Betts interwoven with Shakespeare's own text and is called Ophelia Thinks Harder.

• Playwright Don Nigro explains Ophelia's madness in a first-person narrative by her in his 10 minute play Dead Men's Fingers.

• The play "Ophelia" by Tatiana Akhtman in 2000 gives a new slant on Shakespeare’s characters.

[edit] In film

• Ophelia is the name of a character in the film Trading Places who says "I know, Hamlet's girlfriend. She goes crazy, she kills herself—this isn't Shakespeare, Louie. "

• Ophelia (in Spanish, Ofelia) is the protagonist in the film Pan's Labyrinth who is a bookish, imaginative girl stuck in cruel military outpost.

• An episode of the 2006 anime series Ergo Proxy pays homage to John Everett Millais' painting Ophelia. The main female character is shown in the same position as the girl in the painting.

• In the 2005 feature film The Libertine, Samantha Morton portrays aspirant actress Elizabeth Barry, who portrays Ophelia, and brings the house down.

• Ophelia is the name of a character in Claymore (anime/manga). She seems to be insane and is portrayed in a way to evoke feelings of disgust . She is slain by the protagonist , Claire , and dies naked , sinking to the bottom of a lake.

• In SLC PUNK Steve-O referes to Jen as "looking like Ophelia" when she is off her medication.

• Ophelia is a major character in the popular T.V. show The Life and Times of Juniper Lee.

[edit] In poetry

• French poet Arthur Rimbaud wrote the poem 'Ophélie' about her.
• The poet Gogi James writes of a "Zombie Ophelia" who wanders the streets of New York City, still seeking love from her black velvet-clad Hamlet.

• Arthur Rimbaud wrote a long poem on Ophelia, likely inspired by a reproduction of the Waterhouse painting.

• T. S. Eliot alludes to her final words in his poem The Waste Land at the end of 'A Game of Chess' (line 172... "good night, ladies, good night sweet ladies, good night, good night.")

• Richard Brautigan's poem "The Rape of Ophelia" tells a story which claims Ophelia died due to rape, not drowning, as was assumed.

[edit] In music

[edit] Classical works

• Hector Berlioz made Ophelia the subject of his composition: Tristia, and titled one movement "The Death of Ophelia."
• Frank Bridge wrote a symphonic poem for orchestra entitled There is a willow grows aslant a brook, taken from the first line of Gertrude's monologue recounting Ophelia's death.

[edit] Albums

• Ophelia is referenced by Natalie Merchant in her song, "Ophelia" on the album of the same title.

• Emilie Autumn has a song and album called Opheliac in which the singer compares herself to Ophelia, which references the famous "Doubt thou the stars are fire..." lines from Hamlet. Emilie Autumn also has several other songs including Ophelia/Hamlet references, among these is "306".

• Indigo Girls have an album called Swamp Ophelia.

[edit] Video clips

• Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave based the music video for their single "Where the Wild Roses Grow" on the painting by Millais.

[edit] Songs

• Jim Morrison alluded to Ophelia in "Ode to LA" while thinking of Brian Jones.

• Bob Dylan refers to her in "Desolation Row" on his album Highway 61 Revisited.

• Stephen Duffy references Ophelia in his song "In The Evening Of Her Day" - In the evening of her day / Ophelia comes to court me / Not that I could stay away / Her kisses seem to haunt me.

• The Band wrote a song titled "Ophelia", though the song was named after Minnie Pearl (Ophelia was her real name), according to drummer Levon Helm.

• Michale Graves sings about her in his song "Ophelia"

• The Grateful Dead incorporate Shakespeare's words in their song "Althea": "Yours may be the fate of Ophelia / Sleepin' and perchance, to dream."

• Ambulance LTD has a song called "Ophelia".

• L'Arc~en~Ciel (a popular Japanese band) has a song called "Ophelia".

• Lord Vampyr has a song called "The Ophelia's Ghost".

• Jewel references Ophelia in the song "Innocence Maintained:" Ophelia drowned in the water/Crushed by her own weight

• David Usher wrote the song "Ophelia" on the Creature album, which can be interpreted as Hamlet's complaint.

• The Shroud wrote the song "Ophelia" for their 1992 album Drowning Dreams.

• Abney Park wrote the song "Dear Ophelia" for their 2005 album The Death of Tragedy.

• Danish band Kashmir features the song "Ophelia" on their No Balance Palace album from 2005. As in the Shakespeare play, this Ophelia finds answers in inexplicable in insanity.

• Darling Violetta's song Ophelia refers to the character's suicide in the lines the water is quiet, and calm, makes me feel like I am home.

• Natalie Merchant has a song about Ophelia being "a child of a stripping sheep".

• Tom Waits, in the song "Who Are You?", refers to his lover as Ophelia. Now Ophelia wants to know, Where she should turn, Tell me...what did you do, What did you do the last time?, Why don't you do that?

• The Tea Party's song "Silence" (on The Edges of Twilight album) refers to Ophelia's fate with the following lyrics: And lie in the bed you've made Ophelia...dry are the lips that lost their taste of love...drown in the waters that would give you life...cry as this lamentation thrusts its knife.

• In Ergo Proxy's OPUS TWO soundtrack, track number 10 is named "Ophelia", referring to a similar situation the main character went through.

• Bethany Joy Galeotti (formerly Bethany Joy Lenz / Joie Lenz) wrote and sang a song called "Ophelia". The track was released on her official website.

• "L'eau Des Mauves" on Collection d'Arnell Andrea's Exposition, Eaux-Fortes et Méandres was inspired by John Everett Millais's painting Ophelia.

• There is a willow grows aslant a brook, a symphonic poem by Frank Bridge, based on the speech of Queen Gertrude about the death of Ophelia.

• Lou Reed's song "Goodnight Ladies", from his 1972 album Transformer, uses a line from Ophelia's mad speech (Act 4, Scene 5) as its chorus. In the song Hang on to Your Emotions from the Set the Twilight Reeling album, he refers to Ophelia and Hamlet (and also, perhaps mistakenly, to Desdemona).

• Rasputina's song "Dig Ophelia" from the debut album Thanks for the Ether also references the death of Ophelia.

• Your Forgotten Love has a song entitled "Her Fair Judgment", with lyrics rearranged from Ophelia's mad speech.

• Emilie Autumn has a song entitled "Opheliac" wherein the chorus references the drowning. The whole album Opheliac is referring to Ophelia. She used a part of Hamlet's love letter in the song Opheliac. The song Best Safety Lies In Fear is also a part of Hamlet, Act I; Scene III

• Heinz Rudolf Kunze's song "Ophelia" (German; from the album "Halt") describes Ophelia's supposed mood and motivations before her suicide. Ophelia is depicted as a strong "Queen", trying to prevent Hamlet from going mad.

• MC Lars has a song entitled "Hey There Ophelia".

[edit] Other

• The band Hole used a painting of Ophelia drowning by Paul Albert Steck as the back cover for their final album Celebrity Skin. The song "Petals" from that album has lines that refer to Ophelia.
• The cover picture of PJ Harvey's album To Bring You My Love is due to the character's drowning scene.

[edit] In computer games

• In the Capcom game Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Ophelia was depicted as the demonic priestess of the genma/demon's legion, one of the core member of Genma Triumvirate.

• StarCraft, created by Blizzard Entertainment uses Ophelia as the name of a cheat code to skip levels.

• The Sims 2: Ophelia is a Sim in a town named Veronaville (Cleverly Attaching to Petruchio of Verona in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew) along with other numerous Shakespearean characters such as Romeo and Juliet.

[edit] In science

• Uranus's secondmost inner moon was also named after Ophelia after being discovered by Voyager 2 in 1986 , and is one of the smallest moons in the solar system (with a diameter of only 16 km).

• 171 Ophelia is an asteroid in the asteroid belt.

[edit] In other mediums

• In the webcomic Irregular Webcomic! by David Morgan-Mar, Ophelia appears as Will's put upon but patient office co-worker.

[edit] See also

v • d • e William Shakespeare's Hamlet Characters Hamlet • Claudius • Gertrude • Ghost • Polonius • Laertes • Ophelia • Horatio • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern • Fortinbras • The Gravediggers • Yorick Speeches "To be, or not to be" • "What a piece of work is a man" • "Speak the speech" Sources & Criticism Legend of Hamlet • The Spanish Tragedy • Ur-Hamlet • Critical approaches • Bibliographies Influence Phrases from Hamlet in common English • References to Hamlet • References to Ophelia Performances Moscow Arts Theatre (1911) Adaptations The Lion King • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead • Hamletmachine • Hamlet (opera) • Strange Brew • Gertrude and Claudius Hamlet in film 1920 film • 1948 film • 1964 film • 1969 film • 1990 film • 1996 film • 2000 film