An analysis of sorts of Ophelia from Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
Dislcaimer: William Shakespeare is responsible for the creation of the character of Ophelia. I achieve no profit from writing about her. Lord Tennyson is the author of the poem "The Lady of Shalott". In this drabble, I have noted with stars (*) where Lord Tennyson's poem begins and ends, for copyright's sake.
There was something about the water that made her feel better.
It felt nice and cool in the summer, to dip her feet in. It provided nourishment to the plants that grew wild at the edge, giving the wildflowers she loved so much their bursts of color.
She hummed to herself, staring at the depths before her.
*Willows whiten, aspens quiver
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.*
Ophelia, still singing softly, notices the willow tree to her left.
Her red lips smile, and her hands grope the trunk, finding fair footholds.
*Lying robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right—
The leaves upon her falling light—
Thro' the noises of the night,
She floated down to Camelot:
And as the boat-head wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her singing her last song,
The Lady of Shalott.*
Her voice was just a faint whisper now as she scrambled onto the willow's branch.
The wind was soft, and the leaves whistled on their boughs.
Ophelia balanced on the branch, her arms held aloft like a bird.
Her song had turned to a warble, sweet and wispy.
Ophelia reached the end of the branch without realizing it. Her next step was on air.
She drifted down to the water, laughing in hysteria.
Her voice was silenced when her head struck the river bottom.
Silently, her song finished and her white dress floated around her.
"Farewell, farewell," said the Lady of Shalott.
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