In our advanced English course, we were asked to create presentations based on specific topics regarding the tragedy “Hamlet” written by W. Shakespeare in 1603. My group was supposed to analyse Ophelia’s madness after her father was killed and Hamlet was sent to England. Eventually, she is getting insane and sometimes sings songs about missing loved ones and betrayal until she finally commits suicide at the end of the play. One of my tasks was to draw a sketch of Ophelia’s outward appearance depicting her developing afore-mentioned madness.
Before starting, I decided to sketch her while singing because this is very typical of Ophelia in the last scenes. While drawing Ophelia, I tried to focus on her desperate emotions shown in her facial expressions. The tears in her eyes, the open mouth and the raised eyebrows are some aspects stressing her terrible condition. Moreover, her frizzy hair as well as her posture - especially her tight-fisted right hand - underline her mental state. As explained before, I wanted to put the viewer´s focus on her face. Thus, I drew a quite simple dress. However, the light coming from the back helps the viewer to also focus on her clothing. Not only does her dress gain additional structure from the shading but also her face. With the help of the afore-mentioned details and strategies, it was my aim to make Ophelia’s madness instantly obvious to the observer.
Karolin Boccalini, Kurs EN3, Jahrgang 13
Text & Foto: Karolin Boccalini
