The Ill-fated Ophelia

“There is a willow grows aslant the brook,

That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;

There with fantastic garlands did she come.

Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples.

There on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds

Clambering to hang an envious silver broke.

When down the weedy trophies and herself

Fell in the weeping brook”

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)

This haunting depiction of Shakespeare's Ophelia is probably the best-known representation. She is shown singing before drowning in a river. It was painted by John Everett Millais in 1852 and is to be found in the Tate Britain gallery.

"My heart is heavy with this odious yearning and here below i'm called to forgetful surcease if i but dare to venture down into these tranquil waters."

A latter-day idealised, quase-magical image of Ophelia contemplating her reflection in the stream. A far cry from the well-known depiction of the sad figure of a drowning Ophelia.

This is Ophelia as depicted by John William Waterhouse and exhibited in 1910 at the Royal Academy. "Into the wood she crept as if seeking some mysterious solace that only death could now grant her."

This is another version of Ophelia by John William Waterhouse completed in 1910. As in all the other depictions of her, she's never shown in the same style of dress, although white, or shades of it, is the colour usually chosen.

Ophelia as seen by the French artist Alexandre Cabanel completed in 1883. It is now in a private collection and is probably one of the least known representations of Ophelia's last moments.

This painting, dating back to 1910, is by W. G. Simmonds and is entitled 'The Drowning of Ophelia'. Her billowing white robe is reminiscent of a white swan or a winged angel.

Ophelia is the epitome of the lovesick maiden who is driven by unrequited love to take her life. The above paintings depict her untimely end or her contemplation of the stream that will bring an end to her sorrow. This theme was taken up by the painters of the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood again and again and the above depictions are just a few examples of this. In essence it is the eternal predicament of the 'Broken Heart'.