Friday, January 26, 2007

Ophelia

Reading Hamlet, I have thought of the vast number of works inspired by this play. In Smithsonian this month, an article discussed how much the Pre-Raphaelites loved to illustrate themes from Shakespeare. Here is the painting of Ophelia by John Everett Millais:



From the Tate Gallery website: "Ophelia was part of the original Henry Tate Gift in 1894 and remains one of the most popular Pre-Raphaelite works in the Tate's collection. Shakespeare was a frequent source of inspiration for Victorian painters. Millais's image of the tragic death of Ophelia, as she falls into the stream and drowns, is one of the best-known illustrations from Shakespeare's play Hamlet." -- Tate Work In Focus: Millais's Ophelia

Here is another Pre-Raphaelite work: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Hamlet and Ophelia" --

I've alredy mentioned Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: a post-modern take on the play. Every era reinterprets the themes and decides which characters suit the spirit of the times.

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