ABSTRACT
Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius (a councillor of state, close to Claudius, the King of Denmark), sister to Laertes and, before the play starts, loved by Hamlet. In her first scene she is gently warned by both her brother and father to be wary of Hamlet’s approaches after what he’s recently been through, i.e. the sudden death of his father (the recently deceased King) and its consequences for him. As the play progresses Hamlet’s behaviour becomes more and more strange and irrational, culminating in him accidentally killing Polonius and hiding the body. Ophelia, deeply distracted by this event, suddenly appears before the Queen, and sings a strange song. Then the Queen asks her, ‘Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song?’; this is Ophelia’s response.
