Ophelia Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama "Hamlet". She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. As with virtually all "Hamlet" characters, Ophelia's name is not Danish. It first appeared in Jacopo Sannazaro's 1504 poem "Arcadia" (as "Ofelia"), probably derived from Ancient Greek ὠφέλεια ("ōphéleia", "help"). In Ophelia's first speaking appearance in the play, she is seen with her brother, Laertes, who is leaving for France. Laertes warns her that Hamlet, the heir to the throne of Denmark, does not have the freedom to marry
The River Bank (Ophelia) whether we are seeing Gertrude (or a ladies' maid) discovering Ophelia's corpse, or Ophelia herself in both past and present, both contemplating suicide and achieving it." The painting was made for a joint exhibition of the Brotherhood of Ruralists, of which Inshaw was a founding member. The character Ophelia from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" was the common theme for the entire exhibition. It was bought by a private collector in October 1980. It was sold on 9 December 2015 as part of Christie's auction "Modern British & Irish Art" (Sale 10443). It was acquired by the Victoria Art Gallery with support