Why does ophelia go mad

From the SparkNotes Blog

Shakespeare created many great women, and they were of many types. Beatrice, Rosalind were feisty and easily got the best of their men. Portia was less edgy, but nonetheless pitiless in her views of the men who came to win her. Constance and Margaret were the she-bears of the Histories — violently protective of their children, demanding the rights and vengeance when wronged. Tamara the wicked Goth queen of Titus Andronicus who urged her boys to rape Lavinia and to have her tongue cut out and hands cut off was by far the most evil of female villains; but Goneril and Regan were close behind.

Pssst… we can write an original essay just for you. Hamlet learns that Claudius, his stepfather and uncle, poisoned his brother and the ghost of his father wants his death to be avenged. This caused Hamlet to lose his trust in his lover, Ophelia, and pretends to be insane to throw the spies off his plan to murder his uncle and the new king. Hamlet accidentally murders Polonius during his first attempt to kill Claudius which leads to Ophelia to become mad herself. Polonius was such a vital figure in her life, she is insane beyond help and thus does not recognize her own brother nor anyone else she speaks to. Ophelia exists as a tragic character in Hamlet and one that is entirely pitiable because of unfortunate circumstances that she has been put through. Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student.

Gertrude and Horatio discuss Ophelia. Gertrude does not wish to see the bereaved girl, but Horatio says that Ophelia should be pitied, explaining that her grief has made her disordered and incoherent. Ophelia enters. Adorned with flowers and singing strange songs, she seems to have gone mad. He also mentions that Laertes has secretly sailed back from France.