C. S. Lewis in God in the Dock (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1970) writes: “In ‘Hamlet’ a branch breaks and Ophelia is drowned. Did she die because the branch broke or because Shakespeare wanted her to die at that point in the play? Either—both—whichever you prefer. The alternative suggested by the question is not a real alternative at all—once you have grasped that Shakespeare is making the whole play.”