In 1873, Brahms composed settings of five songs from Shakespeare's Hamlet, in a German translation by Schlegel and Tieck. They were written for the actress Olga Precheisen, fiancée of the playwright Josef Lewinsky, both of whom were among Brahms' Vienna circle of friends. Ms. Precheisen had just been appointed at the Deutsches Landestheater in Prague and one of her first roles was that of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Lewinsky asked Brahms to set the five songs of Ophelia from the fifth scene of Act IV, when she has become mad. Brahms consented, and the five songs were first performed during a production of Hamlet on December 22, 1873. They were not published until 1935, when Precheisen gave permission for publication. (In this edition, the songs are transposed down from the originals.)

Despite their folk song-like character and form, the Ophelia Songs evoke the atmosphere of the Halmet tragedy. Brahms believed that simple settings would have a greater effect on the stage and the old English drama required a "folkish" style. In their fine melodies and the clearly subordinate role of the piano, they are very much like Brahms' settings of genuine folk songs. The accompaniments were intended only as an aid in learning the songs and to facilitate potential performance apart from the drama. (Brahms actually did not complete the piano part for No. 4.) Precheisen sang them unaccompanied at the first performance.

"Wie erkenn' ich dein Treulieb?" (How should I know your true love?) is in A minor and is the most transparent of the set. Alternating measures of 4/4 and 3/2 both suit the text and evoke a folk song flavor as the piano part follows the voice, the single-line bass providing counterpoint.

Like "Wie erkenn' ich," "Sein Leichenhemd weiss" (His white shroud), in D minor, also concerns death and burial. At times, the text setting is awkward in this brief song, with a continually rising and falling melody.

"Auf morgen ist Sankt Valentins Tag" (Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day), in B flat major, is the only song of the five that tends toward cheerfulness. The dance-like pattern in the accompaniment and the simple melody combine to create a light-hearted atmosphere in this strophic song about love.

"Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloss" (They bore him bare-faced on the bier), G major, returns to the theme of death. Perhaps in response to the text, "You must sing a-down, a-down," every phrase of the melancholy song descends.

Brahms usually chose a 6/4 meter for his most solemn compositions, and "Und kommt er nicht mehr zurück?" (And will he not come again?), in F minor is no exception. Yet another acknowledgement of death, "Und kommt er" is built of repeated ideas in folk song fashion.

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