Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a revenge calamity which concentrates on his wish and effort to solve his father’s murder. Throughout the course of the play, the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia could be described as a rollercoaster. Although Ophelia is not in every single scene in Hamlet, her impact on the play is highly noted. One way a reader could interpret her presence is because of how tragic her experiences in life is. She experiences the misfortune of love and security, but in order for her death to be truly tragic, she has to come to terms with the realization of her powerlessness without the men in her life. In her madness, Ophelia eventually does make this realization and because of her lack of alternatives, she accepts death.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia’s love for Hamlet ultimately leads to her madness. In order for Ophelia to build her relationship with Hamlet, she must go against her father’s orders considering he strictly prohibited her from seeing him. Hamlet then breaks up with Ophelia saying, “I did love you once,” and then tells her to go “to a nunnery,” causing Ophelia to feel a great amount of betrayal. Ophelia is already heartbroken, and now Hamlet murders her father which was too much for her to handle. The love Ophelia had for Hamlet was one that is considered as infatuation; Ophelia was young and did not know much about love,
In conclusion, it can be proven that Hamlet truly does love Ophelia. He pretends he isn’t in love with her kind of like in real life. Sometimes people pretend they not care for the people they really care for the most, just like Hamlet did to
The type of love felt by Hamlet and Laertes is quite different. Ophelia is the sister of Laertes and therefore he has brotherly love for her. Before leaving Denmark, Laertes advises against relations with Hamlet. He remarks on the love Hamlet has for Ophelia as being “The perfume and suppliance of a minute,/ No more.” (I, iii, 9-10) This is evidence of tension between Laertes and Hamlet and foreshadows the later confrontation between them. On the contrary, Hamlet feels romantic love for Ophelia. His love is supposedly so passionate that “Forty thousand brothers/ Could not with all their quantity of love” (V, i, 275-276) care for her as much as he does. Both Laertes and Hamlet carry their love to Ophelia’s grave. While at the grave, Laertes shows his brotherly love for Ophelia once more when he stands inside her grave and exclaims “Hold off the earth awhile,/ Till I have caught her once more in mine arms.” (V, i, 253-254) Laertes and Hamlet confront one another in a grapple. In this instance, Hamlet does not think about the consequences, instead he defends himself and fights Laertes. It is evident that Laertes and Hamlet are connected by their love for Ophelia, however the obvious opposition reveals Hamlet’s ability to take real action when
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare uses range of literary techniques such as soliloquies to express Hamlet’s depression and anger. Hamlet’s emotions play a crucial role to achieve his secret ambitions. Events such as King Hamlet’s death, Hamlet’s mother’s expeditious marriage, conflict between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet’s depression and anger is expressed throughout the play but what are the causes.
Ophelia is grieving the loss of her father after Hamlet kills him. Ophelia doesn't know that Hamlet killed her father. But Ophelia has gone mad from learning about her father's death. Also, after Hamlet telling Ophelia that she needs to go to a nunnery, Ophelia is a little bit discouraged. She is discouraged because Hamlet had told her before that if Ophelia would sleep with him that they would get married. They did sleep together, and then Hamlet told Ophelia that she needed to go to a nunnery and that he would never marry a girl who slept around. Ophelia's feelings turned around and she felt very disrespected by
Hamlet strangely goes up to her. Love becomes the next step to the fatal outcome of Ophelia. As Hamlet approaches Ophelia in her closet, Ophelia runs to tell Polonius, “ He took me by the wrist and held me hard” (2.1.99). Hamlet strangely goes to her closet and takes Ophelia by her wrist without saying a single word to her, Ophelia freaks out of the abnormal way Hamlet treats her. After the incident, Polonius uses Ophelia as a spy plot to reveal the source of Hamlet’s antic disposition. Polonius hands Ophelia a bible to make her look innocent in their spy plot. As Hamlet approaches Ophelia she says, “ My lord, I have remembrance of yours That I have longed long to redeliver. I pray you know receive them” (3.1.102-104). Ophelia tells Hamlet to receive back the gifts that he has once given her. Hamlet became irritated by she has treated him and says, “Get thee to a nunnery” (3.1.140). After their discussion, Hamlet becomes irritated and mad and believes that she should go to a nunnery. In Ophelia and Hamlet’s love many elements became obstacles to their relationship that made everything fall apart. With the manipulation of her innocence and now love became tied together to her fatal
Throughout the play, Ophelia acts as a very honest person in the beginning, willing to tell Laertes and Polonius anything. She then receives mistreated love from Hamlet that leads her to drowning herself in a river. The true face and actions from Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius, Queen Gertrude, King Claudius, and particularly Hamlet lead to their deaths. The end result leads to unfortunate events, including death. The love throughout the kingdom of Denmark becomes toxic, killing all who lives
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main character Hamlet was out for revenge against the man who killed his father. In addition to his path of revenge Hamlet also deals with conflicting emotions towards a woman named Ophelia. During the play Hamlet’s love, desirability, and dismissal towards Ophelia made me wonder if he was really in love with Ophelia, and it shows that her significance was that she was his last piece of sanity and love.
"When a man gives his opinion he is a man. When a woman gives her opinion she is a bitch."- Bette Davis Throughout time society has used woman as a scapegoat for societal issues that have occurred. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare uses character and rhetoric to display how ones hatred and anger are impulsively taken out upon woman, from this the reader learns how misogyny is difficult to acknowledge, but rather easy to practice.
What Hamlet loves the most in Hamlet is Ophelia despite it constantly being questioned. He presents this on a few occasions; while talking to Ophelia, Hamlet tells her “I did love you” (III.i.125). Hamlet brings to go on and talk about how much her and how beautiful she was. He then tells her he doesn’t love her, but it can be assumed that he said so because Hamlet knew they were being watched by Pulonious, asking Ophelia where her father was. Hamlet has shown many instances where he would fake an act just to confuse others. Another instance is when he quotes “never doubt I love” (II.ii.127). He tells her despite all the false things happening around them, his love for her was a genuine. Hamlet says this as a confirmation; he’s clearly aware of how
In great works of literature throughout history and time, there has always been a general understanding of what a happy ending is. Happy endings - as perceived by scholars of times past and by society today - are joyful sessions where a heroine or hero saves a damsel in distress, true love is found through the toughest of circumstances, or a moral lesson is learned through acts of kindness, loyalty, or bravery. However; in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, the protagonist of the play is facing death and has, finally, after a protracted and tedious journey, avenged his father’s death and has sated himself to realize and accept his own personal peace. Even as Hamlet is dying, his true love and what is left of his family dead, his kingdom being invaded
In Act 5 scene 1, page 12 Hamlet says “ I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her.” In this case, the hamlet has proven to everyone that he is in love with Ophelia, with him saying that if you added a forty thousand brothers their love couldn't match mine. With this Hamlet is finally coming out and finally showing his love for Ophelia. All along hamlet did love Ophelia but he was just afraid to show that he did love her because he was afraid that he would get hurt. On the other hand, Hamlet could have also hidden his love to protect Ophelia from getting hurt from Claudius for the revenge they both wanted on each other. For instance when hamlet first tell Ophelia that he did love her but then changes with saying that he didn't he loved her because he knew that their conversation was being
Hamlet shows his true feelings towards women. Must like a whore unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab,/a scullion. (2.2. 574-576) He believes that all women are unfaithful to their significant other. Hamlet feels as if all women are weak and fragile comparing them to frailty. Frailty, thy name is woman! (1.2.148) Hamlet thinks that all women trap men with their plotted tricks. Situations between Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude are far from an appropriate way to treat women. Hamlet has a pressing sexual desire for his mother Gertrude and that is what drives his hatred for women. Hamlet probably feels like he can not trust anyone because his own mother let him down. Hamlet surely thought that his mother Gertrude dearly loved his father Old King Hamlet, now he may feel like his mother never loved his father. This may result in why he feels like he may not love Ophelia. We are also aware that Hamlet has trouble with his own happiness and this probably reflects on the way we feels towards people mostly women. Hamlet thinks that the reason real love does not exist is because of the female gender. Hamlet blames both his mother Gertrude and Ophelia for portraying men as monsters. Hamlet does not value Ophelia 's feelings he belittles her. In Hamlets defense this is the way he was brought up to treat women, during that time this was a common way to treat a women. Even though in today 's society it is not at all ok to treat women with such disrespect. He also likes for everything to go as planned and this may result in why he can not have a stable relationship with a woman. This also causes him to have many stumbling blocks in his life that causes some emotional pain
Love is a very strong feeling and it 's portrayed in many ways. In Hamlet, Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, has fallen for The young Prince Hamlet. In the play, Hamlet confuses us in the beginning because we think he’s just using her for pleasure, and not that he actually has feelings for her. But at the end of the story, we see a whole other side to the story. We see how much he actually loves her and not that he was using her for his own needs.