The Love Of Ophelia In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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“All things truly wicked start from innocence” (brainyquote.com). William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a complex and well written play. The characters in this play are unique and abstract. One of these characters is Ophelia. What makes Ophelia so unique is her innocence: for life, for love of Hamlet, in naivete in all aspects, insanity, and in her suicidal tendencies. Ophelia’s love for Hamlet truly is strong in this play. This is the first time Ophelia has experienced true love before. Ophelia tells her father, Polonius,“my lord, he hath importun’d me with love in honorable fashion”(1.3.119-120). Ophelia believes Hamlet’s love is true and honorable. In the rest of the scene Polonius and Laertes are telling Ophelia not to trust what Hamlet says …show more content…

Ophelia has not experienced love outside of her father and brother, she does not know how men can take advantage of her. Laertes, her brother, tries to warn Ophelia not to trust Hamlet’s claims of love, “For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, hold it a fashion and toy in blood, a violet in the youth of primary nature, forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, the perfume and suppliance of a minute. No more”(1.3.6-11). Laertes tells Ophelia that Hamlet’s young love may seem affectionate, but it is not true and will not last. Laerates knows Ophelia does not know that men will take advantage of her and he does not want to see his sister get hurt. Later in the play the audience finds out that Ophelia did not listen to Laertes and that Hamlet’s love was not true. Hamlet tells Ophelia, “you should not have believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not”(3.1.127-129). Ophelia finally sees Hamlet’s true intentions and his careless behaviors. Ophelia was naive and did not see Hamlet’s true intentions before. Hamlet tells Ophelia that she should have been in a position to see his love was not true, but because Ophelia is naive, has not experienced betrayal before, and did not listen to her brother or dad she did not suspect a …show more content…

Claudius explained “this is the poison of deep grief. It springs from her father’s death… they come not single spies but in battalions”(4.5.80-84). claudius explains the reason for Ophelia’s insanity is the grief she is experiencing. Because she is innocent has never experienced this type of tragedy before she feels it like a giant army attacking her. Ophelia’s innocence is broken when her father dies because she now sees the world differently than she did before. Because of this she gets her feeling out is a different way, by singing.During this scene Ophelia sings about her father’s death.“(sings) He is dead and gone”(4.5.35). She is singing this because this is how she getting out her emotions and she is trying to cope with her father being gone. Ophelia also sings about Hamlet, “(sings) young men will do’t, if they come t’ ort. By cock, they are to blame… He answers, so would I ha’ done, by yonder sun, an thou hadst not come to my bed”(4.5.64-71). She is upset about this because if she did not get in bed with Hamlet he said he would have married her. If Ophelia were to marry Hamlet it would have been easier for her to cope with these tragedies because she has a companion to be with and take care of her. Ophelia in this scene sings about all of the tragedies that have happened to her in the recent past. This is hard on Ophelia

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