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Essay writing on William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's view of love
Shakespeare's view of love
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Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” is full of intrigue. Is there really a ghost? Does Hamlet truly go mad? And where in the world did the pirates come from? Yet, even with all these questions, the most compelling is whether Hamlet truly loves Ophelia. One of the most iconic romantic relationship ever to be penned, and the love is still questionable. Does he really love her? Before the argument can be continued, the definition of romantic love which is used throughout must first be defined. It is a simple beauty— Love is caring for someone more than yourself. If held to this standard, Hamlet does not truly love Ophelia by the end of the play, though he may have loved her a some point. By the end of the play, where once existed some form of love for …show more content…
First there is the killing of Polonius. When he kills Polonius, the father of his girlfriend, he shows no sign of regret. No guilt. He is so caught up in his own little world of revenge, he doesn't even think of the fact that he just killed an innocent old man and the father of Ophelia. In fact, there is no point in the entire text in which he even mentions Ophelia. This just goes to show that he doesn’t truly care about Ophelia, which as state is the necessary component of love. The second deciding scene is that of Ophelia’s funeral. Hamlet has gone the whole text since the play in act three scene two without a word about Ophelia. Then *bang* Ophelia is dead and he's seeing her funeral. He observes as a distraught Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, throws himself into her grave in grief. Hamlet’s response to this is not a of shared sorrow but of competition. He starts by saying to Laertes “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum” (5.1.284-287). Rather than just grieve for her, he fights with her grieving brother about who loved her more. While this may seem like a loving gesture, there has been no other proof of his love for her throughout the play which make this seem a bit strange. It is as if he wants to have loved her so that he can have emotions that are more important than everyone else’s. Hamlet even accuses Laertes of just trying “to outface” him “with leaping in her grave” (5.1.295). Hamlet would actually be grieve the lose of Ophelia and not fighting over whose emotions matter more if he had truly loved
Living in an environment of deception and hostility, the reader can easily identify with Hamlet's anger. Most all compassionate audiences will be sympathetic to his plight. However, the origins of Hamlet's vehement actions toward his once beloved Ophelia can be debated from several different points of view. Whatever his reasoning may be, it is probably correct to assume that he regrets deeply every harsh world spoken toward Ophelia. He only realizes again what a beautiful and kind person she was- after her death.
The life of Hamlet is without a doubt very interesting, he suffers from unfortunate events in his time that are often major blows to his ego. His father dies while he’s away at college, Hamlet is next in line to be king until his “uncle-father” steals it from him; but it is to be known his “uncle-father” would not have stolen it if his “aunt-mother” hadn’t allowed it. It’s very apparent from the beginning of the play that he is very well obsessed with his mother and her doings. He harasses, humiliates, and abuses her because she has done such an unforgivable act by marrying Claudius. His thoughts and feelings towards his mother are very strong and well known, he even describes the odd pair as “little more than kin and less than kind.” That’s not all with Hamlet; his mother remarrying is just the tip of the iceberg so deeply rooted in the ocean of his emotions. His relationship with Ophelia is twisted, Hamlet goes through episodes of
From the beginning of the play, in Act I Scene iii, Laertes and Polonius are trying to convince her that Hamlet does not love her and only is interested in her so he can sleep with her. Laertes says "Perhaps he loves you now, ...... His greatness weighed, his will is not his own." He is telling Ophelia that she is likely to have her heart broken because of Hamlet's high birth. He may not be able to choose who he marries, so although he may love Ophelia, he can never marry her because of the difference in their social classes. This cannot have a good effect on Ophelia, her brother telling her that the her relationship with the one she loves is doomed from the start! Polonius tells her "Affection pooh! You speak like a green girl, / Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. / Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?" He means that although Lord Hamlet has been showing many signs of affection to Ophelia, it cannot be real. He is saying that Ophelia is blinded by Hamlet's charm and is inexperienced (Unsifted) in this sort of situation. He goes on later to say that these affections are merely "...springes to catch the woodcocks" (traps to catch stupid little birds.) Why does Ophelia's family find it necessary to bring down her spirits about her relationship with Hamlet? Can't they let her figure it out for herself? This, in my opinion, is a good example of how Ophelia is victimized in this play.
Later on in the play she encounters Hamlet she is reminded of what Laertes and Polonius said, She then "finds some support to their remarks in the actions of hamlet in her closet" (Camden 248). She eventually tells her father of this encounter "And with a looks so piteous in purport/ As I he had been loosed ot of hell/To speak of horrors,--he comes before me," (2.1.80.82). Ophelia describes him as, at the time, a perfect picture of total madness. Ophelia "fears that Hamlet is mad for love, and if so he is mad for the love she has been forbidden to give him" (Camden 248). During the "get thee to a nunnery" scene Ophelia tries her hardest to be as gentle and caring towards him, "how does your honor for this many a day" (1.3.92) because she is genuinely concerned for his well-being, But "Ophelia's love tokens makes Hamlet feel more miserable" (Rahman 34). This pushes Hamlet to say many nasty things to her "Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner/transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the/force of honesty can translate beauty into his/likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but now the/time gives it proof. I did love you once."(3.1.113-117). Katherine Fitzpatrick tells us about Ophelia saying that "their love interests do not live up to their romanticized ideal" (95). Hamlets acts towards Ophelia crushes her, especially when he says " I did
Children are usually the ones hiding their romantic feelings for one another through foul play and “cooties”. In Hamlet, there is a rather unclear message of whether Hamlet is in love with Ophelia or not. A love note to Ophelia presented to the King and Queen just so happened to be signed with Hamlet’s name, however. Hamlet is also very fond of speaking about how beautiful Ophelia is as well. Yet, when actually speaking to her, he says otherwise.
Shakespeare includes a very generous and young women like Ophelia so, the audience can comprehend to the true essence of the male characters who try to plot and take revenge on each other. Ophelia starts off as a very glowing, beautiful and happy person but then results into a heart-broken and depressed women. Unfortunately, Ophelia has no womanly role model such as a mother to lead her to the right path so she eventually falls into her own sorrows with the addition of male supremacy in that era. Ophelia signifies the real actions/thoughts of the male characters in the play as she remains passive who does not let her emotions loose. Ophelia is an essential character in Shakespeare’s play as she enhances the audience’s ability to emphasize
The term love can be exemplified in many variations. As complex as it is, it may be described as an experience rather than a tangible entity. Love’s paradoxical capacity consists of devotion and passion, which can be both liberating and binding in a relationship. A recurrent theme in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the portrayal of one character’s love for another, and how this obliges them to act in various circumstances. This is prominent throughout the play, as seen in Hamlet's adoration for his father, Horatio's self-less love for Hamlet, and Gertrude's unparalleled love for her son. However, the love illustrated in these relationships cannot be used to define Hamlet and Ophelia’s association. In its place, Hamlet’s lust for Ophelia is simply a
For a man thought to be feigning insanity, Prince Hamlet seems to have very little control of his emotions. In fact, Hamlet admits this to Horatio, his confidant, when he says, "Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting / That would not let me sleep" (5.2. lines 4-5). This lack of restraint leads to Hamlet's unpredictable mood swings throughout the play. Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia easily spawns such dramatic alterations in the prince's attitude. For example, when Hamlet first suspects Ophelia acts only as the pawn for Polonius's ploys, he reacts rashly, bitterly denying that he ever loved her. "You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so / inoculate our old stock, but we shall relish of it. I loved / you not" (3.1.117-19). This massive reversal in disposition is later contrasted by another reversal when Hamlet leaps into Ophelia's open grave at her funeral to dispute Laertes and claim, "I loved Ophelia, forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum" (5.1.252-54). These abrupt mood changes also appear in Hamlet's relationship with his mother. He seemed to believe in his mother's purity and goodness, but eventually Hamlet seems to hold a great mount of contempt for Gertrude, especially when he mocks her words, and then snidely proclaims: "You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife, / And would it were not so, you are my mother" (3.4.15-16). Such mood swings as these definitely prove, if anything, that Hamlet could not keep adequate control of his emotions.
However, while she was alive he had to make it seem like he didn’t care about her or even love her. Hamlet also has to live with the fact that he is one of the reasons she kills herself, along with many of his terrible crimes (Rooks). It could be argued that the love between Hamlet and Ophelia is like Romeo and Juliet (Feingold). The reason for this is, Ophelia drowned herself because of everything that was going on and she just wanted to be with Hamlet. Due to Hamlet losing everyone, including the love of his life, he drinks the poison and kills himself.
To start, the theme of acting and pretense is shown through Hamlet and Ophelia’s love. To explain, initially Hamlet seemed to love Ophelia and expressed this love through writing, “Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love” (Act II, scene II, lines 107-110) .In this letter that Hamlet writes to Ophelia he is essentially saying that she can doubt everything but that he loves her. It expresses deep love for Ophelia; however, other passages later in the play make one question if this love is true. In contrast, later in the play Ophelia is told by Polonius that she must break up with Hamlet and when she attempts to do so, Hamlet is condescending to her. When Ophelia attempts to give their love letters back to Hamlet he responds by explicitly stating that he never loved her and that she should have never believed he did. ( Act III, Scene I, lines 119-121). This passage clearly contrasts what is written in the love letter and again, makes one question if Hamlet loves Ophelia or if he is just acting. The last expression of love we see from Hamlet in the duration of the play is at Ophelia’s funeral. During this time we see Laertes and Hamlet fight in Ophelia’s grave concerning who loves her more, he professes deep love for her and even says he loves her so intensely he would eat a crocodile for her (Act 5, scene I, lines 255-256). All of
After hearing this letter read aloud, both the king and queen are at least partially convinced that the denial of Hamlet’s love for Ophelia may be the impetus for his perceived insanity. Consequently, Polonius contrives a plan to send Ophelia out to speak with Hamlet while the king and him eavesdrop behind an array to conclude whether Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is the true, deep-rooted cause of his madness. However, this hypothesis is quickly proven incorrect once the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia commences. Ophelia reminds Hamlet of his professions of interest to her, but Hamlet simply states that he “did love [her] once,” but that she “should not have believed” him; Hamlet then brazenly declares, “I loved you not” (3.1.121, 122, 124, 125).
Two of Ophelia’s difficulties arise from her father and brother. They believe that Hamlet is using her to take her virginity and throw it away because Ophelia will never be his wife. Her heart believes that Hamlet loves her although he promises he never has (“Hamlet” 1). Hamlet: “Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but not the time gives it proof. I did love you once.” Ophelia: “Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.” Hamlet: “You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock ...
One of Hamlet’s major theme is love and that is the backbone of what causes our species to reproduce and that has stayed consistent from Shakespeare’s time to ours. The importance of love within Hamlet isn't simply the inclusion of love but rather how people react to it. Ophelia’s confusion, “crazy talk” and eventually suicide was all a result of the love she was experiencing from Hamlet and
During Ophelia’s funeral, her brother, Laertes, jumped into the grave as he mourned. Hamlet was disgusted by this and confronted Laertes in order to fight him. Despite his proclaimed love for Ophelia, he fought and yelled at her brother in her grave. He disturbed her funeral in order to defend his love for her, but there was no need for him to disrupt the funeral as he did. The funeral occurred in order to honour Ophelia’s life and Hamlet demeaned her death by starting an argument with her brother. Hamlet approached Laertes, who was mourning for the loss of his sister, and disrupted his grieving. “What is he whose grief / Bears such an emphasis …? This is I, / Hamlet the Dane.” (5.1.243-247) By Hamlet aggressively announcing his return, he took the attention off Ophelia’s death, refusing her a proper burial. In addition to stealing the attention, Hamlet made his love for her into a competition over who loved her most. “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?” (5.1.261-263) He made the situation about his love for her, and not Ophelia herself, as he disregarded her. This shows how little respect Hamlet actually has for Ophelia as even at her funeral (where he jumped inside her grave), he changed the focus of the situation to be about himself and his
While they are carrying Ophelia to her grave, Hamlet does not know that it is Ophelia. He asks Horatio “who is this they follow?”(Meyer 1534). When he figures out that it is the fair Ophelia, he leaps into the grave with Laertes not far behind. They fight for a while before they are pulled apart. Hamlet admits “I lov’d Ophelia: forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love make up my sum”(Meyer 1536). Hamlet loved Ophelia, even if he didn’t always show it. He continues by explaining his love for her. Hamlet explains that his love is greater than everyone else’s love