Hamlet and Horatio
When reading Shakespeare's Hamlet, one becomes involved with a number of relationships involving Hamlet (the tragic protagonist) and the main characters supporting the play. The characters involved include, but are not limited to, Hamlet (the ghost), former King of Denmark and deceased father to the protagonist; Horatio, friend to Hamlet; Gertrude, Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet; and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius and romantic interest to Hamlet. Although all of the relationships are complex, encompassing a wide range of varying emotions as the plot advances, there is a recurring theme of love threaded throughout the play. This theme of love takes on a number of faces which we may observe through the relationships Hamlet experiences during the production. We see Hamlet's filial love for his mother, Gertrude, and romantic love for Ophelia, daughter of Polonius. However, it is Hamlet's platonic bond with Horatio, his best friend, that proves to be the strongest tie of all and commands the most attention as it relates to the theme of love. While emotions, relationships and loyalties are constantly changing, it is the platonic love of friendship and loyalty, shared by Hamlet and Horatio, that remains unchanged and unchallenged.
Hamlet does enjoy some degree of loving relationships with other characters-although none so profound as the love he has for Horatio. The two strongest relationships Hamlet shares, outside of his relationship with Horatio, is his filial love for Queen Gertrude and his romantic love for Ophelia. Hamlet's love for Queen Gertrude comes into question upon the death of his father and her marriage to King Claudius. Hamlet's romantic love for Ophelia is in a constant s...
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...necessary. In addition to an apparently unconditional friendship ("apparently", as the basis of this friendship is never fully explained, and the reader is left to make this assumption), Horatio is the only character close to Hamlet with no relationship to the royal family. This lack of subservience to Claudius, Getrude, Polonius and Ophelia keeps Horatio out of the circle of characters that would act to cause Hamlet the most harm. In the absence of ulterior motivations (social, political and economic), Horatio's platonic love for Hamlet (and vice versa) can be shown to be truly unconditional.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Sven Birkerts, ed., Literature The Evolving Canon, Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1977.
States, Bert O. "Horatio-Our Man in Elsinore: An Essay on Dramatic Logic." South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 1 (Winter 1979) 46-56
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Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html
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