Laertes And Ophelia's Monologue

The love and the sense of protectiveness a brother has for his sister is second to none. This feeling of protection can often be exacerbated when the sister has a love interest. This is certainly the case with Laertes and Ophelia. When Ophelia’s love interest, Hamlet, shows interest in Ophelia, Laertes’ protective instincts kicks in and he warns Ophelia of what could happen. Shakespeare shows Laertes wisdom and affection for his sister through a passage rich in diction as well as hidden meaning.
Shakespeare’s use of monologues between characters is particularly impactful, it allows for the discussion of complex emotions. In a monologue between Laertes and his sister Ophelia he says, “Virtue itself’ scapes not calumnious strokes.”(Shakespeare

1:3 38). This quote is quite intriguing, it comes in the middle of Laertes lecture on staying conservative in Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet. Laertes is only looking out for Ophelia’s best interest. He refers to her “virtue,” this means her behavior relating to morality. It is important that the term virtue is used and not just behavior. Virtue has a deeper meaning, it refers to morality. This is especially important in the context of what is being discussed. Laertes is telling Ophelia how she should remain moral and save herself for marriage. This idea was especially common at the time of Hamlet. Laertes even says a woman who remains a virgin is more attractive. The next part of the quote continues to deal with virtue, “itself.” This illustrates that virtue is the one performing the action. It is not Ophelia but the virtues. This seems confusing, virtue is an idea it can not perform an action. Because of this virtue can be looked at under a different lense. It seems much more impactful now, because of the way it is used in the sentence. Due to the context of virtue as well as its use in the sentence it tells the reader the importance of morality.
Since virtue is used as the subject it has to be completing an action, one that is of importance. The action performed by virtue is “to scape” which means to escape. In essence morality is escaping, this seems counterintuitive to what Laertes was preaching before. It is almost a cause effect relationship. If one does not follow the advice Laertes gives, their morality or morals will then escape. The quote goes on to say “not calumnious”; calumnious is defined as a false or malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone. So essentially the quote reads “if behavior dealing with morality itself escapes then it is not malicious towards another individual. The not calumnious part is saying that the decision to live immorally only affects the individual it does not go on to affect the people around the individual. Removing the guilt from the action of losing one’s virtue. Laertes condemns the idea of his sister living a non virtuous life but then immediately tells her that she won’t hurt those around her. In a way he is sending mixed messages and being unclear about what he wants of Ophelia, the complexity of his emotions are articulated through the monologue.
Any brother wants what is best for his sister. The reader can see that this is the case for Laertes and Ophelia. Laertes goes on a long monologue in order to prove his point to Ophelia. It reveals his feeling towards her actions, but it also reveals to the reader what he is thinking. His thoughts are very complex and send mixed signals to Ophelia. Ultimately, Laertes shows the reader his view of living a non virtuous life through his monologue and the diction he uses within it.