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What role did the characters play in hamlet
Hamlet expresses his love for ophelia
Ophelia as a character in hamlet
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In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the concept of love for Ophelia is often difficult to understand. Hamlet has deep and troubling emotions including betrayal, madness and love. Does he truly love Ophelia? Did he stop loving her? Did he ever love her? From the play there is a vast amount of evidence directing toward the conclusion that Hamlet always loved Ophelia, but just the same there are also some points where Hamlet rejects Ophelia cruelly. His reasons though can be backed up as a way to protect her from his mission of avenging the murder of his father, the late king of Denmark.
The status of the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is introduced through conversation between Polonius and Ophelia. “He hath, my lord, of late made tenders of his affection to me.”(Act1, Scene 3 line 100) Both Hamlet and Ophelia have been courting and he has shared his affections for her immensely. “My lord, He hath imported me with love in honorable fashion.” (Act1, Scene 3 line 110) The manner Ophelia responds about Hamlet indicates that she trusts him and shares the same feelings. Ophelia was trying to convince her father about how Hamlet displays his affections are true and honest. Polonius though does not want her to be at risk of being ruined, he forbids her to have any encounter with him.
These sources prove that Hamlet does love Ophelia and recently was deeply engaged in their relationship. Correspondingly as Hamlet becomes engrossed in his mission of vengeance, he is revealed blind; as he drives a wedge between the once raging affections for Ophelia.
Following this further, take a look at a quote recited by hamlet to Ophelia. “Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of h...
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...not with all their quantity of love make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?”(Act 5, Scene 2 line 229-231) Hamlet is saying that he loved her with all he had in him. There was no way anyone could have valued her more. His vows of love are evidence that through his madness and mistakes he had always loved Ophelia. This tragedy was so awful that Hamlet could not keep himself together. Emotions ran deeper than ever.
On the whole, does he truly love Ophelia? Did he ever love her? Yes. Hamlet proved his love for Ophelia even though at times he was deceitful. He managed to avenge his father’s death but at a price, a heavy price that concluded in tragedy.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, and Samuel Barclay Charters. Literature and Its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007. Print.
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
...sulted her when he knew that her father and his uncle were watching and taking notes. In addition, I do not understand why Hamlet waited until now to reveal his true feelings about Ophelia. Her death was probably what caused him to realize that he was unable to save her by telling her to leave the castle, instead he unhinged her sanity.
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.
Often, people take the time they have with their loved ones for granted. Hamlet did not realize how much he loved Ophelia until she was gone forever. Although Hamlet's feelings towards Ophelia vary throughout the play, he has always loved her.
Throughout Shakespeare 's play it is clear that Ophelia and Hamlet were lovers but it is not entire certainty whether Hamlet loved Ophelia at the present time. His declaration of love in the written play could have been seen as an indication of his madness. In the film version Hamlet is seen hiding in the bushes while Ophelia 's funeral begins and once he discovers it is her he is overcome with grief to the point where Horatio has to hold him back (Hamlet). The pain on Hamlet 's face is apparent as well as his sanity. Another example of their relationship is in act 3 scene 1 after Hamlet finished his soliloquy he says the line “the fair Ophelia” (Shakespeare 4.1.97) while reading the play I assumed he said this line when he addressed her, and that he was pleasant to her until his madness took over and he became rude. In Doran’s adaptation however Hamlet spoke the line “the fair Ophelia” before she even saw him, he was speaking to himself with a tone of love and affection. Additionally, Hamlet remained pleasant to her until he turned and noticed the security camera (Hamlet). It was only then that Hamlet began to act mad and unpleasant towards Ophelia. This version gave a new depth to Hamlet’s madness and strengthens the idea that he was simply
Hamlet, Ophelia’s lover, accidentally kills her father and “confesses” he never loved her, Hamlet toys with Ophelia's emotions intentionally and unintentionally to solidify his madness. Even though she was the who initiated the “breakup”, her sorrows of the relationship are much more public than Hamlets. Hamlet’s madness scares Ophelia away which he used as a defense mechanism to not be hurt anymore. His madness looks as though he had been "loosed out of hell to speak of horrors" (2.1.83-84) and she "truly [did] fear it"(2.1. 86). His insanity and rudeness suffocated any love she had for him. She admits that their "their perfume [has been] lost" (3.1. 99). This helped Hamlet solidify his insanity by cutting ties with the ones he loves, and having them tell others he is mad. This comes with the cost of discontinuing his relationships: especially with Ophelia. Both have hinted around in the text of an intimate affair. This makes the emotions and breakup even more difficult for both of them. Their relationship was a love, not an innocent crush or courtship. Poor Ophelia initially thought she caused Hamlet's madness due to the abrupt ending of their affair. But because of her naivety, she lacks to see his other internal struggles. Ophelia’s trust in Hamlet left her heartbroken. Hamlet’s agenda of or getting justice for his father occupied his mind more than Ophelia did. Which left her feeling
When reading the text, one can comprehend that Ophelia is caught in the middle between two opposite sides. Her family (father and brother) believe that Hamlet is a womanizer rather then the philosopher that he is. They also believe that he will use her in order to achieve his own purposes, and that he would take her precious virginity only to discard it because he would never be her husband. But, Ophelia's heart mesmerized by Hamlets cunning linguistics is set on the fact that Hamlet truly loves her or loved her, even though he swears he never did. In the eye of her father and brother, she will always be a pure, wholesome girl, an eternal virgin in a sense, (due to a parents nature to always see their offspring as a child) they want her to ascend into her stereotypical role in life as a vessel of morality whose sole purpose of existence is to be a obedient wife and a committed mother. However, to Hamlet she is simply an object used to satisfy and fulfill his sexual needs. He also seems to hold her at a distant which suggests that he may...
Hamlet's behavior throughout the play, especially towards Ophelia is inconsistent. He jumps into Ophelia's grave, and fights with Laertes in her grave. He professes I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum [Act V, scene I, lines 250-253], during the fight with Laertes in Ophelia's grave, but he tells her that he never loved her, when she returns his letters and gifts, while she was still alive. Hamlet subtly hints his awareness of his dissolving sanity as he tells Laertes that he killed Polonius in a fit of madness [Act V, scene II, lines 236-250]
Polonius immediately calls to question Ophelia’s ability to reason with his opening remark, “I must tell you / You do not understand yourself so clearly.” (1.3.104-105). This statement along with his suggestion to, “Think yourself a baby” (1.3.114) in regards to how she feels about Hamlet show his commanding nature and instant mistrust of how Ophelia could possibly behave in the best way. Ophelia, to her credit, responds with a curt, “I shall obey, my lord” (1.3.145), which shows her maturity and respect by avoiding conflict through a calm demeanor. However, given how she responded to Laertes, this response also comes across as snide and mocking showing her independence through a resilient, almost defiant, statement. Ophelia, for the second time, faces immediate threats to her power over herself and deals with both calmly and intelligently by not provoking a reaction while still showing abject
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. Perhaps this is to disguise his true feelings, just as a child would. Hamlet, for whatever reason, does not want to reveal his feelings for Ophelia to anyone, but knows he cannot hide them from himself.
Hamlet also encounters loneliness and despair from Ophelia. As part of Hamlet’s "plan" to put on an antic disposition he distances himself from Ophelia who he is actually in love with. He does this by insulting her and convincing her that he is mad and never had any true feelings for her. "I loved you not" (III; i; 117) "Get thee to a nunnery......Marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them" (III; i; 135-137) Hamlet also kills Polonius (by mistake thinking it was Claudius). Both of these incidents cause Ophelia a great deal of grief and so she kills herself. Hamlet is of course devastated because he never actually meant to hurt her. "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum.
On the other hand, Hamlet cares for Ophelia just as much as Laertes. Hamlet is in love with Ophelia as their relationship is very intimate. Through Ophelia, she reveals how Hamlet has demonstrated love towards her and “with almost all the holy vows of heaven” (1.2.114). With holy and pure vows, Hamlet demonstrates his love and affections towards her are real. At one point, many people believed his love for Ophelia has gotten extreme to a point in which he went mentally unstable because of his love for her. Although Ophelia is commanded to stay away from him, she still loves Hamlet as they continue to write their love through notes and letters. Both of these men adore Ophelia in different manners, but their love for her is unconditional and exact. The intense feeling for Ophelia reflects the sensitive side of Hamlet and Laertes and displays another element in which they’re exact foils. Another factor to support this idea is how they both couldn’t be there for her when she needed them most. Hamlet changed his attitude for the sake of his plot against Claudius, causing him to be vulgar and push Ophelia
This altered view of love has also undoubtedly changed Hamlet's relationship with the women he loves and who claims to love him, Ophelia. He comments on the love of a woman in general when he is seated beside Ophelia, watching the play and he asks her about the prologue. She responds "'Tis brief, my lord" for which Hamlet answers "As woman's love" (III.ii. 137-138). Hamlet distances himself from Ophelia and tells her that he had never loved her (III.
In the Shakespearean era, certain pressures can cause one to become enclosed in expectation, making conformation the only viable alternative. “Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain, / If with too credent ear you list his songs, / Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open / To his unmastered importunity” (1.3.32-35). Laertes reminds Ophelia that as a woman she must be careful around men, certainly Hamlet, and sustain her chastity in order to appear favourable to the public. As a woman of her time, Ophelia is expected to be obedient, submissive, and spiritless. In order to be approved by society, she is required to remain untarnished until her father finds an appropriate suitor to give her away to. She is literally viewed as an article in her father's possession. Ophelia later challenges her brother's notion by saying, “Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, / Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven” (1.3.50-51). In her view, she holds the same set of expectations for her brother rather than accepting that she must blindly follow his (or anyone else's) guidelines simply because she is a woman. Even though Ophelia verbally expresses her disdain towards these formalities, it is inevitable that the pressure placed on her by society will prove too much to bear. Subconsciously, Ophelia has the desire (instilled in her throughout her upbringing) to find a husband and start a family while she is still at an ideal age. Despite all of the warnings she receives, Ophelia falls prey to Hamlet's words, giving up the entirety of herself to him: "I a maid at your window, / To be your Valentine. / Then up he rose, and donned his clothes, / And dupped the chamber-door, / Let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more" (4.5.50-55). Ophelia suggests that she innocently allows herself to be intimate with Hamlet. Prior to this, Ophelia believes that Hamlet is that one
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