“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.” This quote from Friedrich Nietzsche is appropriate when discussing the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. It is debated throughout the play whether or not Hamlet truly loves Ophelia. Is he delirious about his father’s death, in love with Ophelia, or delirious due to the fact that he’s in love? Given that Hamlet has many reasons to have gone mad, especially while attempting to cope with the death of his father, Ophelia has captivated every ounce of Hamlet’s mind.
First, based on both scientific fact and Hamlet’s emotions throughout the play, it is clear to see that he truly loved Ophelia. In a scientific study performed by Helen Fisher and her colleagues, 37 people who were madly in love were put into an MRI machine to locate brain activity. Provided with the information from Fisher’s study, when someone is in love, activity is located at the base of the brain, the same region that is activated when you feel the rush of cocaine. Consequently, this passion overtakes the base of the brain and causes humans to become obsessed with the one they love. In fact, Hamlet was so in love with
…show more content…
In other words, he continues to tell everyone about his love for Ophelia after she has passed, even though he has no obligation to do so. He does this because he wants everyone to know how important she was to him. Although at some points during the play it’s suggested that Hamlet does not love Ophelia, the truth is that he’s scared to get her involved because of the feuding between himself and Claudius. During a controversial time in the play when Hamlet orders Ophelia to leave for the nunnery, he is only trying to protect her. This could have all been different if Ophelia would have accepted Hamlet’s love since, without her, he is grieving the loss of both his father and
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
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
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince Hamlet may act like he is "mad north-northwest", but it is his lover, Ophelia, who is truly mad. Both lose their fathers at the hands of others and both have loved ones that seem to have turned against them. Unlike Hamlet, who has revenge, Ophelia ends up having nothing to hold onto. Her sanity breaks and sends her into a downward spiral, while Hamlet's remains intact. In this paper, I will show that it is the manipulation by and loss of the two men Ophelia loved most-Hamlet and her father, Polonius-which leads to her madness.
Hamlet’s internal struggle throughout the play is caused by the murder of his father and the betrayal of his mother. What we see expressed in this exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia is the result of this trauma: Hamlet’s loss of belief in Truth. The crimes committed against his father breaks two fundamental laws in Hamlet’s world. In Hamlet’s mental model of reality the fraternal bond between his father and his uncle is sacred and unbreakable, as is the marriage oath made between his father and mother. So when both of these infallible oaths are broken at the same time, with his uncle killing his brother and then marrying his newly widowed mother, Hamlet’s mental model
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...
At times, Hamlet must be rude and act insane towards her, but it is simply a mask to cover his true emotions instead of showing weakness. He doesn’t want anyone to use Ophelia against him and he desires for her to stay
In the poems “A Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur and “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins, both poets include literary elements such as forced enjambment/caesura and stressed shifts/division to showcase a universal theme of preserving innocence and tainting the horrors of the world for their own personal comfort, illustrating that while the protection of innocence seems like a necessary ideal, is it beneficial to the growth of the child? Fear is a natural and instinctual emotion that all beings experience, especially at the vulnerable stage of a blissful childhood. And while it may seem necessary to try to prevent any negative emotions and suffering found in this state of terror, it begs the question of whether or not such horrors can be beneficial towards a child’s
In 1600, William Shakespeare composed what is considered the greatest tragedy of all time, Hamlet, the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark. His masterpiece forever redefined what tragedy should be. Critics have analyzed it word for word for nearly four hundred years, with each generation appreciating Hamlet in its own way. While Hamlet conforms, without a doubt, to Aristotle's definition of a tragedy, one question still lingers. Did Shakespeare intend for the reader or viewer of Hamlet to feel greater sympathy for Hamlet, or for Ophelia, Hamlet's lover? Both characters tug at the heartstrings throughout the play, but it is clear that 'the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark' is a misrepresentation of Shakespeare's true intention.
This final act of the play surely sums up the love that Hamlet had for Ophelia. Dramatically, Hamlet jumps into the grave of Ophelia. Distraught with grief for her, Hamlet confronts her brother, Laertes, telling him that he loved her even more than a brother loves a sister. Hamlet cries out to Laertes “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum” (Shakespeare, Act IV, scene I, lines 285-287). Although it was too late for Ophelia to hear Hamlet’s true feelings expressed once again, this does show that Hamlet’s love was not madness, but genuine affection. Pouring out his heartfelt emotions, Hamlet says he loved her so much he would do anything for
The loving of a woman in its own is down right madness. Hamlet had feelings for Ophelia who was also in a sort of way crazy by herself for letting hamlet take her virginity before they were wedded. Hamlet shows his craziness for Ophelia when he tells her to go to a nunnery. “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?
Hamlet is without any reservations, one of Shakespeare's most mystifying plays. Although the play has a concise story, it is filled with many uncertainties relating to different issues behind the plot. The reader is left with many uncertainties about the true feelings of prince Hamlet. One question in particular is, did Hamlet really love Ophelia? This dispute can be reinforced either way, however I believe Hamlet was truly in love with Ophelia. Support for my decision comes from Hamlet's treatment towards Ophelia as shown throughout the play, but especially in Act 3, Scene 2, and at Ophelia?s grave in Scene 1 of Act 5.
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
Hamlet and Love There are many heavy moral, emotional, and mental themes throughout William Shakespeare’s Hamlet including love, lust, deceit, revenge, murder plots, suicide, depression, and insanity. These themes are still relevant in modern times and weigh heavily on us as a society. Perhaps the most prevalent theme from Hamlet that still plagues many people today is love. In Hamlet, Ophelia loves Hamlet and even goes so far as to confess her feelings to him. Gertrude first loves her husband Hamlet but then quickly moves on and seems to fall in love with her late husband’s brother, Claudius.
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