Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The theme of betrayal in Hamlet
Hamlet betrayal and deception essay
Deception and deceit in hamlet
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
“Love is forever”
In the play Hamlet the main character named Hamlet is in pursuit of a personal vendetta of getting revenge on the person who killed his father. The reader can notice this when Hamlet’s father appears to him as a ghost later in the play. This personal vendetta is fueled by his hatred for King Claudius who is the murderer of Hamlet’s father. While trying to satisfy this thirst for revenge Hamlet comes to the conclusion that he needs to push Ophelia, who is the women he claims to love. Others might argue that Hamlet never really loved Ophelia; however this is not the case because of clear evidence in the play suggests that he is being thoughtful by thinking to protect her. Attempting to keep Ophelia safe Hamlet’s plan causes an unexpected series of events to be set in motion. Hamlet’s love for Ophelia was in fact a sincere love; however, due to a series of events that took place in Hamlets life causes distance between him and Ophelia. These events eventually aid in the death of Ophelia.
Polonius does not trust Hamlet and thinks he is unfit to be with her. Throughout the play Ophelia is being informed by her father Polonius and her brother Laertes
…show more content…
Although Hamlet shows his love for Ophelia, he does not come out and verbally say it until she is dead. The reason why Hamlet waits till after Ophelia’s funeral to announce his love for her is because he is overwhelmed by the amount of grief and guilt he is feeling. The reader can see that Hamlet truly love Ophelia as he is talking to the Queen when he says, “I Lov’d Ophelia: forty thousand brothers/ could not, with all their quantity of love,/ make up my sum” (5.1.237-239). When hamlet admits this the reader can now fully understand that Hamlet is a good guy who had good intentions for the women he loved even if his intentions caused something bad to
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
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is the dramatic story of a son who felt betrayed by both his mother, and the woman that he loved. Written in the Elizabethan era, around 1600, “Shakespeare's focus on Hamlet's intellectual conflicts was a significant departure from contemporary revenge tragedies… which tended to dramatize violent acts graphically on stage” (Hamlet). The play depicts Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who it visited by the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. The ghost reveals how he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who then claimed the title of King, and married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s untimely death. Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but her brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius, warn her that Hamlet can never really love her. Ophelia, following her father’s wishes, is unwittingly enlisted to spy on Hamlet, which leaves him feeling betrayed. Hamlet rejects Ophelia, accidently stabs and kills Polonius, and then hides the body. Ophelia becomes so distraught over her father’s death, that she ultimately drowns herself. Hamlet is devastated when he learns of Ophelia’s death. The play culminates with a sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes. Hamlet’s mother dies from inadvertently drinking poisoned wine that was intended to kill Hamlet. Laertes and Hamlet are both stabbed with a poison-tipped sword, but before dying, Laertes confesses that Claudius was the mastermind behind everything. Hamlet forces Claudius to also drink the wine and the irony is that everyone dies in the end. One of the most controversial topics in history is the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet’s letters express his sincere feelings, and reveal that he was very much in love with Ophe...
For the most part during this time in her life, Ophelia has no one to tell her, or guide her. As her brother does when he warns her of "Hamlet and the trifling of his favor." (1, 3, 5), that "His greatness weighs, his will is not his own"(1, 3, 17). She is also at a loss for her father, Polonius' words of wisdom of her relationship with Hamlet; he states, "Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers, not of that dye which their investments show." (1, 3, 126-127).
Ophelia is portrayed as a sensitive, fragile woman. Easily overpowered and controlled by her brother and father, Ophelia is destined to be weak. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, warns and pushes Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet and is further supported by their father Polonius. “Polonius enters and adds his warning to those of Laertes. He orders Ophelia not to spend time with Hamlet or even talk to him. Ophelia promises to obey” (“Hamlet” 95). Ophelia’s obedience to her father’s directions prove the side she
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
Upon learning that Ophelia has allied herself with Polonius and Claudius, he loses his head and has an incredibly dramatic episode. He is initially honest and open with Ophelia, but his mood quickly changes when he learns they are being spied on. He questioned Ophelia’s motives by asking whether she was honest and fair. He breaks her heart upon the realization she is not on his side. He tells her that he once loved her, then their conversation spirals into nothing more than Hamlet hurling insults at his former love before storming out.
As the play opened, Hamlet and Ophelia appeared as lovers experiencing a time of turbulence. Hamlet had just returned home from his schooling in Saxony to find that his mother had quickly remarried her dead husband's brother, and this gravely upset him. Hamlet was sincerely devoted to the idea of bloodline loyalty and sought revenge upon learning that Claudius had killed his father. Ophelia, though it seems her relationship with Hamlet is in either the developmental stage or the finalizing stage, became the prime choice as a lure for Hamlet. Laertes inadvertently opened Ophelia up to this role when he spoke with Ophelia about Hamlet before leaving for France. He allowed Polonius to find out about Hamlet's courtship of Ophelia, which led to Polonius' misguided attempts at taking care of Ophelia and obeying the king's command to find the root of Hamlet's problems. Ophelia, placed in the middle against her wishes, obeyed her father and brother's commands with little disagreement. The only time she argued was when Laertes advised her against making decisions incompatible with the expectations of Elizabethan women. Ophelia tells him, in her boldest lines of the play:
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
The story of Hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation; this is especially evident within the character of Ophelia. Throughout the play, Ophelia is torn between obeying and following the different commitments that she has to men in her life. She is constantly torn between the choice of obeying the decisions and wishes of her family or that of Hamlet. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Ophelia is not only subject to the torture of others using her for their intentions but she is also susceptible to abuse from Hamlet. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals.
During Hamlet, Polonius and Laertes use Ophelia for their own self-gain not taking her feelings in consideration. In the article “Jephthah's Daughter's Daughter: Ophelia,” Cameron Hunt reveals that Polonius disregards Ophelia’s wants for his ...
Many can say that Hamlet changes his mood because his mother has made him question Ophelia actions. Ophelia is torn between loyal to her father or Hamlet. She never really says that she is love with Hamlet, ultimately we find that Ophelia loyalty lies with her father. Hamlet is left feeling betrayed when he discovers Ophelia is spying on him for Polonius and Claudius, when she lies to Hamlet about her father whereabouts he becomes suspicious to her. This in return causes him to be very harsh to her at times. However, at Ophelia grave Hamlet jumps in and confronts her brother and states “I lived Ophelia; forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up sum”. This informs the reader he really did love her and Hamlet was often caught up in his own mental state within his
This provides insight into the causes of the way he treats Ophelia. In Hamlet's eyes, Ophelia did not give him the love and respect he deserved. Hamlet and Ophelia seemed to have truly loved each other but early in the play, she is told by her father to break off all contact with him. This comes as a shock to Hamlet and understandably upsets him. This can be related back to the same feelings of abandonment and dishonesty he felt with his mother. Hamlet begins to get physically aggressive and toys with Ophelia's heart, harshly telling her to go to a nunnery. Hamlet carelessly shouts rude statements to Ophelia at his play; "It would cost you a groaning to take off mine edge." (3.2.255) Hamlet then chooses to go to the lengths to make Ophelia believe that he never had love for her: "You should not have believed me, / for virtue cannot / so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of / it. I lov’d you not" (3.1.117-119). For Hamlet, it is difficult to see that she is just following her father’s orders; he is quick to jump to conclusions and expects the worse. “The intensity of Hamlets repulsion against women in general, and Ophelia in particular, is a measure of the powerful repression to which his sexual feelings are being subjected” (Jones, 1199). Ophelia and Hamlets relationship would not last not only because of his sexual repression but his developing
In Hamlet by William Shakespeare Hamlet becomes overcome with rage when Ophelia betrays him with her dishonesty about her father, Polonius. Before Hamlet’s anger intensifies, he greets Ophelia with a subtle kindness and compassion, answering her gentle questions heartedly. The tables turn when Ophelia brings to him the letters composed of sweet words that he gave to her as a gift of his love. This is not only a betrayal of the love Hamlet gave to her, but she stands against Hamlet and with her father since she allows him to control her actions. The dialogue between the two lovers brings to question whether Hamlet truly cares for Ophelia or not, and her responses to his disassociation of her provide evidence of her spiraling down into madness.
Ophelia’s betrayal ends up putting Hamlet over the edge, motivating him in his quest for revenge. Ophelia is one of the two women in the play. As the daughter of Polonius, she only speaks in the company of several men, or directly to her brother or father. Since we never see her interactions with women, she suppresses her own thoughts in order to please her superiors. Yet, however weak and dependent her character is on the surface, Ophelia is a cornerstone to the play’s progression.
Hamlet’s bold proclamations in Act 3 certainly take an emotional toll on Ophelia, such as when he demands, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be/ a breeder of sinners?” (3.1.131-132), and when he tells Ophelia, “I loved you not” (3.1.129). Hamlet is aware that he is playing with Ophelia’s emotions, but does not seem to care in the least. Further evidence of his psychopathic behavior appears in Act 5, when Hamlet declares: 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. 284). Hamlet’s behavior is further evidence of how he utilizes his male –privilege to gain power over Ophelia, he can act and behave however he chooses, but Ophelia is the one to go insane and die. Many blame her for her death, ignoring the fact that Hamlet was emotionally manipulative to her. This relates to how Ophelia was rendered entirely helpless by her male counterparts; she never had any power over the way others treated