COMMENT:
This piece was my greatest challenge because of the language structure. I relied heavily on sparknotes to "translate" what I had read into modern English. I would have liked to have had more time to spend on this piece. However, this is the point my mother was hospitalized and I had to prioritize my life. As an odd twist, my son's tenth grade English class just began reading another Shakespeare play and I was able to give him plenty of websites and other resources to help him understand it.
Hamlet’s Love of Ophelia
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy. However, among all the evilness, betrayal and ill intent, we see a love story. Prince Hamlet had a true passionate love for Lady Ophelia. Hamlet had just returned home from school after his father’s death only to discover his mother remarried to his uncle. Even with all the problems Hamlet had to deal with, he and Ophelia managed to begin a relationship.
Hamlet and Ophelia relationship began with them secretly spending time alone with each other. This doesn’t bode well with Ophelia’s father. This is apparent in the conversation between Ophelia and her father, Polonius. Polonius told his daughter that “ ‘tis told me, hath very oft of late given private time to you; and you yourself have of your audience been most free and bounteous” (1.3.91-93). Ophelia responded with “he hath, my lord, of late made many tenders of his affections to me” (1.3.99-100). Hamlet sent Ophelia eloquent love letters that seemed to come from the heart. The letter Polonius read to the king and queen began “To the celestial and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia,” (2.2.110). The letter told Ophelia to “doubt thou the stars are fire; doubt that the sun doth move; doubt truth to be a liar; but never doubt I love” (2.2.116-119). This should have been the beginning of a wonderful love affair.
Unfortunately, some others have different ideas. Polonius told his young daughter not to have anymore to do with Hamlet causing Ophelia began to refuse letters and visits from Hamlet. After being visited by the ghost of his departed father, King Hamlet, who told him of Queen Gertrude involvement with Claudius before his death, Hamlet began to doubt Ophelia’s love for him. Everyone began to believe Hamlet was mad. Hamlet’s silent, frantic and frightening visit to Ophelia’s room only goes to prove this point. Ophelia foolishly agreed to spy for the king and her father in order to prove Hamlet’s madness. I think she agreed because of her youth and simply didn’t realize how this action would look to Hamlet. In the garden, Hamlet becomes very angry and tells Ophelia “I did love you once…I love you not” (3.1. 114). He even told her to join the nunnery so she would be away from all men.
Hamlet became obsessed with revenging his father’s death. The ghost of his father insisted he must focus on revenge over everything else. Unfortunately for Hamlet and Ophelia everything else included their relationship. The ghost told Hamlet his own brother, Claudius had murdered him while he was napping in the orchard. Therefore, Hamlet must murder Claudius. The ghost insisted, however, Queen Gertrude must not be hurt or even thought badly of. Even in death, his father was attempting to protect the woman he loved. Hamlet must have been confused by this final display of unending love of his father’s.
Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, was already remarried by the time Hamlet returned to Denmark. Worse yet, she is married to the brother of her late husband which was considered incestuous by some. Her actions made Hamlet very jaded about love. In his grief, Hamlet began to distrust all women, which included Ophelia. He knew his parents had a passionate relationship and she had replaced her husband and his father so quickly. He feared Ophelia would be the same way.
When Hamlet returned from England and finds out Ophelia is dead, he again confesses his love for her. He said to Laertes, the brother of Ophelia, “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum” (5.1.269-271). Why profess his love now, after her death? At this point, it will change nothing. This may have been an honest confession of love.
Unfortunately for Hamlet, at this point his days are numbered. Perhaps, if they had both lived they could have worked out their problems and discovered an unending love. Perhaps, if Hamlet had been able to avenge his father’s death sooner things would have ended with the two of them marrying and becoming King and Queen of Denmark. But we will never know because of the unfortunate deaths of these two.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Literature: An Introduction
to Reading and Writing. 8th ed. Ed. Roberts, Edgar V., and Henry E. Jacobs. Upper Saddle
River, N.J.: Pearson, 2007. 1404-1502.
This piece was my greatest challenge because of the language structure. I relied heavily on sparknotes to "translate" what I had read into modern English. I would have liked to have had more time to spend on this piece. However, this is the point my mother was hospitalized and I had to prioritize my life. As an odd twist, my son's tenth grade English class just began reading another Shakespeare play and I was able to give him plenty of websites and other resources to help him understand it.
Hamlet’s Love of Ophelia
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy. However, among all the evilness, betrayal and ill intent, we see a love story. Prince Hamlet had a true passionate love for Lady Ophelia. Hamlet had just returned home from school after his father’s death only to discover his mother remarried to his uncle. Even with all the problems Hamlet had to deal with, he and Ophelia managed to begin a relationship.
Hamlet and Ophelia relationship began with them secretly spending time alone with each other. This doesn’t bode well with Ophelia’s father. This is apparent in the conversation between Ophelia and her father, Polonius. Polonius told his daughter that “ ‘tis told me, hath very oft of late given private time to you; and you yourself have of your audience been most free and bounteous” (1.3.91-93). Ophelia responded with “he hath, my lord, of late made many tenders of his affections to me” (1.3.99-100). Hamlet sent Ophelia eloquent love letters that seemed to come from the heart. The letter Polonius read to the king and queen began “To the celestial and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia,” (2.2.110). The letter told Ophelia to “doubt thou the stars are fire; doubt that the sun doth move; doubt truth to be a liar; but never doubt I love” (2.2.116-119). This should have been the beginning of a wonderful love affair.
Unfortunately, some others have different ideas. Polonius told his young daughter not to have anymore to do with Hamlet causing Ophelia began to refuse letters and visits from Hamlet. After being visited by the ghost of his departed father, King Hamlet, who told him of Queen Gertrude involvement with Claudius before his death, Hamlet began to doubt Ophelia’s love for him. Everyone began to believe Hamlet was mad. Hamlet’s silent, frantic and frightening visit to Ophelia’s room only goes to prove this point. Ophelia foolishly agreed to spy for the king and her father in order to prove Hamlet’s madness. I think she agreed because of her youth and simply didn’t realize how this action would look to Hamlet. In the garden, Hamlet becomes very angry and tells Ophelia “I did love you once…I love you not” (3.1. 114). He even told her to join the nunnery so she would be away from all men.
Hamlet became obsessed with revenging his father’s death. The ghost of his father insisted he must focus on revenge over everything else. Unfortunately for Hamlet and Ophelia everything else included their relationship. The ghost told Hamlet his own brother, Claudius had murdered him while he was napping in the orchard. Therefore, Hamlet must murder Claudius. The ghost insisted, however, Queen Gertrude must not be hurt or even thought badly of. Even in death, his father was attempting to protect the woman he loved. Hamlet must have been confused by this final display of unending love of his father’s.
Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, was already remarried by the time Hamlet returned to Denmark. Worse yet, she is married to the brother of her late husband which was considered incestuous by some. Her actions made Hamlet very jaded about love. In his grief, Hamlet began to distrust all women, which included Ophelia. He knew his parents had a passionate relationship and she had replaced her husband and his father so quickly. He feared Ophelia would be the same way.
When Hamlet returned from England and finds out Ophelia is dead, he again confesses his love for her. He said to Laertes, the brother of Ophelia, “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum” (5.1.269-271). Why profess his love now, after her death? At this point, it will change nothing. This may have been an honest confession of love.
Unfortunately for Hamlet, at this point his days are numbered. Perhaps, if they had both lived they could have worked out their problems and discovered an unending love. Perhaps, if Hamlet had been able to avenge his father’s death sooner things would have ended with the two of them marrying and becoming King and Queen of Denmark. But we will never know because of the unfortunate deaths of these two.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Literature: An Introduction
to Reading and Writing. 8th ed. Ed. Roberts, Edgar V., and Henry E. Jacobs. Upper Saddle
River, N.J.: Pearson, 2007. 1404-1502.
1 comment:
Great work.
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