Of+what+significance+is+Ophelia+to+Hamlet?+How+truly+was+Hamlet+in+love+with+Ophelia??

__Introduction__

In the renowned play //Hamlet//, written by William Shakespeare, a story of revenge is told. The main character, Hamlet, prince of Denmark, attempts to claim vengeance for the murder of his father. While trying to quench his thirst for revenge, Hamlet faces contrasting emotions towards a woman named Ophelia. In the complexity of the character’s nuances, moments of attraction, affection, and rejection towards Ophelia are shown bringing forth various questions to the readers. Is Hamlet truly in love with Ophelia? What is Ophelia’s significance to Hamlet? Hamlet is indeed madly in love with Ophelia, which is shown in Hamlet's statements at different points throughout the novel. Ophelia is also very significant to Hamlet since she could be viewed as Hamlet’s last link to sanity and Hamlet’s last and only thought of happiness.

1. In the renowned play //Hamlet//, written by William Shakespeare, a story of revenge is told.

2. While trying to quench his obsession for revenge, Hamlet[| faces] contrasting emotions towards a woman named Ophelia.

3. In the complexity of the character’s nuances, moments of attraction, affection, and rejection towards Ophelia are shown bringing forth various questions to the readers.

4. Hamlet is indeed in love with Ophelia, which is shown in Hamlet's statements at different points throughout the novel.

5. Ophelia is also very significant to Hamlet since she could be viewed as Hamlet's last link to sanity and Hamlet's last and only thought of happiness.

Discussion Question:

1. What is the evidence that proves Hamlet's insanity? How does Hamlet's insanity affect his relationship with Ophelia?

__Argument__

The daft Ophelia serves a vital role in outlining Hamlet's complex character. Primarily, Ophelia prompts Hamlet's theory that all women are tools, primarily for sex; even those who are seemingly pure are doomed to a corrupt interior. Shakespeare elaborated upon Hamlet's distraught philosophy on women through Hamlet's belief that every prostitute essentially has her procurer. Hamlet summarizes his view on the weakness of woman within his first soliloquy as he claims "Frailty, thy name is woman." In Hamlet's eyes, Claudius was cause of Gertrude's demoralization and Polonius the cause of Ophelia's. Hamlet is convinced of this as he somehow overhears Polonius's plot to use the alluring Ophelia as a ruse in order to discover the reason behind Hamlet's curious behavior. It is perhaps the notion that a father would willingly prostitute his own daughter that draws Hamlet toward Ophelia. Hamlet is drawn to Ophelia's inescapable vulnerability but is truly in love with the inner Ophelia, a woman who may be the only deviation from his assumption of natural whoreness in woman. His true passion for the misfortuned woman is fervently expressed amidst her burial ceremony in the churchyard when he justifies to a furious Laertes "I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?" Hamlet's passion for his fair Ophelia is witnessed most dynamically following his knowledge of her demise, for his already-irreversible despiar deepens tenfold at the site of his lost love. He follows this remark by claiming he would go so far as to eat a crocodile for Ophelia, and his rationality is thus compromised by the woman, indicating true love. The play's climax follows shortly after the churchyard scene, revealing to the audience Ophelia's true significance to Hamlet. She served as his loose yet standing thread of hope amidst a life of woe and sorrow. Hamlet's decision "to be" was not mere whim but rather subtly dictated by his beloved Ophelia.

1. Shakespeare elaborated upon Hamlet's distraught philosophy on woman through Hamlet's belief that every prostitute essentially has her procurer.

2. Hamlet's passion for his fair Ophelia is witnessed most dynamically following his knowledge of her demise/death.

3. The daft Ophelia serves a vital role in outlining Hamlet`s complex character.

4. " frailty, within Hamlet's 1st soliloquy, thy name is woman."

5. Hamlet claims he would eat a crocodile for Ophelia.

Discussion Question:

What features of Ophelia allow her to permeate Hamlet's view of the frailty of women?

__Conclusion__

Hamlet has always loved Ophelia since the beginning, although some of his actions point to the contrary. She always seemed the purest and most naïve of all the character, and perhaps that was their undoing. Eventually we start to think otherwise based on his mistrust of her and all women in general thanks to his mother. He believed he would one day marry Ophelia, but after his mother’s marriage to his uncle he lost faith in the sacred ceremony. He figured that if his mother can wed so early after his father’s death then all women are capable of it, even Ophelia. He loved her as much as he possible could, but it was not enough. He was too far deep in his own plots of revenge that he got rid as best he could all feelings he had for her. He became too busy with his own problems that he could not have possibly given himself completely to another person.

1. She always seemed the purest and most naïve of all the character, and perhaps that was their undoing.

2. He believed he would one day marry Ophelia, but after his mother’s marriage to his uncle he lost faith in the sacred ceremony.

3. He was too far deep in his own plots of revenge that he got rid as best he could all feelings he had for her.

Discussion Question:

1. Do you think if Ophelia had not gone mad and died that her brother would not have gone after Hamlet, hence his death been avoided?

Works Cited

Notes, Spark. "SparkNotes: Hamlet." SparkNotes. SparkNotes. 23 Feb 2007 <[|http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/section15.rhtml>.]

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. First. New York: Signet Classics, 1998.

Esposito,Danielle." HAMLET'S LOVE FOR OPHELIA"May 12, 2004.< http://perso.orange.fr/danielle.esposito/Hamlet.html>.