Did Hamlet Really Love Ophelia?
Lens Analysis
Reading Hamlet by Shakespeare was, truly, a pleasure. William Shakespeare published Hamlet on 1602 after his father and son passed away. It is evident in this story that due to Shakespeare’s loss, he managed to bring vivid emotions like grief, melancholy, love and sorrow to a whole new level. Shakespeare rarely wrote completely novel stories. He was a devoted historian who followed ancient tales and outdated stories and brought them to life. By doing so, he managed to invest more time in building his characters to a high detailed level. The story of Hamlet, The Prince Of Denmark portrays the non-revenge of the hero, Hamlet, against his uncle, King Claudius, who murdered his father and took the crown of the people of Denmark by marrying Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. The character of Hamlet in this story is fully descriptive. The reader could draw a precise picture of his morals, values, and qualities, even though they’re often complex and ambiguous. He is a righteous person who is incapable of leaving injustices behind him. Hamlet is a clever man, but when it comes to love, he is as vague a he could get.
Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius, the Lord chamberlain of Claudius’s court. She is a young lady who was raised without a mother and was expected to be Hamlet’s wife despite the opposition of her brother Laertes and her father Polonius. It was a forbidden combination. Ophelia’s family perceived Hamlet as a complicated person who intends on taking their only sister and daughter’s virginity and leave her for good. Were Hamlet and Ophelia in love? Were Ophelia’s family members right about Hamlet’s intentions? In this piece, I will elaborate on Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s odd relationship in a hope to spread light on this forbidden love.
In Act II of the play (77), Ophelia informs her father that Hamlet appeared in her room, grabbed her, looked her in the eyes, and left the room without saying a word; this was almost immediately after Hamlet discovers that his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius. This was also after Hamlet had decided to adopt the strategy of appearing insane in order to defuse any suspicion against him. We can only assume that Hamlet knew, deep inside, that things were going to change for him and Ophelia. Taking the effort and visiting Ophelia just to see her one last time before he willingly loses his identity suggests that she was important to him, and may further suggest that he has emotions for her.
In Act III Scene II, Hamlet confesses to Ophelia by saying “I did love you” while watching the play that he constructed to test King Claudius’s guilt (131). Hamlet tells Ophelia, who was deeply saddened by his senseless behavior, that he “Loved” her. He uses past tense as a defense mechanism, and to support the “mask” he was wearing in order to appear mad. Hamlet wanted to be considered senseless among the King and his staff to lower their suspicion against him; therefore, Hamlet in this part had a slip of the tongue telling Ophelia that he once loved her. Ophelia acknowledges by saying that Hamlet made her believe that he loved her. This part is crucial because Hamlet realizes that expressing his emotions is an act that might expose him, therefore, he regrets immediately and hurts Ophelia by saying that she shouldn’t have believed him because he did not love her (131). This part gives us a brief glimpse into Hamlet’s real emotions. Perhaps Hamlet suggests that he still loves her but could not show any sign of normality in his behavior at that time?
The last and strongest evidence that can be extracted from the text was at Ophelia’s funeral after she drowned (239). Hamlet, who had no clue that Ophelia died, was at the cemetery with Horatio. After managing a small conversation with the gravedigger, who at the time dug Ophelia’s grave, King Claudius, Hamlet’s mother, and Ophelia’s brother Laertes arriving at the cemetery. Hamlet, who didn’t want to be seen, hides from them. When Hamlet discovers that everybody gathered there to bury Ophelia, he jumps out of his spot raging and crying and finally confessing “I loved Ophelia. forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum” (Shakespeare V 255); this is another crucial part. Hamlet is finally dropping his mask in front of the very people that he must remain mad with and show real emotions by expressing sorrow and grief for his beloved Ophelia. If Hamlet wasn’t in love with Ophelia, why did he say that he loved her more than the love of forty thousand brothers? Perhaps he meant for a different type of love? Brotherly love or Romantic love, we receive here a strong evidence that Hamlet, although being crude and unkind to Ophelia, loved her after all.
Hamlet had a very strange, yet very smart, way of expressing himself. He had a plan, and he was willing to sacrifice everything to fulfill his mission and seek justice, even Ophelia. I believe that Hamlet loved Ophelia. The story gives more than enough evidence that Hamlet had emotions and felt for Ophelia. This case only intensifies the sorrow that Hamlet feels. Losing his father and then his love Ophelia while pretending that nothing happened makes him more dangerous than ever, but again, he was not allowed to show those feelings. Brotherly love or Romantic love? We will never know since the creator of this masterpiece, William Shakespeare, did not leave a note or a guide after he passed away. Presumably by intention.
Works Cited
Hamlet: Shakespeare Appreciated (Unabridged, Dramatized, Commentary Options) By Phil Viner, William Shakespeare, Simon Potter, Jools Viner Narrated by Joan Walker, Stephen Elder, Paul Clayton
Ronk, Martha C. “Representations of ‘Ophelia.’” Criticism, vol. 36, no. 1, 1994, pp. 21–43.
Smith, David M. “Shakespeare’s HAMLET.” Explicator, vol. 59, no. 4, Summer2001, p. 174. EBSCOhost,
“Shakespeare’s Globe.” Shakespeare’s Globe. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library) (p. 151). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.