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Dear Friend Hamlet Essay

Decent Essays
O, my dear friend Hamlet, I have been witness to your misery, triumph, and madness. I’m unable to tell if it was all an antic disposition? Or if were you really as insane as ‘the sea and the wind,’ both contending to be mightier in the storm? (4.1.7-8). I’ve come to the realisation that not everything that meets the eye is as it appears. A series of lies and manipulation have unravelled before my very eyes, ending in blood shed. Blood that is on my hands as much as it is on Hamlet’s.
As his closest confidant, our bond was knitted together tightly, depending solely upon trust and loyalty. I bore witness to Hamlet’s interactions, thoughts, and moods, catching a glimpse of his real self, progressively becoming aware that his feigned madness
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He once described his affection for her, stating that ‘if you were to add up the love of forty thousand brothers, their quantity of love would not make up the sum of mine,’ and although he had doubts, he never doubted the love he had for Ophelia (5.2.255-257 and 2.2.115-118). That’s why when his mentality and actions started juxtaposing his feelings I became concerned; I was no longer sure if putting on an antic disposition was wise. He was becoming so engulfed in the charade he was portraying; that it was becoming a part of his identity. It was transforming him into a deranged, ragged, wild beast, unable to control the demon within. The first time he acted out of character towards Ophelia, she was petrified, unaware of the insanity escaping from within him. I remember hearing her say that ‘he looked so out of sorts as if he’d just come back from hell’ (2.1.83-84). Should I have warned her? Would it have saved her from her own mind and thoughts? Instead, I bit my tongue and remained oblivious to the world. I valued the pacts of my friendship with Hamlet much higher than life itself, and now? I must live with the burden of Ophelia’s death on my shoulders.
I realised that Hamlet’s façade of madness was no longer an admirable method for revenge as his insanity was rooting deep into his soul, turning dark and menacing. He continued to confide in
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