Obligation Of Love In Hamlet Essay

The male characters in Hamlet continually abuse both Ophelia and Gertrude, physically and psychologically, as a pathetic attempt to gain power and control over the situation. One of the greatest examples of psychological abuse comes from the harrowing scene where Hamlet and Ophelia have their final conversation before Hamlet leaves for England. During this rage-induced altercation, Hamlet refuses to accept Ophelia’s returning of the gifts previously given to her from him, saying “I never gave you aught” (3.1.97). Ophelia is appalled as Hamlet continues to insult her and laugh in her face. In the climax of the argument, Hamlet tells Ophelia that she “should not have believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it: I loved you not” (3.1.117-119). The immense amount of psychological damage received by Ophelia between the addition and removal of love by Hamlet and her father’s death is enough to drive anyone to madness. David M. Smith recounts this as Hamlet’s necessity “to genuine outsideness because of the danger of being co-opted by love” (Smith, 1). However, Hamlet no longer needed to protect himself in his situation. His actions from this scene were not only uncalled for, but added to the slow mental demise of his sweet Ophelia. Hamlet’s next scene of abuse come shortly after this when he goes to speak to Gertrude about her participation in the murder of Old Hamlet. His rage, yet again, takes over, but this time he adopts physical abuse

Hamlet was deeply in love with the recently departed fair Ophelia, daughter of Polonious, who also sadly is not with us. He loved her much more than he expressed, and it is unfortunate that his inability to express his love for her could have been part of her downfall. Although he treated her scornfully and rudely I know that he loved her more than anyone could imagine. Hamlet, I remember, at the dear Ophelia’s funeral, you told the whole world of your love. “I loved Ophelia. 40 thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love make up my sum,” you said. I cannot help but think that if you had expressed your love for the fair maiden, both her and quite possibly you would still be with us today. He loved his mother, Queen Gertrude. Although he held her in disdain for her hasty marriage to Claudius, who he despised, he still loved her with all his heart

When individuals struggle to balance a desire for independence with the need to maintain meaningful relationships with others, it often results in complicated decisions, which alter relationships. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the author justifies that when an individual is caught up in a dilemma, between one’s self-motivation or sincere relationships, meaningful relationships alter as a result of sophisticated decisions made. Hamlet is a character that is caught up in the crossfire between pursuing his self-motivations and his need to stay loyal to his relationships, with Ophelia, King Claudius, and his mother Gertrude.

How would it be possible for Hamlet to express or even recognize love, without having a clear definition of what love is? One may define love as a lover’s passion, devotion or tenderness for someone or something. Hamlet perceives love as an emotion that causes loss, devastation and pain. In the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, the main character uses love as a reason for his actions, but never truly loves any of the characters except his father. Hamlet seems to be more of a love story but, truthfully, it is more of revenge then love.

In today’s world, women of all ages are given equal rights and freedom. In Shakespeare’s time, woman’s obligations were to follow the rules of the men and obey the men in their lives’. “Frailty, thy name is woman;” Hamlet implies the powerlessness of the two women characters in the play. In Hamlet, the roles of Gertrude and Ophelia are very important in that they are the only two female characters in the play. Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark and mother of Hamlet, and Ophelia, the lover of Hamlet, are characterized as controlled and lost in their lives because they are being used by the men throughout the play. Fundamentally, Shakespeare illustrates the nature of Gertrude and Ophelia as powerless victims by the women being subjects of men,

‘The pangs of despised love” (3.1.72). Though Ophelia’s father, Polonius, in The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, orders her to stay away from Prince Hamlet, that does not stop her from loving him. The love that both Prince Hamlet and Ophelia share appears to be very strong, but sensitive at the same time. The mistake that Ophelia makes not only breaks Prince Hamlet’s heart and love, but it also makes her go crazy trying to redeem that lost love.

Hamlet is not only angered with the fact of his father’s death, but also with his mother’s decision to marry Claudius. Devastated by his mother’s decision to marry so soon after her husband’s death, Hamlet becomes skeptical about women in general. He shows a particular obsession with what he perceives to be a connection with female sexuality and moral corruption. He almost develops hatred towards women because of his mother’s decision. This hatred occurs and is shown with his relationship with Ophelia. He urges Ophelia to go to a nunnery rather than experience the dishonesty of sexuality. This hinders Hamlet from experiencing a love that is really needed at this time of his loss. One can say that this is another flaw, which Hamlet is unaware of.

    Queen Gertrude and Ophelia, the main female characters in Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy Hamlet, have a variety of personal qualities and experiences in common. This essay, with the help of literary critics, will explore this commonality.

In the first scene of Act II, Polonius and Ophelia discuss the meaning of Hamlet's odd behavior. Though the two characters agree his actions arise out of the torment of spurned love,

Ophelia, ever since her introduction, has been introduced to be a sweet and sympathetic person, providing the play with emotional moments, but her death was used as a bait and switch by Shakespeare towards audience members who had expected her to change the play’s somber mood to more hopeful one, which in turn makes the play even more tragic. After she had been visited by an apparently crazed Hamlet, she tells Polonius about the visit, prompting him to believe that the young prince is crazy in love, and goes out to tell the king. After it was explained to Claudius, and Hamlet’s former friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern failed to find the underlying cause of his madness, Polonius makes Ophelia approach Hamlet while he and the king hide and monitor his behavior.

In the play Hamlet, the relationships between the different characters were destroyed because of Hamlets frustrations and other characters suspicions. Hamlet and Ophelia once had a very passionate love affair. Ophelias father Polonius and brother Laertes did not agree with their relationship. Laertes told Ophelia that she could not have a relationship with Hamlet because For Hamlet and the trifling of his favour, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute; No more. Act I scene III 3 Laertes is implying that Hamlet is not the right age for her, and he is comparing Hamlets love of Ophelia to the violet, which flowers early in the spring, but doesnt live long. If it were not for Polonius and Laertess influence on Ophelia, and Ophelias willingness to go along with everything her father and brother tell her to do, many tragedies could have been avoided such as Hamlets insanity, and the death of most of the main characters. The relationship between Gertrude and Claudius caused many problems. Gertrudes husband King Hamlet was killed, and the reader learns that it was Claudius that killed King Hamlet in act I scene V. Two months later, Claudius and Gertrude married, and Hamlet was not happy. The marriage between Claudius and Gertrude

   When reading Shakespeare's Hamlet, one becomes involved with a number of relationships involving Hamlet (the tragic protagonist) and the main characters supporting the play. The characters involved include, but are not limited to, Hamlet (the ghost), former King of Denmark and deceased father to the protagonist; Horatio, friend to Hamlet; Gertrude, Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet; and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius and romantic interest to Hamlet. Although all of the relationships are complex, encompassing a wide range of varying emotions as the plot advances, there is a recurring theme of love threaded throughout the play. This theme of love takes on a number of faces which we may observe through the

Every person falls in love which is why it is such a prevalent theme in literature and art. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, love is the driving force for the tragic ending. The play begins with Claudius murdering his brother, which in part is done out of love for Gertrude. Throughout, the audience watches Hamlet struggle with his morals, unsure whether to do what is right, or to enact revenge out of love for his father. At the end, Laertes sets all the plans in motion because of his own family love, which is what creates the tragedy. Not only is Hamlet a tragedy due to a desire of revenge, but also it is the misplaced love the characters hold that truly binds the tragedy.

Hamlet is without any reservations, one of Shakespeare's most mystifying plays. Although the play has a concise story, it is filled with many uncertainties relating to different issues behind the plot. The reader is left with many uncertainties about the true feelings of prince Hamlet. One question in particular is, did Hamlet really love Ophelia? This dispute can be reinforced either way, however I believe Hamlet was truly in love with Ophelia. Support for my decision comes from Hamlet's treatment towards Ophelia is shown throughout the play, but especially in Act 3, Scene 2, and at Ophelia's grave in Scene 1 of Act 5.

“Frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2. 150)! This controversial line, followed by several more from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, displays a common view towards women that portrays them as being weak and reliant on men. Throughout the play, two women, Ophelia and Gertrude, are shown to be dependent on the men in their lives. They both take on a senselessly obedient state of mind. Even though they share this common characteristic, Ophelia and Gertrude are very different characters. Ophelia is a beautiful, young woman who is the love interest of the protagonist, Hamlet. Ophelia obeys her father, Polonius, without hesitation and has very little experience with making her own decisions. Gertrude was the wife of Old Hamlet, and is now the wife of Claudius, the current king and Old Hamlet’s brother. Gertrude desires affection and status more than she cares about the truth of what happened to her late husband. The men in this play have no sense of how they treat the females. This patriarchal way of life was prominent in the late 16th century and early 17th century which was about the time that Hamlet was written and performed. This relationship between the genders is interconnected within the play and with society during that particular time period. The characters of Ophelia and Gertrude were solid examples of how women were viewed as inferior to men during this time in history.