The Tragic Love between Hamlet and Ophelia

趙天毓

Abstract： The tragic love between Hamlet and Ophelia is an important element to Hamlet. The paper divides the development of their love into three phases and these to discuss the reason for the change of his attitude for Ophelia from profound love to hesitation by analyzing Hamlets psychology of different phases.

Key words： Hamlet； Ophelia； tragic effects； creation of characters； soliloquy

Hamlet is considered the summit of Shakespeares art. The story comes from an old Danish legend. It abounds most in striking reflections on human life， and because the distresses of Hamlet are transferred， by the turn of his mind， to the general account of humanity. Whatever happens to him can be applied to ourselves， because he applies it to himself as a means of general reasoning. He is a great moralizer； and what makes him worth attending to is that he moralizes on his own feelings and experience.

It is a tragedy with the theme of revenge， and the women characters in it are drawn in fainter lines than their male counterparts， so most of the comments on it are paying attentions to the revenge action of Hamlet. However， as a tragedy， the tragic love between Hamlet and Ophelia is an indispensable element， without which， its tragic effects will be weakened and the well-rounded creation of Hamlet will also be lessened. Ophelia is a character almost too exquisitely touching to be dwelt upon. Oh，rose of May， oh flower too soon faded！ Her love， her madness， her death， is described with the truest touches of tenderness and pathos.

In this tragedy， is Hamlets love to Ophelia constant or changeable？ This question is very important to understand the work and to analyze the heros inner world. The theme of Hamlet is not about love， but the answer to this question can directly reveal Hamlets psychological state in the course of his revenge， especially in the middle and later period. To sum up all the critiques， there are three kinds of viewpoints： 1， Hamlet has never truly been in love with Ophelia； 2， Hamlet has constantly been loving Ophelia； 3， Hamlet used to deeply love Ophelia， for many reasons， his love was hurt but has not withered. In my opinion， there are gaps and omissions in all the above-mentioned. According to the time order， the development of their love is divided into three phases： the first phase ends when King Hamlet died； the second one ends after Hamlets famous soliloquy “To be or not to be”； the third one is the last part of the play. Following the development of the main thread——revenge， we can see that Hamlets attitude for Ophelia is from profound love to hesitation and then to withering.

I. The first phase of love： profound love

In the play， there is no direct description about the first phase of their love， while the writer tells it by Ophelias chats with her brother Laertes and her father Polonius， from which the readers and the audience know that Hamlet is keenly loving Ophelia.

Obviously， Ophelia believes Hamlets love to him is sincere. She describes the emotions and feelings she has received from Hamlet after their dating. However， Laertes and Polonius insist that as a prince， Hamlets love will not last long； what he is doing is just to play fast and loose with a pure and ignorant girls feelings.

Firstly， Hamlets soliloquy is the most convincing proof. The soliloquies are dramatically rhetorical speeches of self-reflection. These have already been seen in the characters of Brutus in Julius Caesar and Prince Hal in Henry IV. Hamlet is a culmination of these characters， capable of far more complexity and psychological introspection. “To be or not to be” is the most famous one among Hamlet's soliloquies. At that time， he has been told his uncles intrigue； his heart is filled with profound hatred， meanwhile， he is suffering his hesitation over whether to revenge or to give up.

Secondly， the creation of characters in the work should be consistent. In other words， Hamlets views about love and his outlook of life should be consistent. Hamlet studied in the University Wittenberg， in which he was deeply influenced by the Humanism. He is a humanist， a man who is free from medieval prejudices and superstitions. He has an unbounded love for the world instead of the heaven. The world for him is “this goodly frame the earth， this most excellent canopy the air， the brave oerhanging firmament this majestical roof fretted with golden fire.” （ActII， Scene II） Like other humanists， hamlet cherishes a profound reverence for man， and a firm belief in mans power and destiny： “What a piece of work is a man！ How noble in reason！ How infinite in faculty！ In an angel！ In apprehension how like a god！” （ActII， Scene II） Such a delight in Nature and Man was a feature characteristic of the humanists of the Renaissance.

Starting from his humanist love of man， he turned to those around him with the same eagerness. He loves the good and hates the evil； he upholds equality and purity. He adores his father， greets his school-fellows with hearty welcome， while he is disgusted with his uncles drunkenness and shocked by his mothers shallowness. In his contract with the people around him， he cares for nothing but human worth and shows contempt for rank and wealth. He will not listen to Haratios talk of being his “servant”. When others speak of their “duty” to him， he answers “your love， as mine， to you.” （ActII， Scene II） He speaks to an actor precisely as he does to a courtier. A king and a beggar are all one to him. His democratic tendency is based on his humanist thought.

From these we may know that hamlet is a man of purity， highly accomplished and educated. He treats everything with his heart. Such a person could not treat love as a play and loose Ophelias feelings. Hamlet adores his father， and his fathers love to his mother has deeply influenced his view bout love. So Hamlet is truly in love with Ophelia.

Thirdly， Polonius and Laertes are completely different from Hamlet. According to their own experience， they believe that Hamlet is a playboy. Polonius is a councilor to the king Claudius. He is meddlesome and garrulous： he is a shrewd calculating old fox. He is especially known for his classic advice to Laertes.

Polonius is wrong in all his judgments， one after another； his astuteness suffers by comparison with that of the king. He was aware that there was something wrong with Hamlet， therefore he did not want his daughter have anything to do with Hamlet. He told Ophelia that she should stay away from him and not see him any more. Meanwhile， he is working for king Claudius， who had “a few” things against Hamlet for personal reasons. As a favorite courtier， he is on the kings side and also against Hamlet.

Summing up the above-mentioned points； we will admit that in the first phase， Hamlet is deeply in the love with Ophelia. They feel the sweet of love like other couples： frequently dating with each other， making oaths of eternal love and fidelity.

II. The second phase of the love： hesitating love

The death of King Hamlet is the beginning of the tragedy. The father， always adored by Hamlet， died with no clear reason. And then in a short time， his mother suddenly married to his uncle —— a man utterly contemptible and loathsome in his eyes， which is regarded as adultery in the Christianity. Because of this marriage， his uncle captured hamlets throne， and got the support from those servile courtiers. All these are like thunderbolt from a clear sky. When his fathers ghost appeared and told him the intrigue， he found the entire world around him is collapsing. His mental world can not bear the fact.

Hamlets intellectual genius is outstanding. He is a close observer of men and manners. He easily sees through people. His quick perception drives him to penetrate below the surface of things and question what others take for granted. So he is forever unmasking his world. Through the infidelity of his mother， the servility of the courtiers， the falsehood of his school-fellows， and finally， the crime of his uncle， he discovers how wicked and unjust the world he lives in is. His observation of his world is summed up in a bitter sentence： “Denmark is a prison” （Act II， Scene II）. And his love to Ophelia， at this time is seriously hurt， either.

The other element that influenced Hamlets love to Ophelia is his sense of responsibility. After the appearance of the ghost， Hamlet suddenly becomes mature and he is aware of his responsibilities. First of all， as the son of King Hamlet， he has to inquire all the facts of his father being murdered.

In the “play scene” his uncles crime is ascertained. He is burned with the hatred of his uncle and makes a solemn oath to revenge the triple wrong of murder， usurpation and seductions.

In his soliloquy “To be or not to be” we know that Hamlet himself can not be certain if his revenge will be successful. If he fails， he will die. Therefore， whenever he decides to revenge， he must give up all things. Furthermore， the Denmark is plagued by domestic trouble and foreign invasion. Norwegian Prince Fortinbras is about invading； at home， there has formed an atmosphere of flattering， excessive drinking and corruption.

These entire make Hamlet have to worry about the fate of Denmark； he recognizes his responsibilities to the whole country. In his repeated meditation upon the crime of his uncle， he perceives something rotten in the state affair， and his personal worry is growing deeper and deeper until it becomes at last a disgust for a world in which such crime prevails. Now he sees that cruel and unjust rulers are tyrannizing the country and his beloved country is a prison for the people. Hamlet's famous soliloquy is actually an internalized conflict between the old world and the new one. Hamlet is struggling to figure out whether he should use his mind （and consequently words） to overcome Claudius， or whether he should resort to vengeful violence.

Ham. "To be， or not to be； that is the question：

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles，

And， by opposing， end them." （Act III， Scene I）

He seems to understand that his mere revenge upon his uncle would no way to solve the problems that trouble and upset him. Revenge is easy， but it is not merely personal revenge that Hamlet seeks. It is more important to expose the roots of the evil and to establish a reign of justice. His responsibility is thus greatly enlarged into a radical transformation of the society.

Thus， Hamlet has no energy to think about his love， but put all his strength to revenge for his father and to save the fate of the whole country and his people. This is the reason that he has seldom mentioned Ophelia， even to his most believable friend Haratio.

Meanwhile， after the appearance of his fathers ghost， Hamlet is confused about whether to believe the ghost or not， and he pretends to be mad in order to fool Claudius and Gertrude until he is able to know whether Claudius really killed his father or not. This affects everyone including Ophelia， who is so ignorant that she goes through a lot of mixed feelings and she is at times in a state of confusion when it comes to decide what to and not to believe. In this phase，the hesitating love not only results from hearing admonishment from her father and brother， but also from getting mixed signals from Hamlet. Ophelia obeys her father to reject Hamlets affections， which makes Hamlet get mistaken. Hamlet begins to treat his feelings more slightly.

To sum up， in the second phase， Hamlets love has changed because of many reasons. Therefore， it is incorrect to believe that Hamlet love is unchangeable. But what I have to point out is that this love has not withered， otherwise， Hamlet would not had shouted out “The fair Ophelia！ —— Nymph”. In this period， the prince is suffering from his emotion， sense and mistakes. The fact that he visits Ophelia at night can reveal his complex feelings to her. So critics believe that it is a part of his revenging plan， and it is just to confuse Claudius favorite courtier Polonius， which cause Claudius believe that he is really mad. No matter this opinion is right or not， the true feelings he expresses cannot be concealed.

III. Conclusion

Hamlet is fundamentally a play about seeking the truth. They are as real as our own thoughts. Their reality is in the reader's mind. It is WE who are Hamlet. This play has a prophetic truth， which is above that of history. Whoever has become thoughtful and melancholy through his own mishaps or those of others； whoever has borne about with him the clouded brow of reflection， and thought himself "too much i' th' sun；" whoever has seen the golden lamp of day dimmed by envious mists rising in his own breast， and could find in the world before him only a dull blank with nothing left remarkable in it； whoever has known "the pangs of despised love， the insolence of office， or the spurns which patient merit of the unworthy takes；" he who has felt his mind sink within him， and sadness cling to his heart like a malady， who has had his hopes blighted and his youth staggered by the apparitions of strange things； who cannot well be at ease， while he sees evil hovering near him like a spectre； whose powers of action have been eaten up by thought， he to whom the universe seems infinite， and himself nothing； whose bitterness of soul makes him careless of consequences， and who goes to a play as his best resource is to shove off， to a second remove， the evils of life by a mock representation of them - this is the true Hamlet.

Hamlet is an agglomeration of tragedy. The love between Hamlet and Ophelia is one of the important tragic elements in the drama. Their original pure love finally withered because of the times， the bad people and their shortcoming in their nature. In the course of the development of their love reflects the European society at that time. （e.g. the social status of the female and the corruption of the feudal dynasty） and the fault even evil in human nature. It deepens the theme of the play. To be pointed， after all， Hamlet is a tragedy with a theme of revenge. This tragic love is just an auxiliary clue. Therefore， we should master it from the whole drama but not simply exaggerate its effect.

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（作者單位：陜西理工學(xué)院外國語學(xué)院，陜西 漢中 723001）