Thesis: Hamlet’s madness led him to project his anger towards Ophelia and suppress his feelings for her.
HAMLET (II.2.124-127)
"Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.”
Context:
Polonius meets up with the King and Queen that Hamlet has been writing letters to Ophelia and that his madness is due to Ophelia’s inability to indulge in the relationship per Polonius’ request.
Paraphrase:
"You may wonder if the stars are fire,
You may wonder if the sun moves across the sky.
You may wonder if the truth is a liar,
But never wonder if I love you.”
Macro:
This is the first time we see Hamlet’s confession of love towards Ophelia. This was prior to the murder of Old Hamlet and
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No other love could compare to mine. what are you going to do for her?
Macro: Now that Ophelia is gone, Hamlet can no longer deny his feeling for her and has a sense of regret for not cherishing her enough while he still had the chance. Hamlet reveals that his love was strong and that he is worried about her.
Micro: Hamlet uses a hyperbole to express the magnitude of his feelings for Ophelia. By doing so the reader has a definite answer to the question of whether their love was ever real. To be able to hide such an intense feeling meant that Hamlet was significantly psychologically damaged to the point of being in a state of disconnect and anger. The readers get a sense of his pain as he makes this grand confession and the regret he feels due to rejecting her was clearly evident.
Overarching Thesis: Due to Hamlet’s unfortunate situation, the couple was not able to have a normal relationship. They loved each other but because he was so hurt by his mom’s actions, his view of woman dramatically changes which brought distrust and denial into the relationship. If Old Hamlet had never died, their relationship could have been spared. Not only until he lost Ophelia does he realize the mistake he had made upon her.
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HAMLET