In Act III Scene I, Hamlet is confronted by Ophelia who wants to return the things he gave her. Describe Hamlet's reaction to Ophelia's sudden need to return his gifts and forsake his love for her.
After being confronted by Ophelia, Hamlet denies having given her any gifts. He claims both to have loved Ophelia once and never to have loved her at all, and bitterly comments on the wretchedness of humankind. He even urges Ophelia to enter a nunnery rather than become a “breeder of sinners” (III.i.122–123). He then goes on to criticize women for making men behave like monsters and for contributing to the world’s dishonesty by painting their faces to appear more beautiful than they are. In his rage, Hamlet denounces Ophelia, women, and humankind in general, saying that he wishes to end all marriages.
In response to Ophelia's attempts to return his gifts, Hamlet becomes enraged. In his fury he babbles confusedly about women in general and how they are deceptive creatures. Hamlet says that he loved Ophelia at once, and then says he did not love her at all. This rambling proves that Hamlet has not fully comprehended his emotions towards Ophelia. Furthermore, Hamlet has alot of issues on his mind, such as the appearance of his father's ghost and his deceitful uncle. Generally, the speech that Hamlet returns to Ophelia's request gives him the image of a dazed, confused individual.
To set off Ophelia's entrance, Hamlet has just finished his famous "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy in which he muses about the dreadfulness in the length that life gives. He basically questions his own existence, noting that the actions the players took as their characters were more brave and more defined than those that he could take himself. In essence, he realizes that he realyl hasn't done anything to avenge his father's death. Enter Ophelia. She tells him that she has come to return the gifts that he gave her out of courtship. He says that he never gave her any favors. Confused, she describes the gifts. He chides, "That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beatuy" (III.i.107-108). He goes on to say that he loved her once, only to disprove this statement with brevity by stating that he never loved her. He goes evven further to say that all women are basically deceitful.lying harlots that use their beauty to get what they want; but he's directing this toward Ophelia. He leaves enraged, as Ophelia is left alone to wonder what just happened.
When Ophelia approaches Hamlet in an attempt to return the gifts he has given to her during their romance, Hamlet denies ever having given her gifts. He babbles on, admitting that he did love Ophelia, but later contradicts himself, saying he never loved her at all. Hamlet goes on to condemn women for being decieving and sneaky, urging Ophelia to join a convent.
Hamlet's bazaar response marks a moment when his madness is not feigned. His feelings about women have stemmed from his hatred for his uncle and the disappointment he feels for his mother, since she married him so soon after Hamlet's father's death. The confusion and distress Hamlet feels about his mother's hasty actions, and his inability to express these emotions efficiently, affects the way he feels and acts towards Ophelia.
Hamlet becomes very upset when Ophelia returns Hamlet's gifts of love. First, he denies even giving her the offering, which offends Ophelia. His sadness flares into rage when he then tells her that he never even loved her. Sensing that he is being spied upon during this meeting, he asks Ophelia where her father is. Although she says he is home, Hamlet doesn't believe her.
He throws various insults at her such as, "...wise men know well enough what monsters you [women] make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too" (III. i. 133-135). Then, he rants about how all women are conniving and two-faced. He is infuriated and fed up with women at this point. Between his dark "to be, or not to be" monologue and the argument with Ophelia, Hamlet is emotionally distraught.
The last thing Hamlet says to Ophelia before he leaves her is "To a nunnery, go" (1629). That, in addition to insulting her morality, is strongly saying Hamlet has no love for her and he wishes for her to be in a place where she cannot reach him and bother him with her tireless ravings and proclamations of love.
Hamlet has just finished the soliloquy, and at this point he is questioning existence and why he should live when the world has seemingly turned against him.
However, it seems apparent that at one point or another, Hamlet harbored feelings for Ophelia, but is now conflicted about how he should act toward her. Consequently, he is unable to sort through his own feelings, but does feel that the necessity of revenge overpowers any whimsical desires such as an old love.
Hamlet does not handle Ophelia returning his gifts of love too well. In fact, he temporarily is mentally insane instead of merely acting like he is. Hamlet denies ever giving her the gifts. He also says that he never truly loved Ophelia which completely devestates her. Because he is not used to people confronting him so bluntly, Hamlet does not know how to react. He begins to criticize the female society as a whole, claiming that they are conniving and manipulative. However, he does not realize that he is the one deceiving and hurting Ophelia.
When Ophelia claims that she has "remembrances" of Hamlet's that she has "longed long to redeliver" (3.1.102-103), Hamlet becomes irrationally angry and lashes out at her. Already reeling from his father's murder and mother's quick remarriage, he is hurt even more by Ophelia's rejection and begins to insult her. He passingly mentions "I did love you once" (3.1.125), but shortly after, he asserts that "I loved you not" (3.1.129). Ophelia is shocked and hurt by his sudden harsh words toward her, and she only feels worse as Hamlet continues to rant against all women and orders Ophelia to "get thee to a nunnery (3.1.131). When Hamlet, still enraged, finally leaves, Ophelia is left confused, saddened, and hurt.
Nice comments, everyone. There seems to be a general consensus that Hamlet is confused and conflicted about his own feelings. In any case, everyone has shown that Hamlet reacted ... poorly to the rejection, with quotes such as: "...wise men know well enough what monsters you [women] make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too" (III. i. 133-135). For those who've yet to comment, elaborate upon the misogynistic views Hamlet expresses in his irate response, and how they reflect certain societal views of the time period.
Hamlet's response to Ophelia when she returns his gifts of courtship reflect the superiority of men during this time period. It was common in this time for men to court women, and for women to never make the first move or even reveal their interest in a man they wished to be with. Therefore, although Hamlet's response to Ophelia may seem completely rude and unreasonable, it was most likely how women were usually treated especially considering they were submissive beings in society who had little say in the actions of men.
Tripp, I like the scene that you chose for analysis! Much can be said about it! There were some wonderful, insightful comments left here! I will let Tripp make some commentary on what he considers to be the strongest points. Great job, everyone!
Good good everybody. Upon Ophelia's rejection of Hamlet and bowing down to her father's whims, Hamlet becomes further upset and appears to many as void of all sanity. Discuss the role of women as background influences on society and its relationship to the role of women in literature such as Heart of Darkness.
13 comments:
After being confronted by Ophelia, Hamlet denies having given her any gifts. He claims both to have loved Ophelia once and never to have loved her at all, and bitterly comments on the wretchedness of humankind. He even urges Ophelia to enter a nunnery rather than become a “breeder of sinners” (III.i.122–123).
He then goes on to criticize women for making men behave like monsters and for contributing to the world’s dishonesty by painting their faces to appear more beautiful than they are. In his rage, Hamlet denounces Ophelia, women, and humankind in general, saying that he wishes to end all marriages.
In response to Ophelia's attempts to return his gifts, Hamlet becomes enraged. In his fury he babbles confusedly about women in general and how they are deceptive creatures. Hamlet says that he loved Ophelia at once, and then says he did not love her at all.
This rambling proves that Hamlet has not fully comprehended his emotions towards Ophelia. Furthermore, Hamlet has alot of issues on his mind, such as the appearance of his father's ghost and his deceitful uncle. Generally, the speech that Hamlet returns to Ophelia's request gives him the image of a dazed, confused individual.
To set off Ophelia's entrance, Hamlet has just finished his famous "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy in which he muses about the dreadfulness in the length that life gives. He basically questions his own existence, noting that the actions the players took as their characters were more brave and more defined than those that he could take himself. In essence, he realizes that he realyl hasn't done anything to avenge his father's death.
Enter Ophelia. She tells him that she has come to return the gifts that he gave her out of courtship. He says that he never gave her any favors. Confused, she describes the gifts. He chides, "That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beatuy" (III.i.107-108). He goes on to say that he loved her once, only to disprove this statement with brevity by stating that he never loved her. He goes evven further to say that all women are basically deceitful.lying harlots that use their beauty to get what they want; but he's directing this toward Ophelia. He leaves enraged, as Ophelia is left alone to wonder what just happened.
When Ophelia approaches Hamlet in an attempt to return the gifts he has given to her during their romance, Hamlet denies ever having given her gifts. He babbles on, admitting that he did love Ophelia, but later contradicts himself, saying he never loved her at all. Hamlet goes on to condemn women for being decieving and sneaky, urging Ophelia to join a convent.
Hamlet's bazaar response marks a moment when his madness is not feigned. His feelings about women have stemmed from his hatred for his uncle and the disappointment he feels for his mother, since she married him so soon after Hamlet's father's death. The confusion and distress Hamlet feels about his mother's hasty actions, and his inability to express these emotions efficiently, affects the way he feels and acts towards Ophelia.
Hamlet becomes very upset when Ophelia returns Hamlet's gifts of love. First, he denies even giving her the offering, which offends Ophelia. His sadness flares into rage when he then tells her that he never even loved her. Sensing that he is being spied upon during this meeting, he asks Ophelia where her father is. Although she says he is home, Hamlet doesn't believe her.
He throws various insults at her such as, "...wise men know well enough what monsters you [women] make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too" (III. i. 133-135). Then, he rants about how all women are conniving and two-faced. He is infuriated and fed up with women at this point. Between his dark "to be, or not to be" monologue and the argument with Ophelia, Hamlet is emotionally distraught.
The last thing Hamlet says to Ophelia before he leaves her is "To a nunnery, go" (1629). That, in addition to insulting her morality, is strongly saying Hamlet has no love for her and he wishes for her to be in a place where she cannot reach him and bother him with her tireless ravings and proclamations of love.
Hamlet has just finished the soliloquy, and at this point he is questioning existence and why he should live when the world has seemingly turned against him.
However, it seems apparent that at one point or another, Hamlet harbored feelings for Ophelia, but is now conflicted about how he should act toward her. Consequently, he is unable to sort through his own feelings, but does feel that the necessity of revenge overpowers any whimsical desires such as an old love.
Hamlet does not handle Ophelia returning his gifts of love too well. In fact, he temporarily is mentally insane instead of merely acting like he is. Hamlet denies ever giving her the gifts. He also says that he never truly loved Ophelia which completely devestates her. Because he is not used to people confronting him so bluntly, Hamlet does not know how to react. He begins to criticize the female society as a whole, claiming that they are conniving and manipulative. However, he does not realize that he is the one deceiving and hurting Ophelia.
When Ophelia claims that she has "remembrances" of Hamlet's that she has "longed long to redeliver" (3.1.102-103), Hamlet becomes irrationally angry and lashes out at her. Already reeling from his father's murder and mother's quick remarriage, he is hurt even more by Ophelia's rejection and begins to insult her. He passingly mentions "I did love you once" (3.1.125), but shortly after, he asserts that "I loved you not" (3.1.129). Ophelia is shocked and hurt by his sudden harsh words toward her, and she only feels worse as Hamlet continues to rant against all women and orders Ophelia to "get thee to a nunnery (3.1.131). When Hamlet, still enraged, finally leaves, Ophelia is left confused, saddened, and hurt.
Nice comments, everyone. There seems to be a general consensus that Hamlet is confused and conflicted about his own feelings. In any case, everyone has shown that Hamlet reacted ... poorly to the rejection, with quotes such as: "...wise men know well enough what monsters you [women] make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too" (III. i. 133-135). For those who've yet to comment, elaborate upon the misogynistic views Hamlet expresses in his irate response, and how they reflect certain societal views of the time period.
Hamlet's response to Ophelia when she returns his gifts of courtship reflect the superiority of men during this time period. It was common in this time for men to court women, and for women to never make the first move or even reveal their interest in a man they wished to be with. Therefore, although Hamlet's response to Ophelia may seem completely rude and unreasonable, it was most likely how women were usually treated especially considering they were submissive beings in society who had little say in the actions of men.
Tripp, I like the scene that you chose for analysis! Much can be said about it! There were some wonderful, insightful comments left here! I will let Tripp make some commentary on what he considers to be the strongest points. Great job, everyone!
Good good everybody. Upon Ophelia's rejection of Hamlet and bowing down to her father's whims, Hamlet becomes further upset and appears to many as void of all sanity. Discuss the role of women as background influences on society and its relationship to the role of women in literature such as Heart of Darkness.
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