PRACTICE FREE RESPONSE QUESTION 4: Read the following passage from Act Ill, scene i. In a well-written essay, examine how this description of Hamlet’s character challenges the reader’s previous evaluation and contributes to the overall tragedy of the play. Avoid plot summary. OPHELIA: 0, what a noble mind is here o’erthrownl The courtiers, scholart, soldierb, […]
Do you think Hamlet’s words and behavior here reflect true love and respect for Ophelia, or is he motivated by a selfish focus on his own image and his need to compete with Laertes?
Does Hamlet love Ophelia? When Hamlet returns to Denmark in Act 5, his first public act is to attack Laertes and declare, “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum” (5.1. 285-287). Do you believe Hamlet’s claim that he truly loved Ophelia or […]