The Elizabethan play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is without a doubt one of
Shakespeare's most puzzling plays. Although the play has a concise story, it is filled
with many questions pertaining to different topics behind the story line. One question in
particular is did Hamlet really love Ophelia? This argument can be supported in both
directions, however I feel that Hamlet did love Ophelia. Support for this decision comes
from Hamlet's treatment towards Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 2, and at Ophelia's grave in
The play Hamlet is about the trials, and tribulations met by Prince Hamlet, as he tries to
seek revenge for his father's murder. Since, Hamlet discovers the murder of his father,
and the adultery and incest committed by his mother he retains a very bitter and
pessimistic view of the world. "That the Everlasting had not fixed His cannon 'gainst
self-slaughter ... how weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this
world." (14 Act 1 Scene 2 Line 131). It is through his soliloquy's that the audience
learns the depths of Hamlet's depression. Hamlet not only regards the world with
pessimism, but he also has suicidal feelings. The main reason at this point for his anger
and frustration, is his mother's abrupt marriage to Claudius. The actions of his mother
seem to be what disgusts him most as he yells, "frailty thy name is woman!" (14 Act 1
Scene 2 Line 146). It is this attitude that Hamlet has developed towards his mother
and women in general that plays a factor on his later treatment of Ophelia in Act 3.
Once Hamlet discovers the cause of his father's death, he assumes the disposition of a
mad man to disguise his true intentions of revenge. By doing so Hamlet is now able to
do, as he wants to, without being questioned of his behavior. It may be the reader's
opinion that he does this on one occasion during which he visits Ophelia.
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