The Relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia Essay

The Relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia - Essay Example The specific aspects of each character of the play as well as the relationships among these different characters have attracted critics to undertake vital studies which bring out essential truths about the play. Thus, the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is one of the essential topics of discussion with regard to the characterization in Hamlet which can help the readers comprehend the influential aspects of the characterization in the play. There are conflicting views among the critics regarding the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. While there is an important argument by several critics that the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia was true and a true love story, while another strong view which suggests that it was not true love story. There have been several complex elements in the character of Hamlet as well as Ophelia which make it even more complicated to understand the relationship between the two characters. Along with the complexities in the two characters, t he intricacy concerning the most important theme of the play, i.e. revenge, also make it difficult to make a straightforward conclusion about the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. ... ctory references to the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia can never be resolved to the satisfaction of everyone May Shakespeare have been purposely ambiguous Hamlet is not a love story. Who first rejected whom is not crucial to the central dramatic issue. Polonius has ordered Ophelia to deny Hamlet access, and she says she has done so. Hamlet has said he would cut himself off from all normal ties, and Ophelia reports that he has, in effect, said good-bye to her, an implication that is confirmed by Hamlet's detached control at the opening of the Nunnery Scene." 1Therefore, it is significant to comprehend the facts about the true nature of the relationship between the two characters. This paper makes a reflective analysis of the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia which is essential to comprehend some of the fundamental aspects of the characterization as well as the overall plot of the play Hamlet. In the play Hamlet, the development of the characters has a major role in determining the plot and themes of the play and the relationship among the various characters is the central factor contributing to the credibility of the tragic elements in the play. Thus, the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is the single most important factor illustrating the developments of the characters and characterization. There is essential love relationship between the two, though there are critics who disagree with this argument. "He [Hamlet] is in love with Ophelia, and the two lovers are in harmony with one another and with the purest and highest impulses of their own hearts. They are a pair of 'star-crossed lovers,' like Romeo and Juliet, who fell in an unequal strife, from the circumstances of the outer world. Hamlet struggles betwixt love and duty; his malady is as