Act 2. Scene 1. 85-97
"OPHELIA: O, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted!
POLONIUS: With what, i'th' name of God?
OPHELIA: "My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced,
No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled,
Ungartered, and down-gyved to his ankle,
Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other,
And with a look so piteous in purport
As if he had been loosed out of hell
To speak of horrors -- he comes before me.
POLONIUS: Mad for thy love?
OPHELIA: My lord, I do not know,
But truly I do fear it."
Is this a made up visit by Hamlet or did it actually happen? This passage is one that involves much debate. Ophelia is speaking to her father and telling him of an odd occurrence with Hamlet that had made her weary of him and her love for him. However, this passage does seem to perhaps be just Ophelia attempting to cover up her true feelings for Hamlet in hopes that her father and brother will cease to nag her about her love interest.
This passage starts off with Ophelia expressing being "affrighted" to her father and seems to be very dramatic and disturbed. She seems to be very concerned and looks to her father for help and guidance, however, it does not seem all that realistic. If Ophelia truly loved Hamlet, would a surprise visit from him actually terrify to such an extent? To me, it seems slightly staged and rehearsed by Ophelia in hopes that her father with believe her. Of course, when one's daughter is that dramatic and concerned, it is only right to reply in a shocked and equally concerned manner with "what, i'th' name of God," signifying his utter confusion about the event.
After this response, Ophelia delved into the scene that took place between Hamlet and herself. She begins by respectfully referring to her father as "my lord" and continues by stating that she was simply "sewing in [her] closet," signifying that the visit from Hamlet was completely unexpected and that she was innocently completing womanly tasks when he arrived. She follows this up by describing Hamlet's dress and how disheveled he appeared. His "doublet all unbraced," "his stockings fouled," he had no hat; Hamlet was a disturbing mess to look at. Ophelia goes on to describe his pale complexion and knocking knees that disturbed her. She did not know how to react to his surprise appearance and made it seem as if she wanted nothing to do with Hamlet. She described the scene as one of "horrors" to her father who listens intently and then asks Ophelia if Hamlet is "mad for [Ophelia's] love" and wonders if that is why Hamlet is acting out in such unacceptable manners. Ophelia answers his question by claiming innocence and states that she does not know, but she "truly [does] fear it," as if protecting herself from criticism from her father. With this type of response, it seems like Ophelia is acting out this whole scenario and attempting to make her father see Hamlet in a different light, perhaps one that shows him as a man in love with her.
In this passage, it is unclear whether this appearance of Hamlet actually took place or whether is is made up by Ophelia to get a reaction out of her father. Ophelia clearly likes Hamlet and knows that her father and brother do not approve of this. If this scene is forged, it makes Hamlet seem like a man love struck for Ophelia, not one that will use her and forget about her like her family thinks. On the other hand, if this did truly happen, Ophelia's feelings towards Hamlet would be completely altered and this would cause confusion for the readers about how both she and Hamlet truly feel toward each other. This scene, to me, seems to be fictional because of the previous conversations with Ophelia and her father about Hamlet; Ophelia seems to be in love with Hamlet and Hamlet does not seem like to the type of man to show up looking like hell and talk to Ophelia randomly.
This piece includes a very thorough and well-said paraphrasal of the passage. I would disagree in saying that this is a scene of attention-seeking; rather, the question is whether Hamlet was acting or not. However, you do a good job of discussing Ophelia's dilemma. Great writing!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I think we all know how deceitful Hamlet can be, but I never even considered the possibility of Ophelia lying. There are a lot of good ideas here and I'd love to see more of them. Great job!
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