Amidst the dark and cumbersome mood of Hamlet, love intertwines itself into the plot as a powerful theme. Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. Many characters throughout the play are motivated by their desires and emotional attachment to another character. This is most prominently seen through the protagonist, Hamlet. Although, construed as a beneficial, pleasant and good state of mind, love leads to loss, devastation and pain. The theme takes on a number of faces throughout the play including Hamlet’s love for his father, the romantic love of Hamlet and Ophelia and Hamlet’s platonic bond with Horatio, his best friend. Shakespeare’s development of Hamlet and his relationships with other characters within this revenge tragedy
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(III.ii.63-75)
Horatio acts not as “passion’s slave”, though he holds the upmost admiration for Hamlet, he does not let it overrule him. At the end of the play, Horatio was about to commit the same passionate act of suicide as his friend had done. Hamlet begged him to live and tell his story. With a broken heart, “Now cracks a noble heart” (V. ii.359), Horatio alone executed the dying words of his true friend. Love is an underlying theme throughout the entire play, Hamlet. Perhaps because love is an underlying theme throughout life. Shakespeare does not show only the sunshine and flowers of love, not only the letters of true admiration, but he shows the pain, devastation, and loneliness that results from love. Hamlet sacrifices his sanity and love for Ophelia in order to seek revenge, due to his deep admiration for his father. This sacrifice leaves both Ophelia and Hamlet lonely in their love for one another. This loneliness drives Ophelia to suicide and later Hamlet follows her after finally succeeding in avenging his father. However, this leaves Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio, alone without his one true friend. It is through the relationships Hamlet has with various characters, Shakespeare portrays the negative affiliations of love. “Love is begun by time;/ …/Time qualifies the spark and fire of it” (IV.vii. 111-113), but be weary not to be burned by the flame of
(III.ii.63-75)
Horatio acts not as “passion’s slave”, though he holds the upmost admiration for Hamlet, he does not let it overrule him. At the end of the play, Horatio was about to commit the same passionate act of suicide as his friend had done. Hamlet begged him to live and tell his story. With a broken heart, “Now cracks a noble heart” (V. ii.359), Horatio alone executed the dying words of his true friend. Love is an underlying theme throughout the entire play, Hamlet. Perhaps because love is an underlying theme throughout life. Shakespeare does not show only the sunshine and flowers of love, not only the letters of true admiration, but he shows the pain, devastation, and loneliness that results from love. Hamlet sacrifices his sanity and love for Ophelia in order to seek revenge, due to his deep admiration for his father. This sacrifice leaves both Ophelia and Hamlet lonely in their love for one another. This loneliness drives Ophelia to suicide and later Hamlet follows her after finally succeeding in avenging his father. However, this leaves Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio, alone without his one true friend. It is through the relationships Hamlet has with various characters, Shakespeare portrays the negative affiliations of love. “Love is begun by time;/ …/Time qualifies the spark and fire of it” (IV.vii. 111-113), but be weary not to be burned by the flame of