Explore the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. Think about the following: Does
he love her then stop loving her? What is revealed about Hamlet by the encounters we see
between Ophelia and him? What is revealed about Ophelia? What is revealed about
Hamlet and Ophelia in Ophelias descriptions of encounters we dont see? Do Hamlet
and Ophelia have sex? In what way, if any, does Hamlets being sent to England and his
responsibility for Polonius death have to do with Ophelias drowning?
For example, in Act 3, Scene1, Hamlet denies ever having given Ophelia anything and
treats her shabbily. Shakespeare gives Ophelia a soliloquy, O, what a noble mind is here
oerthrown (3.1.150-162). Explore the meaning of this speech and what it tells us about
Ophelias feelings for Hamlet.
