Love to the point of insanity

During the play Hamlet, we witness the young couple Hamlet and Ophelia share their stories with us, but to an extend, there are a lot of mixed emotions going on. Many may agree that Hamlet loves Ophelia, while some may disagree with that fact, I however, agree that Hamlet does love Ophelia.

Up to the 'Nunnery scene' everything that Hamlet did with Ophelia showed how much he truly loved her, for instance if we take a look at the letters he sent her, they show how crazy in love he was. 

 “Doubt thou the stars are fire,

 Doubt that the sun doth move,

 Doubt truth to be a liar,

 But never doubt I love.

 O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. I have not art to reckon my groans, but that I love thee 

    best, oh, most best, believe it. Adieu." (Act II, Scene II, 115 - 121)

Till this point all we see from Hamlet is just pure love to Ophelia, but what's to come is the cause of us wondering if he truly ever loved her or not. During Act III, Scene 1, While Polonius and Claudius hang out in the back to creep on Ophelia and Hamlet, Hamlet mentions than he does NOT love Ophelia, but that he did once love her. "This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof, I did love you once" (Act III, Scene I, 114 - 115). But as we all know, this is just Hamlet being the trickster he is, since he has doubts that her father is still watching them, he tells Ophelia to get to a nunnery, which to our perspective, is absolutely no act of love "Get thee to a nunnery, why, wouldst thou be a  breeder of sinners?" (Act III, Scene I, 121 - 122) But Hamlet asks her not to believe him several time throughout this scene "You should have not believed me" (Act III, Scene I, 117) "We are arrant knaves all, believe none of us." (Act III, Scene I, 129 - 130) , even before he started the nunnery scene and was ending  his soliloquy when he told her "The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remember'd" (Act III, Scene I, 89 - 90). Hamlet did all of this in order for him to protect Ophelia from what's about to happen, while maintaining his 'madness', he hints that something bad is going to happen to a married couple, except one of them, and him telling her to go to a nunnery was him trying to get her out of this whole situation, like putting her in a safe place. "I say we will have no mo marriage. Those that are married already--all but one--shall live; the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go." (Act III, Scene II, 149 - 151). Both of them loved each other, even during 'madness' Hamlet still pointed out that he loves her and their love drove her to insanity too, even at her final moments, she was still mentioning Hamlet and how he said he loved her. 

I agree with a point that Drew mentioned " Hamlet sounds like he's telling Ophelia she is crazy and she should never have babies for they will be evil. That is what Ophelia perceives until later on in the play when she realized that Hamlet meant that he cares for her and would let no man love her, but himself. " this explains how Hamlet always really never meant to hurt her but it was all just a huge misunderstanding that lead to Ophelia's death.


Yo Breaton, I have no idea what's up with the formatting and why it has a white background sort of thing there, I tried fixing it but nothing's really changing.