Jalen Smith (Hamlet Close Reading)

Jalen Smith

Analysis Of A Hamlet Quote

Laertes and Ophelia’s Confrontation 

Important Information From Scene: Act 1 Scene 3 page 39-40

Quote:

Think it no more.                                                 

For nature, crescent, does not grow alone 

In thews and (bulk) but, as this temple waxes,

The inward service of the mind and soul

Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now,

And now no soil nor cautel doth demirch

The virtue of his will; but you must fear, 

His greatness weighed, his will is not his own,

(For he himself is subject to his birth.)

He may not, as unvalued persons do,

Carve for himself, for on his choice depends

The safety and the health of this whole state.

And therefore must his choice be circumscribed

Unto the voice and yielding of that body

Whereof he is the head. Then, if he says he loves you,

As he in his particular act and place

May give his saying deed, which is no further

Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.

Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain

If with too credent ear you list his songs

Or lose your heart or your chaste treasure open

To his unmastered importunity.

Fear it, Ophelia; fear it, my dear sister,

And keep you in the rear of your affection,

Out of the shot and danger of desire.

Analysis:

William Shakespeare, the legendary dramatist, has been recognized for his ability to create such dramatic characters that can lie within every reader. There are many examples listed throughout Shakespeare's most well told stories, one entitled Hamlet. One remarkable example is the deep conversation between both Ophelia and Laertes. The two both discuss the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet. In the beginning of this scene Laertes is preparing to go away for quite some time. While Laertes is preparing himself, his sister Ophelia enters and they both begin to review everything that has to be done while he is gone. While reviewing Laertes offers additional advice to Ophelia.

The advice that he provided was about Hamlet. Laertes mentions to Ophelia that she should just consider thinking that Hamlet thinks of her as a hot blooded youth and that their relationship won’t last. Laertes thinks that everything is sweet and also believes that Hamlets affections towards her will all fade away very soon. As the reader of this passage it actually seems as though even though Ophelia and Hamlet are both deeply in love and they would like to be together Laertes is trying to do everything in his power to try and stop their thriving relationship. When the reader analyzes the tensions between what Laertes is thinking about Hamlet and what Ophelia is thinking about Hamlet it turns out to be completely different.  It seems as though Laertes kind of shows some type of hatred towards Hamlet. 

As Laertes starts talking to Ophelia he mentions some very important things which help reveal his actual concern for Ophelia. He say’s “For nature, crescent, does not grow alone In thews and (bulk) but, as the temple waxes, The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal.” Through this quote Laertes is suggesting that Hamlet not only gets bigger in his body but his responsibilities have to grow also. This quote seemed to be very challenging but I had to really dig deep and take my time to try and understand exactly what he was talking about. In the next sentence Laertes says, “Perhaps he loves you now, And now no soil nor cautel doth demirch The virtue of his will; but you must fear, His greatness weighed, his will is not his own, (For he himself is subject to his birth.)” Laertes is trying to encourage the situation in someway by stating Hamlets love for Ophelia however he believes that she has to become cautious of his actions towards her. He then says that she must remember that he belongs to a family of high authority and his intentions don’t really matter that much at all. 

After making that clear Laertes then mentions, “He may not, as unvalued persons do, Carve himself, for on his choice depends The safety and the health of this whole state. And Therefore must his choice be circumscribed Uno the voice and yielding of that body Whereof he is the head.” This quote stood out to me because Laertes is saying to Ophelia that Hamlet can’t really make personal choices for himself because the country depends on what he does as a person. The choices that he makes for himself have to agree with the whole nation of Denmark. This situation is thoroughly indicated in some cases. He goes on and says, “It fits your wisdom so far to believe it As he in his particular act and place May give his saying deed, which is no further Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.” Laertes is basically saying that if Hamlet loves Ophelia, she should be wise enough to see that his words only mean as much as the state of Denmark allows them to mean. This quote was very interesting.

Then he says, “Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain If with loss your honor may sustain If with too credent ear you list his songs, Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open To his unmastered importunity.” Ophelia in this case should think about how shameful it would be for her to fall for his flirtatious conversations and should surrender her treasure to his importunity. One of the last important quotes that Laertes said to Ophelia was, “Fear it, Ophelia; fear it, my dear sister, And keep you in the rear of your affection, Out of the shot and danger of desire.” From this quote Laertes is warning Ophelia about Hamlet’s ways and that she should keep her love under control for him. Laertes says that she shouldn’t become apart of his own desire. 

To conclude everything this work of Shakespeare goes to show that he is very creative with showing the audience how dramatic character can really lie within every reader.