Hamlet+Act+4

" I would/ give you some violets, but they withered all when/ my father died" (4.5.207-209) Ophelia says this when speaking with the King, Queen and Laertes. She has a whole piece about flowers, but I chose these lines in particular because I believe she is saying that Hamlet is the violets and she would have the violets, but they all withered when her father died. So when Hamlet killed her father their chances of ever being together died. And although she will not admit that Hamlet killed her father, I think she knows and I think the loss she experiences in loosing her father, and then having the man she loves shipped away is all too much for her to handle. Since she is that very classic damsel in distress here, she is unable to handle the real world and what occurs everyday in reality. " My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!" (4.4.69) This quote impacted me because it reminded me of the idea "I think therefore I am". It is almost as though Hamlet is living off of the thought of killing his uncle. It is his sole goal in life and consumes his every waking moment and thought. He has an ongoing internal debate about whether or not he should kill his uncle, but is constantly degrading himself calling himself a coward for thinking about it too much. It is murder and therefore not something to be taken lightly, and I think dealing with the fact of his mother marrying his uncle, his uncle killing his father and now being forced to kill his uncle and having murdered an innocent bystander is too much for anyone to even try to deal with and he should accept the fact that not everything is black and white, not everything action demands a reaction, and it is good to think through actions. "How much I had to calm his rage!/ Now fear I this will give it start again" (4.7.219-220) This quote gave me pause because I am not sure why the king would want Laertes clam and collected. Murder is not an action that can be rationalized, and I think that if Laertes was able to calm down and given the chance to think through his actions like Hamlet was given, he would not commit the murder. Passion is required for such an act and Hamlet has shown how difficult it is to commit murder when not furious and completely betrayed. Laertes should be kept in an angered state of mind, if I was the king I would try and convince Laertes that the death of his sister was a direct result of Hamlet. However, perhaps the king was just saying this to throw off the queen's suspicions as to their actions. Perhaps he simply wants her to think he wants him calm.