Blog #24: Hamlet Act 4 Social Media Post

Please do not let it be true! According to Peter J Seng's recent newspaper article, Ophelia is dead. She was found lying in a stream, similar to that of a beautiful mermaid. I was not a perfect boyfriend by any means, but I blame her death squarely on Polonius and Laertes - individuals who unknowingly caused her great uneasiness and mistrust that was "so ingrained in her father and brother".

It is true anger directed at my mother found its way to Ophelia at times. This is embodied when I stated that "You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it" (3.1.119-120). Please understand, good Ophelia, that this dark side of myself came from about by my mother's poor actions and my father's murder. Make no mistake, I was blinded during this point in my life.

Polonius and Laertes caused many of Ophelia's struggles later in life. As Seng says, "The interview with Ophelia may have begun as a rash and frightened father's attempt to warn his daughter about the ways of the world, but it ends as groundless slander." Laertes was never in favor of our relationship, at one point even stating "Perhaps he loves you now, And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch
The virtue of his will, but you must fear" (1.3.14-16). We were happy. There was nothing disingenuous about our young love. Alas, her downfall is clearly indicated by the "distorted vision of the world that Polonius and Laertes impress on Ophelia." Even with the bias, Ophelia still understood my good heart, "my honored lord, you know right well you did, and with them words of so sweet breath composed" (3.1.99-101). I will always appreciate her faith in me, even when others encouraged her to spy and report back.

And let's not forget, Ophelia would have never gone insane if Polonius had not spied on me and my mother in her own bedroom. "Behind the arras I’ll convey myself To hear the process. I’ll warrant she’ll tax him home" (3.2.29-30) he once stated to King Claudius, according to multiple reports. His political cunning was the death of him, and ironically, the death of his daughter he once cared so much about. Polonius was a grotesque man that I do not forgive. Of course, we all know this because I once said "If your messenger find him not there, seek him i' th' other place yourself" (4.3.34-36). I only wish his life was spared so Ophelia could still be alive. Perhaps now both of our lives (and afterlives) can escape expectation that acted as giant weights on our shoulders. Maybe now we can truly be ourselves.

-Hamlet