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Hamlet Relationship Between Laertes And Ophelia

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Shakespeare's Hamlet, is a tale of the dramatic downfall of the prince of Denmark and through a series of unfortunate events, the entire royal family. That ends with power passing over to the neighboring, and probably less complicated country. The conventional story of revenge and vengeance contains its own dark twists and complex aspects that Shakespeare explored and transformed throughout the five act play. One of which being the way Shakespeare utilizes a multitude of different of relationships rooted in family and romance, the most controversial being a mixture of the two; incestual love. An example of this sick type of relationship is between the only mother-son bond Shakespeare included in the play, Gertrude and young Hamlet. While …show more content…

Laertes conveys his advice using imagery and with strong emphasis on her virginity and sex, he warns her “[do not] lose your heart or your chaste treasure open/To his unmastered importunity,” (Act I, Scene III). Generally speaking, when describing your sister's virginity is not to immediately compare it to a “chaste treasure” or anything sembling of desire. The fact that Laertes does and continues to do so implies that there is more to the advice then just brotherly mentoring but something bordering jealousy. Verity's then goes as far as comparing her and Hamlets hypothetical intercourse to a worm invading a beautiful, delicate flower before it has time to bloom (Act I, Scene III). By describing his sister female genitalia in such a way turns her into sexual, desired object, which is uncharacteristic and a strictly brother to sister relationship to say the least. It can also be said that his fixation with keeping her pure implies and conveys his own impurity for wanting her. In fact, just the act of describing his sister having sex is not typical action a brother would seek to do unless he has alternative interest in the

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