"His greatness weighed, his will is not his own, for he is subject to his birth."[pg. 1106] This quote from Laertes to his sister, Ophelia, is stating that Hamlet is a victim of circumstance. Hamlet, who has been attempting to get with Ophelia, is a prince, which means that he may not have a choice in who he marries. He had been making advances at Ophelia's affection and she has been receiving them well. But, Laertes has been warning her not to get too emotionally involved with Hamlet. In her other ear is her father, Polonius, who is calling her naive and stupid for falling in love with Hamlet. It seems, in a sense, that Ophelia is now being put in the very position that Hamlet has been assumed in.

Ophelia seems to be very weak and submissive, which I understand was the characteristic that all women were to have in these times. She bases her decisions around what her brother and father tell her to do, rather than merely dismiss their words as advice. Laertes called their relationship a fad, and Ophelia didn't even challenge the comment. "Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood; a violet in the youth of primy nature, forward, not permanent; sweet not lasting; the perfume

He asks what is going on between her and Hamlet, and she tells him how he has been making advances towards her. And no sooner than she says that, Polonius calls her a naive, inexperienced girl for believing Hamlet. Polonius has a pre-conceived notion that Hamlet is out to deliberately hurt Ophelia - which is even more of a drastic accusation than Laertes'. "Affection? Pooh! You speak like a green girl, unsifted in such perilous circumstance. Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?"[pg. 1108] "Think yourself a baby that you have taken these tenders for true pay, which are not sterling."[pg. 1108] Ophelia does try to defend him. She tells of how his love has all been "*honorable", and compares his affection to "*the holy vows of heaven"[*pg. 1108] But Polonius says she is falling for a trap. He not only adds on to what Laertes says, but he takes it a step further by implying Hamlet is only looking for some easy sex. Polonius too believes that Hamlet will have !

and suppliance of a minute; no more."[pg. 1106] Ophelia's response was, "No more but so?" [pg. 1106] A person who is in love with someone, and thinks enough of them, is going to stand up for that person and defend their relationship. So when she responded like this, it was almost like fuel for Laertes to share even more of his opinions.

Things were different back in these times, but Ophelia needs to listen to her heart and not her family. By standing up to them,

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 980
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)