The play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, follows the story of Hamlet after the murder of his father. Hamlet discovers that Claudius, his stepfather and uncle, has poisoned his brother and his father wants his death avenged. Claudius spies on Hamlet after discovering that Hamlet has learned the truth about his father's death by using Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, and Polonius' daughter Ophelia to reveal his true feelings. After Hamlet finds out, he decides to act like a madman to weaken Claudius. He also behaves madly with his lover Ophelia, who is described as "... a cult figure who embodies their turbulent hopes" (Romanska 485). This raises the question of whether Hamlet truly loved Ophelia because if he truly loved her, he would still act like a gentleman rather than a madman. From the way he acted towards Ophelia when he was alone with her, he showed that his feelings for her were true. Hamlet's actions throughout the play show that he was truly in love with Ophelia. The audience can see that Hamlet truly loved Ophelia when he said to her, “I loved you” (Shakespeare III 125). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In this scene, Hamlet confesses that he loves her, but then goes on to say that he never loved her. This may be because Hamlet knew that his conversation with Ophelia was being watched, which explains the confusion as to whether he loved her or not. Furthermore, in the love letter he wrote for her, Hamlet wrote “never doubt to love” (Shakespeare II 127). He tells her that among everything around her that may not be true, his love for her is real. This is the only time before Ophelia's death that Hamlet reveals his true feelings. This may be because, once Ophelia received the letter, she gave it to her father. Hamlet did not trust Polonius and from then on Hamlet knew that he had to hide his love for Ophelia and act like a fool to protect her. Throughout the play, Hamlet's love for Ophelia is questioned such as when Laertes said "Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting." (Shakespeare I 7-8). Several pieces of knowledge about Hamlet's psychological state can be analyzed through the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. The words “I have worshiped Ophelia forty thousand brethren/Could not, with all their amount of worship, constitute my total.” ' (Shakespeare 296). Hamlet is subjected to falsifications of what love entails due to his puberty, demonstrated by his cruel words to Ophelia and inability to convey his problems and worries to her. Additionally, Ophelia and Hamlet's relationship is influenced by how he views claiming his mother and women in general. This is demonstrated by Hamlet's order "Go to a nunnery", which reveals that he believes all women are prostitutes. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay What is Hamlet is actually trying to confuse the other characters and make it seem like he doesn't love Ophelia, even though he really does. Hamlet did not want Ophelia to get involved in case Claudius decided to take revenge on Hamlet. Hamlet demonstrates his love for Ophelia when he confesses that he loves her, when he tells her to go to a convent to protect her, when he sends her the letter and when he finds out that she is dead. Although many would argue that Hamlet never loved Ophelia, he was just trying to throw the spies in a different direction, but he did in fact love her. Works Cited: Beidel, D.C., Bulik, C.M., & Stanley, M.A. (2011). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Pearson.Clancy, T. (2013). American Sniper: