“Doubt thou the
stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But
never doubt I love” (II. ii. 124-127).
Hamlet includes
this quotation in a letter that he writes to Ophelia. In the beginning of the
play, Hamlet is focused on how people represent themselves and what type of
person they actually are. He is unable to fake who he is and he does not
understand how a person can pretend to be something they are not. He now is instilling
his values in Ophelia because he wants her to doubt everything around her that
seems obvious except for Hamlet’s love for her. Hamlet is also giving a kind of
warning to Ophelia to make sure that she knows that everything is not what it
seems. Hamlet possibly wants to make sure that even when everyone believes he
is crazy, he wants Ophelia to know that he is acting rationally, and that his
motives are just unclear to other people.
Hamlet in scene
II, begins to change his characterization as well, because when he sees the
actors he acknowledges their intensity when they are acting. He believes that
he is not expressing the same urgency with his plan to get revenge on Claudius
for King Hamlet’s death. Hamlet then begins to express more emotion about his
plan, but that goes against his typical values, because he is now acting.
Hamlet is beginning to hold exceptions to his own morals for himself.
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