Hamlet's Thoughts on Ophelia, Polonius, and Laertes

HAMLET is walking down the corridor of Elsinore Castle at dawn. He appears mournful and
distraught. His sad, mournful eyes lift up towards the sky as he halts for a brief moment.
HAMLET:
The emptiness in my heart speaks of a thousand words. It echoes the love I had for beloved
Ophelia who I cannot believe is no longer a part of my life. How can that be? It seems just like
yesterday when I heard her love confession. I briefly remember it the day when she left me in
anger. But what could I have done? I believed it to be Claudius I was aiming my sword at but it
instead turned out to be Polonius. Although I, myself do feel guilty about getting blood on my
hands but the loss of Ophelia saddens every part of my soul.
I clearly remember when I first laid my eyes on Ophelia. The gleam in her eyes captivated me in
the very first moment and I found myself being compassionate towards for her as days passed.
(sighs) Soon after, I realised those feelings had bloomed into something more. I found it was
love. But this feeling was accompanied by a certain distance in the form of your father. He was
nothing but an old fool who greed for more, being the perpetrator of my father’s death and
usurping his throne. Due to this, a feeling of distaste always accompanied me whenever I
thought about Ophelia as she was the daughter of the person who killed my father and married
my mother. Polonius’s character was clearly mirrored in his actions. As the saying goes, one’s
actions are reflected on their characters. Polonius made his distasteful character very clear by
being friends with Claudius!
HAMLET: It disgusts me to even think that I am associated with Claudius and to think that a
man like him is my uncle. The most unsavoury taste fills my mouth at the very thought of him.
Anger boils in my blood when I think how he had successfully schemed behind my father’s back
and managed to murder him! His repulsiveness knows no bounds since he has not only been able
to take hold of the kingdom but also marry my mother! How could he dare to replace the throne
which my father sat upon? Did he think he would get away with the heinous crime that he had
committed? I vow to myself that I would see to the end of this. In no way can I see that
treacherous man take away all the hard work of my father through these wicked schemes.
Thinking about these reasons only manages to fuel my distaste against Polonius.
HAMLET starts walking again, his face showings signs of anger and disgust.