and death through the main character of Hamlet and the supporting characters that he affects.

Although Hamlet has a profound impact on every character in the play, the effects on Ophelia,

Polonius, and Claudius seem to be the most significant.

The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia rapidly changes with the modifications of

Hamlet's state of mind. Initially, Hamlet and Ophelia are assumed to be having a love affair;

one that is not supported by her brother Laertes or her father Polonius. When Hamlet is told

about the murder of his father, he decides to take revenge on Claudius, but in order to do so

he must act mad so that the king will not realize Hamlet's plan. The king, queen, and others

in the court become aware of Hamlet's change of mind. As a result, Polonius and Claudius set

up Ophelia to talk to Hamlet and try to discover he is acting the way he is acting. The

confrontation begins with Hamlet's famous soliloquy of "To be, or not to be." When Ophelia

enters Hamlet harangues her with an onslaught of confusing insults such as line 119 when he

says, "Get thee to a nunnery" or lines 138-139, "God has / given you one face a

Some topics in this essay:
Polonius Claudius, II Scene, Realizing King's, King Denmark, Polonius Hamlet, Claudius Hamlet, , Hamlet Ophelia, IV Scene, Gertrude Claudius, play hamlet, polonius claudius, hamlet's actions, hamlet ophelia, affected hamlet's actions, ophelia polonius, act ii, polonius hamlet, ii scene, hamlet polonius, affected hamlet's, act ii scene, interaction hamlet polonius,