Act V, Scene i

"I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/Could not with all their quantity of love/Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?"

Hamlet (V.i.227-29)

This quote is significant to the play because it shows the truth, that Hamlet truly loved Ophelia. He finally admits it. This confession adds to the development and action of the play because it comes when it is too late, and Ophelia is already dead. 

This greatly adds to the sadness and tragedy of "Hamlet". It is especially tragic because in her final moments in life with Hamlet, he was crude and mean to her, telling her that he never did love her. Hamlet's hamartia is his uncertainty and overthinking, and in the end, it also led to him losing the love of his life.

• Comment on Shakespeare’s 2-3 literary devices you see

Shakespeare uses hyperbole to describe Hamlets love for Ophelia. He says that "Forty thousand brothers/Could not with all their quantity of love/Make up my sum." This hyperbole is significant to Hamlets character because it shows the reader the extent of how he feels, after being uncertain prior, from the beginning of the play. 

Shakespeare uses simile when Gertrude is describing Hamlets madness. She compares his actions to that of a dove, saying that in time he will be as calm as a dove that is waiting for her eggs to hatch. This adds to the theme of seeming versus being, because it appears to Gertrude, that Hamlet is mad or insane, when in reality, he is truly grieving over the loss of his love Ophelia. 

Another literary device included in this scene is analogy. Hamlet says "Let Hercules himself do what he may,/The cat will mew and the dog will have his day." He uses this allusion to explain that even someone as heroic as Hercules cannot change the facts, that cats will be cats and dogs will be dogs. This adds to the theme of revenge, because at the end of it all, even after Hamlet knows all of the truths about Claudius, he still wonders what he did for all of this to happen. It shows an innocence to Hamlets character, that he is just as moral as we are. 

• “Talk” to one or more of the characters in the scene a question. 

Self: Gertrude, how do you feel about the death of Ophelia?

Gertrude: Honestly, I am unsure as to whether she died accidentally or not. I do hope that it was not purposeful.

Self: I hope it was not as well.

Gertrude: Maybe this was the only way her sadness would alleviate, with her father dead and Hamlet crazy.

Self: Do you mean it when you say that you once had hopes of her being Hamlet's wife?

Gertrude: Why yes, Ophelia was such a lovely girl, to think that she has died so young. 

Self: Well, I hope that you and your son find peace with her death. 

• Discuss an allusion and analyze why you think Shakespeare chooses to use it where he does.

Laertes says "Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,/Till of this flat a mountain you have made,/T' o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head/Of blue Olympus." I think that Shakespeare chooses to use this allusion because it is almost as though Hamlet and Laertes are competing with one another over who loved Ophelia more. 

The allusion of Mount Pelion and Mount Olympus also serves as a hyperbole in comparison to Hamlets hyperbole. It shows the extent as to how much Laertes is grieving over his beloved sister Ophelia.