Laertes to Ophelia

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Revised in-class essay Period 4 Giving advice to someone can be hard because you don’t always know how the other person is going to react. But the speech also has to maintain a certain persona as well. In act one scene three Laertes’ advice to Ophelia, Shakespeare uses a metaphor and juxtaposition to illustrate to Ophelia that Hamlet cannot love her and gives Laertes a protective persona and also of someone who think of the future. Laertes is a concerned for Ophelia’s well being in this speech and doesn’t want to see his sister get hurt in the end of this young puppy love Hamlet has for her. Laertes uses a metaphor of a flower to represent Ophelia and a worm to represent Hamlet. “The canker galls the infants of the spring/ Too oft before their [buds] be disclosed” (i.iii.43-44). The cankerworm, which is Hamlet, destroys the early spring blossom which is Ophelia. Laertes is letting Ophelia know that Hamlet is destroying her and holding her down. Shakespeare uses this metaphor to give the reader/audience an image in their minds of what Laertes thinks of Hamlet and what he is doing to Ophelia. The image of a blossom is beautiful, starting to grow to its full potential, sprouting, young, innocent, etc. But when a worm comes and eats/destroys the blossom, it is no longer beautiful, worthy, long-lasting, innocent, but becomes warn-down and not useful. When Laertes says this advice to Ophelia it gives her the picture that because Hamlet cannot love her, she should not become attached, for if she does, she will become warned down and tired. This strategy of a metaphor characterizes Laertes as someone who thinks of the future and is wise and logical. Using the flower metaphor allows him to show Ophelia that in the future she will be the broken down blossom, while the worm grows on to become King. It also shows that Laertes is protective of his sister because he

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