Hamlet Debate Introduction and Second Speaker Speech

Introduction: "Love Does Exist in Denmark"

             Good morning Madam Chairwoman, Presiding Officer, Honourable Judges, Patient Time Keeper, Worthy Opponents and my Esteemed Colleagues. I would like to ask one question before I begin. Do you all hope to fall madly in love? Today, we are here to debate the resolution: "Love does not exist in Denmark." However, we, the negative team, strongly deny the resolution and believe that "Love does exist in Denmark." William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, is a tragedy set in the Kingdom of Denmark. Firstly, I would like to introduce the characters in Hamlet. Hamlet: the prince of Denmark who is the nephew of Claudius. Claudius: the present King of Denmark, and uncle of Hamlet. Gertrude: the Queen of Denmark and Hamlet's mother. Horatio: the true friend to Hamlet. Polonius: the chief counselor to the king. Laertes and Ophelia: son and daughter to Polonius respectively. In addition, Ophelia is also in a relationship with Hamlet. Now before moving on, please allow me to clarify the burdens of this debate. As the negative, we must only prove to you that there is the existence of love in Denmark. It is important to note that this debate is not about whether love is forever and never changed, but rather that any form of love exists in Denmark, such as romantic love or platonic love. Having said this, our value is the existence of love in any form. To further clarify, I offer the following definitions. According to the Oxford Dictionary, love is defined as a strong feeling of affection and platonic is defined as (of love or friendship) intimate and affectionate but not sexual. We, the negative team, are going to deny the resolution as there are three kinds of love in Denmark: Eros, Philia, and Storge. Eros is romantic love, which is about sexual love, desire, and passion. Philia is also called deep friendship, which is about loyalty, sacrifice, and also sharing your emotions with your friends. Storge is called family love, which is about a love between parent and their child. Since the resolution asks us to evaluate the existence of love in Denmark, these are clearly of the highest value for the debate. Today, I, as the first speaker on the negative side, am strongly against the resolution as it is shown that there is love between Hamlet and Ophelia. This relationship is the best representative example of Eros. Eros is not an altruistic love, but about loving a partner and oneself who is loved by a partner. This is proven through various examples in the play that we are going to present. Our second speaker on the negative side will elaborate how love exists in Denmark with the example of the relationship between Claudius and Gertrude. This relationship is about romantic love as well. Yes, two months after the death of King Hamlet, Gertrude marries Claudius who was her husband's brother. However, if they do not love each other, it does not make sense that they get married right after the death of King Hamlet. Then, our second speaker will also disagree with the resolution with examples of the relationship between Hamlet and Horatio, and Hamlet and Laertes. Through these relationships, we will find the platonic love which is also called Philia. Their bond is consistent throughout the play. Of course they do not share a sexual love, however, they understand and rely on each other. Our third speaker will deny the resolution and prove the existence of love with the example of a relationship between Hamlet and his father (King Hamlet). The third speaker will talk about this relationship as the example of Storge which is family love. As the proverb says 'blood is thicker than water.' Philia is the strongest love because whatever one does, it is love just the same. If there is no pain, how can you say you are in love? There is no love without risk, and there is no love without suffering. Please keep this in your mind during the debate. Thank you.

Second Speaker Speech: "Love Does Exist in Denmark"

             I negate the resolution: "Love does not exist in Denmark." The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia definitely shows romantic love, which is also called Eros. Eros is perilous, burning, and an irrational form of love. This appears through various examples in the play. The first observation is Hamlet's love of Ophelia. It is important that we do not confuse the way that Hamlet expresses his love. Because Hamlet pretends to be a person who loses his mind in order to avenge the death of his father, he could not tell Ophelia directly that he still loves her. In Act 3, Scene 1, Line 121-130, he yells: "Get thee to a nunnery . . . I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in . . . We are arrant knaves, all. Believe none of us." Hamlet's love of Ophelia is revealed when he tries to protect her from his bloodiest revenge by warning her to trust nobody, saying that he is revengeful, and telling her to go nunnery. In Act 5, Scene 1, Line 270-272, Hamlet cries: "I lov'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum." After the death of Ophelia, Hamlet almost loses his mind and confesses that he truly loves Ophelia at her gravesite. Imtiaz Habib writes: "Laertes' love for his sister allows him to rant against Hamlet for causing her death, then Hamlet's love for Ophelia allows him to vent his fury at Laertes for blackening his name." He recognizes that Hamlet loves Ophelia by stating that Laertes' and Hamlet's love of Ophelia causes the fight at her gravesite. Thus, Hamlet loves Ophelia. A second observation is that Ophelia loves Hamlet. In Act 4, Scene 5, Line 56-64, Ophelia sings: "Young men will do't, if they come to't, By cock, they are to blame. Quoth she, before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed. So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, An thou hadst not come to my bed." Ophelia's song shows her complaint that Hamlet does not love her anymore. But this is absolutely untrue and this is the problem of Ophelia misunderstanding Hamlet's love in the nunnery scene, because it ultimately leads her to her downfall. Because she loves him so much, she is deeply saddened when she hears that Polonius is murdered by Hamlet. Thus, Ophelia loves Hamlet. Ellen Rosenberg states: "The obstacle to consummating their love is [Hamlet's and Ophelia's] respective filial duty. The command to honor their fathers structures the course of their relationship and their mental well-being, ultimately leading both to their deaths." Because they cannot overcome the challenges to their love, eventually, it leads to their downfall. All of these observations that I have presented definitely indicate Hamlet's love of Ophelia and Ophelia's love of Hamlet. Even though it is not a happy ending, there is a love between them. There is no love without risk, and there is no love without suffering. How can we say love without pain? For these reasons, I firmly believe this resolution must and will fall. Thank you.

Works Cited

Habib, Imtiaz. "'Never doubt I love': misreading Hamlet." College Literature 21.2 (1994):

             19+. Academic OneFile. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

"Love - Definition of Love in English | Oxford Dictionaries." Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford

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"Platonic - Definition of Platonic in English | Oxford Dictionaries." Oxford Dictionaries.

             Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Rosenberg, Ellen. "Love in Hamlet." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of
             Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literature.
             Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 Oct. 2016

Shakespeare, William, and Betty Bealey. Hamlet. Canadian School Book Exchange, 1996.