#but knowing about Shakespeare's real-life queerness makes me more inclined to read the homoerotic subtext in his work as deliberate

[thedupshadove]

Horatio and Ophelia are never confirmed as being in a scene together, and do not share so much as a single line of dialogue.

#hamlet #ophelia #horatio #shakespeare #I think sometimes about the (lack of a) dynamic between these two characters #They're probably the two people Hamlet is closest to #He loves them both (yes he *does* love Ophelia even though he is undeniably shitty to her) #They both love him #It's not quite textually a love triangle #but knowing about Shakespeare's real-life queerness makes me more inclined to read the homoerotic subtext in his work as deliberate #Because we never see them on stage together we never see them directly compete #But we also never see them connect. Collaborate. #Commiserate about the maddening madman they love and the hardships they must witness being inflicted upon him. #Or their own troubles--the dutiful daughter always ordered about. The untitled scholar perhaps looked down upon #Think of it like this: Both Horatio and Ophelia try‚ in their ways‚ to save Hamlet #And they both fail #Could the two of them working together have altered the path of fate?