I decided, along with Carol, to perform Act III, Scene I, from Hamlet, when Ophelia obeys her father and tests Hamlet's love for her by returning his remembrances. I thought that this scene was interesting because I liked the anger I interpreted from Hamlet and the shock and sadness that I saw in Ophelia. .
I interpreted Hamlet as losing his temper because he has been feigning insanity and I think he continued to do so with Ophelia in this scene. Even if he would have made the choice not to act insane with Ophelia, I believe that he sensed Polonius" presence and he definitely would have acted crazy for him. Polonius is, in general, an untrusting, sneaky, scheming character and I am sure that Hamlet knew this about him. Even if he did not actually see or hear Polonius, Hamlet would have been suspicious of his attendance due to a difference in Ophelia's behavior.
Our scene starts after the end of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy when he makes the aside, "The fair Ophelia!" as she enters. "Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered". He calls her a nymph, or a fairy, as if she is a light, magical being that intrigues him. He asks her to remember all of his sins in her prayers as if she is some superior being whose prayers will be more effective than his own. When Ophelia asks him how his honor is, he humbly thanks her and says that he is well. We know that this is a lie because of the scene preceding this one when he is very depressed and contemplating suicide. .
When Ophelia attempts to return Hamlet's letters, he denies them by saying, "No, not I. I never gave you aught". He is saying that he never gave her anything and she goes on to explain how he had given her those letters and had spoke so sweetly as to make the gifts "more rich", or more meaningful. Hamlet then laughs, maybe as an attempt to relieve the tension building between them and asks, "are you honest?" Hamlet is probably asking her if she is serious or telling the truth or he could be asking about her virtue.
