Doubt thou the stars are fire, / Doubt that the sun doth move, / Doubt truth to be a liar, / But never doubt I love.
Act II, Scene 2 · Hamlet
Context
Polonius reads aloud a love letter Hamlet sent to Ophelia, in which Hamlet uses a series of doubts to emphasize the certainty of his love.
Analysis
The anaphora of 'Doubt' sets up a rhythm that accumulates impossibilities—doubting the stars, the sun—so that the final turn ('never doubt I love') lands with the weight of something beyond question. Yet the hyperbole also makes the declaration feel staged, as if Hamlet is performing the role of lover rather than inhabiting it.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia is compromised from the start—even his declarations of love are rhetorically constructed, raising the question of whether he can separate genuine feeling from performance.