In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare creates characters who seem morally ambiguous, and due to the unpredictable actions each character may take, the audience gains interest in the character's personality developments throughout the play. A Character who has a complex mixture of good and bad actions is Polonius, a father of Laertes and Ophelia, and a counselor to the King. Polonius is introduced as a kind, loveable father, but as the play goes on his actions cause the audience to debate whether or not they were in terms of greed/keeping a good reputation for himself or if they were out of the kindness of his heart. Polonius's desire to spy and learn more about Hamlet ultimately cost him his life, Shakespeare exhibited the extent mankind will go …show more content…
Polonius gives his son Laertes tips on life itself, such as “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice”, along with other forms of guidance (I.iii.74). Shakespeare uses this scene to convey the true natural connection a Father and Son have, thus making Polonius an admirable character. Polonius's guidance tips extend to his daughter who is having troubles understanding Hamlet. Polonius, like any dad helped her daughter with her boy problems when he told Ophelia to “Tender yourself more dearly or (not to crack the wind of the poor phrase, running it thus) you’ll be a fool”(I.iii.115-117). Polonius showed more respectable traits as he cheered up Ophelia, and helped her fix the problems she had with Hamlet. However, Polonius's fatherly figure and care for her daughter disappears when he uses Ophelia as a pawn in his plot to spy on Hamlet with the King. The audience perception changes from thinking Polonius is a kind, loving fatherly figure, to a person who uses his own children for power and respect. As he is talking to the King, Polonius tells “Ophelia, walk you here. (to CLAUDIUS) Gracious, so please you,We will bestow ourselves. (to OPHELIA)Read on this book” Polonius ignores whether or not Ophelia wants to help, and his actions are interpreted as if he is only concerned for his own interests
good-bye in his chambers, Polonius tells his son: Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but,
Ophelia is portrayed as a sensitive, fragile woman. Easily overpowered and controlled by her brother and father, Ophelia is destined to be weak. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, warns and pushes Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet and is further supported by their father Polonius. “Polonius enters and adds his warning to those of Laertes. He orders Ophelia not to spend time with Hamlet or even talk to him. Ophelia promises to obey” (“Hamlet” 95). Ophelia’s obedience to her father’s directions prove the side she
There are many parents who are too strict and do not let their children do things that might embarrass them. Other times a parent may use their child to do certain things in order to gain social prestige. Polonius demonstrates a similar type of behavior in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Polonius is "a domestic tyrant wreaking on his son and his daughter revenge for his own spoiled life" (Bloom 111) and "is an elderly and longwinded courtier and chief counselor" (Dominic 96) to the king. Polonius is in a high position in the Danish court, and he has a problem with talking too much. He is only concerned about his reputation, not Ophelia, "the young and innocent daughter of Polonius . . . ("Polonius" Benet). The main character, Hamlet, is the son of Queen Gertrude and King Hamlet of Denmark. King Hamlet has recently died, supposedly from natural causes. Hamlet despises the fact that his mother has remarried his uncle, now King Claudius, so soon after the death of King Hamlet. Later Hamlet sees the ghost of his father and King Hamlet tells him Claudius murdered him by putting poison in his ear. The ghost wants Hamlet to kill the new king, but to not harm his mother. Meanwhile, Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but Polonius refuses to let her see him. Ophelia believes this obedience to her father has caused Hamlet's madness. However, in order for Polonius to please Claudius, he uses her to figure out the cause of Hamlet's abnormal behavior. After Polonius' death, Ophelia dies, and her death was because of her father's selfishness and poor decisions in doing all he could to satisfy Claudius.
The main plot of Shakespeare's Hamlet centers around Prince Hamlet's desire to repay King Claudius for his evil deeds. Around this central action revolve the stories concerning the minor characters of Polonius and Ophelia. Though they do not motivate Hamlet's actions towards the King, these characters act as forces upon Hamlet himself, trying to spur him to do things he does not want to do. Both Polonius and Ophelia try, unsuccessfully, to manipulate Hamlet into a place of inferiority.
During Hamlet, Polonius and Laertes use Ophelia for their own self-gain not taking her feelings in consideration. In the article “Jephthah's Daughter's Daughter: Ophelia,” Cameron Hunt reveals that Polonius disregards Ophelia’s wants for his ...
As the play opened, Hamlet and Ophelia appeared as lovers experiencing a time of turbulence. Hamlet had just returned home from his schooling in Saxony to find that his mother had quickly remarried her dead husband's brother, and this gravely upset him. Hamlet was sincerely devoted to the idea of bloodline loyalty and sought revenge upon learning that Claudius had killed his father. Ophelia, though it seems her relationship with Hamlet is in either the developmental stage or the finalizing stage, became the prime choice as a lure for Hamlet. Laertes inadvertently opened Ophelia up to this role when he spoke with Ophelia about Hamlet before leaving for France. He allowed Polonius to find out about Hamlet's courtship of Ophelia, which led to Polonius' misguided attempts at taking care of Ophelia and obeying the king's command to find the root of Hamlet's problems. Ophelia, placed in the middle against her wishes, obeyed her father and brother's commands with little disagreement. The only time she argued was when Laertes advised her against making decisions incompatible with the expectations of Elizabethan women. Ophelia tells him, in her boldest lines of the play:
Therefore his self-respect pushes him to regain the pride that has been lost, even if it means that he has to act against the head of the kingdom, the King of Denmark, to find out the truth of the death of his father. However his father, Polonius, is the totally opposite of him. Polonius has always been a sycophant to Claudius, everything he says is to please the King. He tells his daughter, Ophelia, that Hamlet doesn’t love her, he is only playing with her.
Polonius is the father of Laertes and Ophelia. His contribution to the ideology of sexism and incest is not as direct as the other characters but it is just as significant. His daughter, Ophelia, is deeply in love with the title character, Hamlet. Polonius constantly observes the suspicious relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet. He tries to intervene between his daughter’s relationships with Hamlet. Since her love for Hamlet is so strong, Ophelia becomes disobedient and rebellious to her father just so that she could make a way to fulfill the needs of Hamlet. Polonius tries to help Ophelia understand that she is basically “bait” to Hamlet and she must avoid falling for his word but she refuses to listen. Along with Polonius, his son Laertes is also attempting to protect Ophelia from Hamlet.
Hamlet so far has been portrayed as passionate and earnest, but not necessarily mad. When he says to his mother, “Seems, Madam? I know not seems…” we are given the impression of a man who is who he is, without pretence or acting. We know little of Polonius so far except that he is a well meaning, good-natured, and for all appearances honourable servant of the king.
Chronologically first, the death of Polonius triggers the events that lead to the deaths of both Ophelia and Laertes. From early on, Polonius is established as an untrusting and untrustworthy character. One of his very first actions is hiring a man to spy on his own son, “Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth”(31). Polonius tells Reynaldo to spread dishonorable rumors about Laertes in order to reveal his true behaivior. He is untrusting of his own son to obey the long list of advice he gave to him prior to his departure. This tendency to spy in order to ponder his suspicions is what ultimatley leads to Hamlet stabbing him to death. Due to the desire to confirm his false theory that Ophelia is the reason for Hamlet’s madness, Polonius chooses to spy on the Queen and her son,
The way that Polonius acts as a good father towards Ophelia is mostly how he doesn’t want her to get hurt by Hamlet. Ophelia tells Polonius all about what Hamlet has said and given her. She tells her father that Hamlet gives her presents and tells her nice things out of affection.
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!". This quote by
Hamlet Act 2 starts with a conversation between Polonius and Reynaldo, his servant, about how Reynaldo is to find out about the behavior of Laertes, Polonius’ son. This event foreshadows the Queen and King’s conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about how Hamlet’s two friends will uncover the reason for Hamlet’s recent behavior change. In their conversation, Polonius tells Reynaldo that he is to ask random people about Laertes and to tell the people about how Laertes, in his youth, gambled, was intoxicated and got into fights. He then tells Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. Through these actions, Polonius shows that he will do almost anything to control his children and their reputations. Throughout this Act, one general theme is revealed. This theme is the scheming of characters to
Polonius immediately calls to question Ophelia’s ability to reason with his opening remark, “I must tell you / You do not understand yourself so clearly.” (1.3.104-105). This statement along with his suggestion to, “Think yourself a baby” (1.3.114) in regards to how she feels about Hamlet show his commanding nature and instant mistrust of how Ophelia could possibly behave in the best way. Ophelia, to her credit, responds with a curt, “I shall obey, my lord” (1.3.145), which shows her maturity and respect by avoiding conflict through a calm demeanor. However, given how she responded to Laertes, this response also comes across as snide and mocking showing her independence through a resilient, almost defiant, statement. Ophelia, for the second time, faces immediate threats to her power over herself and deals with both calmly and intelligently by not provoking a reaction while still showing abject
William Shakespeare's “Hamlet” is one of the most tragic plays ever written. It is about a young prince trying to keep his word to his dead father by avenging his death. Hamlet procrastinates when avenging his father’s death, which is his tragic flaw. Hamlet appears to be a coward as well as depressed. He finds himself questioning his own ambitious motives such as revenge and hatred toward his murderous uncle. Hamlet tells Horatio, his friend that he is going to fake madness as he loses his determination. It is Hamlet’s hubris that makes me begin to believe he is mad. Hamlet does at one point have doubt concerning the honesty of the ghost. His various reasons for delay in seeking revenge is that he wants to make sure his uncle Claudius is one hundred percent guilty and at the same time does not want to hurt his mother. He has too much Oedipus complex, love for his mother.