One recurring theme in Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, is family and the relationships or bonds within those families. It would seem as though all characters in Hamlet have negative relationships with their kin, however, one family actually shares a strong bond, though it is hard to detect as it is camouflaged by an unfavourable appearance. This deceivingly strong bond can be found between Polonius and his two children, Laertes and Ophelia. Though there is some tension between Polonius and his children, there are a few interactions between him and his children that reveal that, despite seeming only like a ruthless politician, he does possess characteristics which allow him to be considered an adequate father.
In the first act, Polonius lectures Ophelia on her relationship with Hamlet, ultimately requesting that she no longer “slander any moment leisure” (1.2.133) on him. Although he does mention that he fears her actions would “tender me a fool”, it appears as though he is looking out for Ophelia’s best interest. This interaction between Ophelia and Polonius results in Ophelia granting her father’s desires, exhibiting the enormous amount of trust she instills in her father.
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After scolding Laertes for not yet boarding the ship, Polonius reminds him of a few rules of life. The first piece of advice is to “Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue” (1.3.59). He also reminds Laertes to “Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar” (1.3.61). Though these are only a few examples of advice given to Laertes by Polonius, they appear to be developing out of the respect and admiration Polonius has for his son and demonstrate the type of relationship found between the two
Later, in Polonius’ house, Laertes is taking leave of his sister, Ophelia, and, in the process, giving her conservative advice regarding her boyfriend, Hamlet.
Polonius treats his children quite differently based on the advice he gives them. When referring to the relationship between Polonius and his son, Laertes, Polonius is open to the idea of setting his son free and letting him live out his life on his own in France. Polonius tells Laertes, “There, my blessing with thee.” his second blessing upon Laertes leaving to embark on his journey to France. Proving, Polonius is enthusiastically allowing his son to go out on his own and make his own life for himself. On the other hand, Polonius is considerably more austere towards his daughter, Ophelia, Polonius attempts to make Ophelia's decisions for her instead of letting her choose her own fate like he does with Laertes. When Ophelia tells her father
Leaving her only with the response saying “I shall obey, my lord”(1.3.145 ). Why Ophelia is unable to say more than a few simple words is made clear by societal expectations of the time. During this time daughters were the property of their fathers and were obligated to do their bidding. Campbell says “if she refuses Polonius, she risks social ostracism and grave insult to the man who capriciously controls her future” (58). Ophelia fears the backlash of disobeying her father, believing there is no other choice than doing what he has asked her to do. Even though a woman's virtue is a sacred and a very personal choice, her father leaves Ophelia with one option: to do what he says. “The issue of Ophelia’s chastity concerns Polonius as a parent and a politician—a virginal Ophelia has a better chance of attaining Hamlet’s hand in marriage” (Floyd-Wilson 401). This relationship Ophelia has between her father is very one-sided and unhealthy. It is formal and proper with very few emotions attached to each other. However, because Polonius is the only parental figure Ophelia has and loves him, his death was extremely difficult for her. Her father, hasn’t left her like Laertes and hasn’t rejected her like Hamlet. Making his unexpected death the final straw to her losing her sanity. Without someone to guide her, she is lost. She is unable to blindly follow a man but is to racked with emotion to think clearly.
Although he gives good advice, Polonius does not practice what he preaches, not only is he always excessively speaking throughout the play but to flatter his ownself he openly talks about his son’s bad habits to his uninterested server ““But if’t be he I mean, he’s very wild, / addicted so and so”’(2.1.20-21). Polonius chooses to send Reynaldo to spy on his son “You shall do marvelous wisely, good Reynaldo, / before you visit him, to make inquire / of his behavior” (2.1.3-5) to make sure that Laertes “... does not do anything to endanger his status or the status of his family…”(Cardullo 492). Polonius shows that he is not only controlling of his children but, has a lack of trust for others and is constantly prying. Polonius uses Ophelia as his pawn in order to find the reasoning behind Hamlet’s behavior. His talk with Ophelia is extremely important because “...Polonius who first suggests that Hamlet may be “mad” for love” with his daughter (Gierasch 701). He takes a personal matter between him and his daughter and in turn uses it against her “Polonius is blind to the implications in Hamlet’s words that bear directly upon his own sacrificial use of Ophelia. After ordering her to avoid
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,
Before Laertes is about to go to France, Polonius talks to him and tells him all of his good advice. While Polonius tells Laertes all of his good advice, he says, “My blessing with thee'; (I.iii.61). This statement shows that Polonius really wants Laertes to be successful when he goes to France. Polonius says, “Beware of entrance to a quarrel';, (I.iii.69) because he wants him to be safe. Polonius wants Laertes to stay out of trouble, and to be friendly with everyone he meets. Another point Polonius wants to make is that it is better to listen than to talk. “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice'; (I.iii.72). Polonius believes that it is better to listen too much than to talk too much, because sometimes people who talk too much get into trouble, and others don’t like them. Whereas, people who listen more than they talk rarely have others who don’t like them and they don’t get into much trouble. Another way Polonius tells Laertes to stay out of trouble is when he says, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be'; (I.iii.80). This is important because sometimes when things are borrowed, the lender will get mad that the borrower didn’t return when it was needed or the borrower ruined part of it. Even when it is an accident, it is still better to not borrow or lend anything from anyone just in case one person has a short temper. Polonius lastly and most importantly tells Laertes, “This above all to thine own self be true';. This is good advice because if people are not true to themselves, then they can’t really be true to anyone else. Polonius believes that Laertes should have enough self-respect to be true to himself.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Lord Polonius gives fatherly advice while ultimately shows the path of true success to his son Laertes. Throughout the text, Polonius talks to Laertes in a straightforward yet caring tone that guides the way to understand Polonius’s views on life for his son. “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice, take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.” This shows some of the “rules of life” that Polonius wants to give. The main point however, is that Polonius wants his son to be his true self to truly become successful in his life. “This above all: to thine owneself be true.” This was his main advice and Shakespeare’s overall message in this passage.
The audience is first introduced to Polonius when his son, Laertes, decides that he wants to return to Paris to finish college. At first glance, through a long in depth speech, Polonius acts as a caring father showing genuine emotion towards his son. He will not deny his son request to leave even ...
All in all based on their duty and protection, trustworthiness, and loyalty to each other Laertes remained the most normal relationship in the play and it’s clear that they both loved each other deeply though they didn’t have the change to tell it to each other. The long list of normal fatherly advice that Polonius gives creates a somewhat stereotypical father-son signifying his love for Laertes, in the play’s many family relationships. Though Polonius was distrustful of Laertes in France it’s arguable that he could have been over protective of his son because of his love for him. The headstrong, active, loyal and affectionate Laertes when his father died contrasted with Hamlet becoming his foil in the play. The purpose of Polonius and Laertes father – son relationship is important as it enriches the conflicts occurring in Fortinbras and Hamlet’s family.
In the following speech, Polonius is sending his servant, Reynaldo, to France in order to find out how Laertes, Polonius's son is behaving himself. Polonius instructs Reynaldo to inquire an acquaintance about all the vile things Polonius assumes Laertes to be doing.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, act 1 scene 3, Polonius decides to give Laertes school advice and to Ophelia, some relationship advice. Some would consider Polonius’s advice to his kids fair and show that he is a caring and wise father while others might see his advice as strict, concerning, controlling, and a direct reflection towards his own character. By taking a closer look, Polonius may be pointing out hidden flaws and weaknesses that he wants his children to work on when interacting with others. To start off, he begins to explain to Laertes about making smart decisions by listening more than talking and choosing his friends wisely, thus proving that Polonius doesn't want Laertes to embarrass
In the Mel Gibson version, Polonius possesses the ability to listen though we see this in many characters the main one is towards Ophelia. Polonius takes time to let her talk as he listens. Although, in the David Tennant film, he tends to focus more on what he has to say other than simply listening. One instance in which Polonius talks about giving advice to others but he is not taking for himself is when he says, “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day, Though canst not then be false to any man.” He learns that listening to others can
Despite Ophelia’s weak will, the male characters respond dramatically to her actions, proving that women indeed have a large impact in Hamlet. Her obedience is actually her downfall, because it allows the male characters to control and use her in their schemes. Ophelia’s betrayal ends up putting Hamlet over the edge, motivating him in his quest for revenge. Ophelia is one of the two women in the play. As the daughter of Polonius, she only speaks in the company of several men, or directly to her brother or father. Since we never see her interactions with women, she suppresses her own thoughts in order to please her superiors. Yet however weak and dependent her character is on the surface, Ophelia is a cornerstone to the play’s progression. One way that her manipulation is key to Hamlet’s plot is when Polonius orders her “in plain terms, from this time forth/ Have you so slander any moment leisure/As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet,” (1.3.131-133). She complies with his wishes, agreeing to return any tokens of Hamlet’s love to him, verify t...
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel” (1.3.62-63). Which I believe what Polonius is saying is be friendly to others but, don’t be friends with everybody, and the friends you have and if you can trust them you need to hold on to them. The reason Laertes would needs this advice because I believe you need a best friend. We can look at Polonius when reading the story I got the feeling that Polonius felt that the king was his true friend, but this could also be that he was just doing his job as the counsellor of the king. Then a better example would be the relationship between Hamlet and Horatio. Hamlet seems to only trust Horatio to the point that his trust in that he wanted Horatio to tell his story, and Horatio seems to always tell the truth to Hamlet and gives his best possible answer to any of Hamlet’s questions. For me I have three friends I can trust and we tell each other everything no matter what it is and we always help each other. After I read a blog by Lissa Rankin, on how there is health benefits from have true friends. She talks about how having a close friend can lead to a happier and healthier life. She made a list on what a true friend is and some of the point on the list that caught my eye was “Enjoyment of each other’s company, Trust in one another, and The ability to be oneself, express one’s feelings and make mistakes without fear of judgement” (Rankin). The reason this point caught my eye is when I read this parts I saw Hamlet and Horatio relationship and how when this two are together they are usually in a good mood, or how Hamlet can be himself around Horatio without being judge. But when Polonius tells Laertes this I believe that he would like his son to find a friend and form a friendship just like his friendship with Claudius. Now on why Polonius wouldn’t want Laertes to
He is essentially telling Ophelia how she should be behaving and reacting to her own situations. This is portraying her as a woman who cannot think for herself and is dependant on Polonius. In addition, Polonius’ death is the trigger to Ophelia’s insanity, because she depended upon him a great deal. When Ophelia is told by Polonius to never contact Hamlet again, she obeys Polonius, but Hamlet acts crazy in reaction to her denial. Ophelia says, “No, my good lord; but, as you did command, / I did repel his letters and denied / His actions to me.” (2.1.109-111) By doing everything Polonius tell her to do, she makes matters for herself worse. Ophelia cannot stand up for her...