Stuff

599 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The drama of Shakespeare

Polonius stood pouring a glass of wine. “Look you lay home to him. Tell him–” He paused, looking up and summoning all his wits. “Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with and that your Grace hath screened and stood between much heat and him.” He snuck a look at how the queen was responding.
The Queen sat overwrought in her poorly lighted chamber. All curtains were drawn to keep prying eyes out. She threaded her fingers through her hair, inadvertently making it more disheveled than before. Feeling a terrible weight keeping her down, it took all her strength to keep her head high and appear Queen-like.
Polonius handed the glass of wine to the Queen, but she pushed it away. Picking herself up, she paced back and forth, clenching her hands, with Polonius lumbering after her, “I’ll silence me even here. Pray you, be round with him.”
“Mother, mother, mother!” Hamlet’s voice thundered through the room, forcing a hop out of Polonius.
Patting her hair and straightening her dress, the Queen put on a stern look and whispered to Polonius, “I’ll warrant you. Fear me not. Withdraw, I...

Show More
Related

  • Hamlet – the Wise Polonius

    2942 Words  | 6 Pages

    So right at the outset the reader/viewer respects the lord chamberlain as a very fluent spokesman of the language, and respectful of his superior, the king. Later, in Polonius’ house, Laertes is taking leave of his sister, Ophelia, and, in the process, giving her conservative advice regarding her boyfriend, Hamlet.

    Read More

  • to thine own self be true: The Wise Polonius of Hamlet

    2813 Words  | 6 Pages

    Polonius’ entry into the play occurs at the social get-together of the royal court. Claudius has already been crowned; Queen Gertrude is there; Hamlet is present in the black clothes of mourning. When Laertes approaches Claudius to give his farewell before returning to school, the king asks Polonius: “Have you your father's leave? What says Polonius?” And the father dutifully answers:

    Read More

  • Ethan Frome: List of Quotes explained

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    3.?Against the dark background of the kitchen she stood up tall and angular, one hand drawing a quilted counterpane to her flat breast, while the other held a lamp. The light on a level with her chin, drew out of the darkness her puckered throat and the projecting wrist of the hand that clutched the quilt, and deepened fantastically the hollows and prominences of her high-boned face under its rings of crimping-pins. To Ethan, s...

    Read More

  • Hamlets Mental Outline: Hamlet's Mental Decline

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    They decided to invite some of his college friends to watch over him. The Queen offered many thanks for their decision to watch him. “For the supply and profit of our hope, / Your visitation shall receive such thanks / As fits a king’s remembrance.” (2.2.24-26). Claudius asked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get answers out of him, making them seem more like spies than helpful friends. When Hamlet shows up to Ophelia’s house, seemingly mentally disturbed, Ophelia tells her father. Polonius decides to tell the King of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship that he thinks that may be the source of his problems. The King and Polonius set up a meeting between the two. Seeming to know he is being watched, Hamlet acts very wildly, leading them to believe Ophelia was not the cause of his insanity. The King is not impressed at Polonius. “Love! His affections do not that way tend, / Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul” (3.1.170-72). At this point, Hamlet has started his drastic decline in his mental stability. When he is called by the Queen for a talk, he over hears something behind the draped curtains and stabs through it, killing Polonius. His reaction is not what one would expect, as he does not feel any remorse. Hamlet simply states it was for the best and his bad luck. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. / I took thee for thy

    Read More

  • Fear and Loathing in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    you'll tender me a fool" (I,iii,107-109). Meaning that if Hamlet was to embarrass her, he would

    Read More

  • An Analytical Essay on the Humor in Hamlet

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    The scene between Hamlet and Polonius took place in Act II Scene 2. In Hamlet's first encounter with Polonius, he immediately insulted the old man by calling him a "fishmonger". He then quickly changed his opinion and complemented Polonius by calling him an honest man. Hamlet said, "to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand". As we know Polonius definitely was not such a man. Hamlet was portrayed as a clever lad, who was playing a psychological game with an old fool. He asked Polonius whether or not he had a daughter, pretending he did not know that Ophelia was Polonius's daughter. When Hamlet was asked about what he was reading, he replied by saying, "words, words, words". Throughout this scene, Hamlet revealed himself to Polonius as a mentally unstable man. He was playing a fool himself, while ingeniously using this to make Polonius look like an even bigger fool. He cleverly insulted Polonius' appearances indirectly, by referring to the book he was reading. According to that book old men had grey beards, their faces were wrinkled, they had a plentiful lack of wit, and so on. He was describing Polonius exactly. Perhaps the most humorous part took place when Hamlet, while saying, "for yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward",  he advanced towards Polonius, causing him to walk backwards. Those words and the actions on the stage  revealed Hamlet to be a daring young man. When Polonius finally left, Hamlet dropped his pretense and yelled, "These tedious old fools!". In Act III Scene 2, Hamlet used a recorder, the musical instrument, as a telescope when Polonius entered the scene. He asked Polonius, "Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?". Hamlet always pretended to be the madman in front of Polonius, while he actually made him look like an old fool.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Decisions in Hamlet by Shakespeare

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Of course, by his delaying his revenge, the entire plot of the play goes in a different direction. Immediately after this scene Hamlet speaks with his mother, unknowing of the fact that Polonius is hiding behind a curtain in the room with them. When the Queen becomes frightened by Hamlet's irate demeanor she cries out for help, as does Polonius. Hamlet mistakes Polonius for Claudius and stabs him to death.

    Read More

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    1556 Words  | 4 Pages

    The transition of royalty from King Hamlet to King Claudius seemed smooth, but the tension within the royal family created some complications. Almost all of Denmark gave their loyalty to a new king without any suspicion as to how the previous ruler died. Although Denmark’s citizens are unaware of the fratricide, this fickle faithfulness exemplifies the social and moral decay of Denmark. Most of Denmark’s subjects act upon their own selfish interests and lack any conviction. Shakespeare uses Polonius, formerly a loyal servant to King Hamlet, as a microcosm of Denmark’s oblivious and hypocritical society as a whole. The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court and the father of Laertes and Ophelia, Polonius has good intentions, but he tends to be somewhat conniving and underhanded. He frequently leaps to the wrong conclusions, and his speeches are comically pompous and long-winded. He is completely incapable of figuring out what Hamlet is up to. Looking to stay on Claudius’s favorable side, Polonius pleases the new king’s demands and even puts his own children’s reputation and lives in jeopardy. Because of his meddling in Prince Hamlet’s business, Polonius ends up dying on his own account.

    Read More

  • Justification of Death in Hamlet

    2588 Words  | 6 Pages

    Polonius, the lord Chamberlain, a counsel to the king, is the first character to be killed. As the play opens up, Polonius is depicted as a rather good person, with noapparent flaws. However, as the play progresses, Polonius possess a flaw in his character, which becomes increasingly evident throughout the play; he is extremely nosy and scrutinizing. Many times during the play Polonius is either seen spying on other characters, or arranging for characters to be spied upon. The first such incident of this occurs when his son Laertes is going off to Paris. He instructs his servant Reynaldo to spy on his while in Paris. Polonius tells him:

    Read More

  • Female Role In Ophelia

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Madness and Insanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    Polonius decides to go to Hamlet's mother, the Queen, in Act II to tell her that her "noble son is mad" (105). Aware of what has been going on with Hamlet, the Queen questions Polonius. In his response, Polonius continues to proclaim "That he's mad, 'tis true. 'Tis true, 'tis pity, / And pity 'tis 'tis true - a foolish figure" (105). Although not believing it in her heart, the Queen later admits that Hamlet may be mad. After their conversation, Hamlet enters and has his own conversation with Polonius. During this conversation, Hamlet falsely labels Plonius as a fishmonger. Hamlet knows that Polonius will tell others of the mistaken identity; specifically, he knows Polonius will report it to the King. Polonius believes Hamlet's insanity is related to sex; therefore, he is concerned with Hamlet's relationship with his daughter, Ophelia.

    Read More

  • Comparison of ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Speaker in ‘My Last Duchess’ is conversing with the servant of a count whose daughter he is proposing to marry. He treats t...

    Read More

  • The Comedy of Hamlet

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    Polonius is over-eager and tries to give unwanted advice, during the play he is tactless and often rude. For instance, Polonius is a comic relief during his conversation with Gertrude and Claudius regarding Hamlet’s madness. Polonius rambling through his conversation contrasts with Gertrude’s seriousness of wanting to find out the reason to Hamlet’s madness. As Polonius begins to deliver to the king and queen the results of his investigation, he makes this statement, “My liege, and madam, to expostulate/ What majesty should be, what duty is,/ What day is day, night is night, and time is time,/ Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time;/ Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,/ And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,/ I will be brief. Your noble son is mad. . . .”(IIii,86-92) . Polonius’ speech is windy and nonsensical he wastes ti...

    Read More

  • Alienation in Hamlet

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    Polonius' distrust in Laertes results in Polonius' sending Reynoldo to France to spy on Laertes. Reynoldo reports information back to Polonius about Laertes and what he is doing. By stating: "...your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth... by indirections find directions out. So by my former lecture and advice we shall you my son" (Shakespeare 90), Polonius reveals the lack of trust he has in Laertes. Therefore, by spying, Polonius alienates Laertes.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Statement 'Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark' in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    Hamlet to become extremely upset at his mother for her apparent lack of mourning and

    Read More

More about Stuff

Open Document