Polonius played a vital role in Hamlet even though he was not one of the main characters. He continued to reinforce the theme of corruption and displayed the social and ethical collapse of Denmark. His deceitful actions show the reader that he is one of dishonesty and chicanery. In the play, Polonius was portrayed as someone who is a deceiver and pretender that betrays people he is supposed to be devoted to; and who only cares about things that will benefit him. These characteristics of Polonius are seen through his interactions with Ophelia, Hamlet, Laertes, Reynaldo and the King.
Polonius can be depicted as two faced. This is evident with his interactions with the King. Polonius was loyal and faithful to King Hamlet, Gertrude, and Hamlet. Polonius was King Hamlet’s loyal advisor yet, he jumped bandwagons whenever he saw there was something he could gain. However, his loyalty to the King and Prince Hamlet was restricted. Polonius declares his allegiance to Claudius, the new King in the following speech, ‘I assure my good liege, I hold my duty as I hold my soul, both to God and to my gracious king…’ If Polonius were indeed loyal to King Hamlet, he would not have supported the devious and cruel Claudius. He declares that his soul belongs to God, yet if he were a committed Christian, as he says he is, he would have been faithful towards his children and the King.
Polonius is selfish and only cares about his well-being. Polonius does not care about Ophelia and her relationship with Hamlet, but only cares that it makes him look bad. Polonius is more worried about where he stands with King Claudius, than his standing with his daughter’s thoughts and feelings. When he discusses Hamlets love with her he states, “You’ll tender me fool,” a...
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... about Polonius, “Thou wretched, rash intruding fool, farewell! I took thee for thy better…let me wring your heart for I shall if it be made of impenetrable stuff…” (III.iv.31-36). It is evident, throughout the play, that Polonius lacks compassion and respect. In the end, Polonius faces the ultimate consequence for all of his actions- death.
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Hamlet – the Wise Polonius The older gent in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, namely Polonius, is no type character. Rather he is quite rounded and complex. This essay will explore his character.
good-bye in his chambers, Polonius tells his son: Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but,
"Hamlet." Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 193-225. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.
In Hamlet, The new king Claudius is able to gain respect from the kingdom. He even steals the love of Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. The old king’s councilor, Polonius, becomes Claudius’s councilor and his best friend. He helps Claudius keep an eye on Hamlet and tries to keep him from finding out anything about his father’s death. Polonius believes that if he helps Claudius that he can make life better for himself and for his daughter and son. But in the end, his actions get him slayed, drive his daughter to insanity, and eventually set...
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003.
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.
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Hamlet’s apparent antics with Ophelia prove that their relationship begins to fall apart and become unhealthy. Hamlet mistreats Ophelia when she attempts to return the gifts he has given her, and he responds in a harsh manner, asking about her chastity and beauty, saying “that if [she] be honest and fair, [her] honesty/should admit no discourse to [her] beauty” (3.1.117-118). Hamlet continues to belittle her, calling her two-faced and admitting that he “did love [her] once” (3.1.125), his feelings for her now absent. Hamlet’s facade becomes personal through this. The entire exchange shows how Hamlet prioritizes his revenge, over his love because he eventually figures out that Polonius and Claudius spy on him. Hamlet soon speculates Ophelia’s association in their plan and decides to put on a facade for her too. Claudius’s facade also affects his relationship with Gertrude and Hamlet. After his speech to the court, Claudius approaches Hamlet in a way that appears as if he cares about him, even addressing him as “my cousin Hamlet and my son” (1.2.66), despite being aware of Hamlet’s sensitive and depressive state because of his father’s death. Moreover, Claudius expresses his deceitful love when he admits to Laertes that he won’t put Hamlet on trial because he mentions how much he loves Gertrude, and that she “is so conjunctive to my life and soul/that, as the
...ot he was completely guilty for Polonius’s death, but as I studied his actions and mannerisms I came to the conclusion he was guilty of both. I was assured when his feelings of depression over his fathers continued and his only goal in life became power over the situation and avenging him. Being in control became somewhat of an obsession because he thought he could overcome any situation if that was the case, but it was just a simple minded way of trying to justify the situation. When you pretend to be something for so long it either unintentionally reflects off you automatically, you begin to forget whom you really are and what you stand for, or you end up liking the front you’ve created for yourself more than your true self; and I believe that is exactly what happened.
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character Polonius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet fits the description of one who tries to deceive others
... the only way to honour his father Polonius is by killing Hamlet. In addition, as Claudius reads the letter from Hamlet to Laertes he says “'Tis Hamlet’s character. “Naked” And in a postscript here, he says “alone.” Can you advise me?” (IV, VII, 52-53). This shows that Claudius takes advantage of Hamlet’s return alone as an opportunity for Laertes to kill him. Through Claudius’s actions the readers observe how he deceives Laertes into killing Hamlet for his own benefit without getting blood on his hands. Furthermore, Claudius’ desperation to kill Hamlet leads to him losing sight of what is important, which is being the king of Denmark, what he originally wanted, instead the lies he told and the manipulation he spread is now taking over. To conclude, it is evident through the play that the words and actions of Claudius have only lead to the spread of deception.
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Hamlet: one of the most analyzed tragic heroes in all of literature. Hamlet, the main character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is conflicted throughout the whole play. He obsesses over avenging his father’s death, and this leads to rash, irresponsible actions that cause others to suffer, as well. He plans to kill Claudius, his uncle, for murdering his father and then marrying his mother. In an act of outrage, Hamlet unknowingly kills Polonius, the King’s assistant, instead. This creates even more problems because now someone else’s father is dead. Hamlet is somewhat of an inconsistent character; he’s different almost every time we see him. Hamlet displays characteristics of depression, irony, timidity, and being hurt.