Polonius And Ophelia's Relationship Analysis

Shakespeare is a master of words, in that he is able to make a reader really think about what he is actually trying to say both as a whole (i.e. the entire play) and in the individual poetic dynamics of the play (i.e. metaphors, diction). He does so brilliantly in one of his most famous plays, Hamlet. The play itself is filled with complex internal dynamics, while at the same time the characters in Hamlet have several complex internal dynamics themselves as well. Throughout the play we are constantly on the edge of our seat, waiting and anticipating what or where Shakespeare is going to take us next. What struck me throughout the play was the relationship between Polonius and his daughter Ophelia. Through Hamlet, and thus through Polonius and Ophelia’s relationship and diction, Shakespeare is able to express to us the flawed ways in which relationship between father and daughter can be and consequently are acted out upon.

We are first introduced to the flawed relationship between Polonius and Ophelia when her brother, Laertes, is departing for Norway in Act 1 Scene 3. Here, Ophelia shows the viewer/reader her subservient behavior and her undeniable love for her family, and how that is taken for granted at the same time. Laertes tries to warn Ophelia and convince her not to get involved with Hamlet, “Fear it, Ophelia. Fear it, my dear sister, / And keep you in the rear of your affection, / Out of the shot and danger of desire.” (I.iii.33-35). Laertes is, to be blunt, telling Ophelia not to have premarital sex with Hamlet, basically scaring her away from doing so. And though she readily agrees, because he is after all her brother, it is Polonius that really uses and takes advantage of Ophelia’s loyalty to her family.

Polonius,...

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... every chance he gets, he belittles her, and basically states that she is nothing more of a possession of his, who will act as he wishes. What kind of a father treats their daughter like that? Or any parent for that matter? A child, young or old, is never a possession, but an extension of who the parents are (or were, whatever the case may be). By keeping Ophelia away from Hamlet, or at least demanding she not have anything to do with him, Polonius is keeping his kingdom at peace … and in the dark. Through keeping his daughter from love, he is killing two birds with one stone. He is keeping his daughter from Hamlet and thus away from him, but he is also keeping Hamlet from being happy as well. Again, what kind of a parent would deny their child love?

Later on in the play we are shown another instance in which Polonius treats Ophelia wrongly through his diction.