Analytical Essay: Polonius

699 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Characters in the play KING LEAR

Polonius is a father first and foremost in this story. He is a man who has seen a lot and understands much about the world around him and the people in it. The most Polonius is heard in the play is when he tries to impart wisdom to his children in act 1 scene 3. This shows off a lot about who he is and his world view. I think Polonius character is a perfect example of a person bound by society and the philosophy of one such person and this can be seen in his character, his philosophy and the influence upon him.
Polonius seems like a happy old father who loves his kids and I think that would be a good shallow outline for him but I think he is more. He is wise and has come to understand and be content with life but is still scared for his children. He is defiantly loyal and …show more content…

This tells me that Polonius has learned to be patient and this is good advice found in the bible many times. The next thing he tell his son is "Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar." (61). This added to the biblical advice makes it a little less biblical to me and a little more societal. While Christians are defiantly not supposed to be vulgar it is a different kind of vulgar Polonius is talking about here. He is basically saying don't share enough of yourself to make people offended by you or to seem vulgar to them. Christians are hated sometimes because they do share so much about themselves that society doesn't accept it and that is exactly what Polonius is warning his son against is running against the stream. This is what I want to focus on the most about his character. This attitude of not running against the stream to keep everyone liking you has pros and cons. People will respect you more like Polonius had come to be respected and how he wanted the same for his son but I think that it can keep you from good and cause you to do harm when you just want to fit in and keep from offending

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Polonius In Mel Gibson's Hamlet And David Tennius

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet is a play by Shakespeare that tells a story of desired revenge. King Hamlet dies and Hamlet comes home to find his mother interested in someone else and King Hamlet comes back as a ghost. One of the minor characters but has an important role is Polonius, an old wise counselor of the king. He is also the father of Ophelia and as most fathers he is loving and loves his daughter. Two film versions of the play that seem to display Polonius quite differently are Hamlet by Mel Gibson and David Tennant. Polonius is portrayed different in three areas of the films, his ability to listen, ability to focus, and his compassion.

    Read More

  • Contrast Between Kipling And Polonius In Hamlet

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the text’s, Polonius in Hamlet by William Shakespeare and “If” by Rudyard Kipling, both advise their son’s on what it takes to become a successful man. The speakers of “If” contain a multitude of characteristics deemed essential to the ideal man. In particular, a man must be humble, patient, respectful, honest and dependable. How his son must continue to have faith in himself when others doubt him. Whereas Polonius in Hamlet, has the kind of tone where he advises his son the same way, but at the same time, doesn’t want his son to embarrass him. For example, keep your thoughts to yourself. Be friendly but not overly friendly. The speakers of “If” and Polonius’ advice present vastly different content, purpose and tone due to Polonius’ concern

    Read More

  • Laertes and Polonius as Foils to Hamlet

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    Foils are the minor characters in a play that aid in developing the more important characters. By using the similarities and differences between two characters, the audience can get a better understanding of that major character. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses many foils to develop the major characters of his play. Two foils that Shakespeare used to develop Hamlet's character were Laertes and Polonius.

    Read More

  • Questioning the Sanity of Hamlet in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    “What is the matter, my lord?” asks Polonius. Hamlet answers, “Between who?” (2.2.193-194). Tenney Davis responds to this by saying that Hamlet feigned his insanity convincingly by taking things too literally, which manifested in a desire to “split hairs” (Davis 630). Hamlet was always annoyed with Polonius and his garrulous speeches, but reacted not in an irrational way, but to the contrary, with the most simple, though rude, coherent answers.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Jacobus Pontanus's 'Stratocles Or War'

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    His arrogance is also shown through his asides to the audience. It is strange that after Stratocles’ rant and his basic belitting of his teacher of many years, Eubulus expresses great warmth toward Stratocles and begs Stratocles fervently to stay and not go to war, through a plausible and convincing argument. From here, the play takes on a much more humorous tone as the characters of (nae the two solders that had desserted). It appears that Pontanus intended for these characters to function to convinve Stratocles and his cousin Plemius, not to go off to war as they detail the horrible atrocities of te battlefield and army life. The desserters’ accounts are similar to the diescription of Eubulus but, being an eyewitness account, it is more grisly and seems to strike a chord with Stratocles and Polemius who change their minds and go back to their homeland. I think the ending of the play might serve as comic relief following the dark portrayal of war and life at the battlefront. It is humorous that Faustina bears her husband and calls him names for essentially abandoning his family. I think it is interesting that Faustina initially disowned him and was bold enough to beat her husband even though, from her husband’s words, it was much more customary for the husband to beat his wife. Overall, I found the play to be a humorous yet direct way of sending a message that young men with

    Read More

  • Polonius' Mistakes

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    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

  • The Effects of Targeting the Audience in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the words of Harvey Fierstein, “What looks absolutely fabulous in rehearsal can fall flat in front of an audience. The audience dictates what you do or don't change”. Clearly, the success or failure of any work of art depends, almost entirely, on its ability to engage and connect with its audience. Shakespeare, one of the greatest playwrights in history, certainly understood this concept. He targeted his Elizabethan audience skillfully, drawing them in and manipulating the way they interpreted his works. This is evident in one of his renowned plays, Hamlet. Attempts to target the audience are evident throughout the play, but focusing on one speech can provide a greater appreciation for Shakespeare’s deliberate efforts. In act four, scene two, while explaining that Polonius is dead, Hamlet says:

    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

  • Hamlet – the Wise Polonius

    2942 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Role of Teiresias in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    Teiresias uses his psychic abilities to foreshadow the anguish and destruction that Oedipus will encounter after he learns the truths of his life. Teiresias is also responsible for further developing the theme of blindness by using his own physical blindness to reveal to Oedipus his mental blindness. Lastly, Teiresias is ultimately responsible for imposing dramatic irony because of his great knowledge of the truth of Oedipus. In the play, Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the minor character of Teiresias is responsible for foreshadowing Oedipus’ fate, developing the theme of blindness, and also illustrating dramatic irony.

    Read More

  • Soliloquies Essay - Claudius' Soliloquy in Hamlet

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Claudius' soliloquy about his remorse over his murder of Hamlet's father is important to the play because it's the one place where we learn how Claudius feels about what he has done. The rest of the play is all about how Hamlet feels about what Claudius has done, and I think it rounds out the play to get it from a different perspective.

    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

  • Gender Roles in Hamlet

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    The only other female in the play is Ophelia, and she isn’t allowed to see Hamlet because her dad said so, but her brother Laertes whined until he got to go to another country! That illustrates how unfair Polonius is to women, and that he feels because she is a girl she is his possession. Since she is his possession, he feels he is owed complete control of her.

    Read More

  • Polonius's Madness

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    Hamlet at this point is only pretending to be mad. He feigns madness by calling Polonius a “fishmonger” with one breath and then recalls he has a daughter with the next. Polonius calls his replies, “pregnant”. He means they are full of meaning and he claims that to be “a happiness that often madness hits on,” (II.ii.227-228). Polonius says, aside, that Hamlet’s lengthy replies are a sign of madness. Hamlet is revealed to be only pretending to be mad because as Polonius leaves Hamlet says aside, “These tedious old fools” (II.ii.237). This shows that Hamlet clearly knows and hates Polonius and was putting up an act. It is also a short remark and as Polonius stated, long remarks are signs of madness.

    Read More

More about Analytical Essay: Polonius

Open Document