How To Kill Polonius

1326 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Characteristics of hamlet

By the time Hamlet kills Polonius, he is nearly unrecognizable from his former self. This frenzied, indifferent deed both demonstrates the aftermath of a reaction and elicits one. Angered and frustrated that his mother has entered into a relationship with the killer of her beloved husband, convinced of the weakness of woman (regarding not just Gertrude, but Ophelia), he confronts Gertrude in her quarters with will his now-verified knowledge, determined to “let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest” (1.5.807-808) and follow his father’s instructions. Barely a few minutes after entering; however, he has just begun to reprimand her when she mistakes his intentions as murderous and cries out for help. Polonius, eavesdropping …show more content…

Before, he procrastinated, even realizing and berating himself for his inaction (perhaps to make up for this former delay); he lashes out on a slight chance, so willing is he to murder his uncle. In fact, when the horrified Gertrude asks what he has done, he replies offhandedly, “Nay, I know not. Is it the King?” (3.4.2468). Having done this, he proceeds to pull Polonius’s body from behind the arras, untroubled, instead chastising a corpse and saying his death was his own fault. As explained by Philip Edwards, a Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute in Shakespeare Survey 36 of Tragic Balance in Hamlet, “by killing Polonius Hamlet unwittingly takes his own life.” Polonius is his first true kill, an act which brings rise to a new level of violence and vengeance and culminates in the bloody end. This is a turning point in character development, his first step on the path of becoming a cold-blooded killer. He later shows some regret: “I do repent: but heaven hath pleased it so to punish me with this and this with me” (3.4.2630-2631) but having introduced himself to murder, it is a necessary step in ensuring his uncle meets the same

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Lion King vs Hamlet

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Assumptions In Hamlet

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Polonius decides that he wants to know what his son is up to in Paris, he hires Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. His suggestion is that Reynaldo should say he has “some distant knowledge of him, as thus: ‘I know his father and his friends, and, in part, him’” (2.1.14-16). Polonius wants Reynaldo to lie about his friendship with Laertes in order to gain information on him. When Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius instead of Claudius, his mother tells Claudius that Hamlet “whips out his rapier, cries, ‘A rat, a rat!’” before stabbing Polonius behind a curtain (4.1.11). Gertrude swears to her husband that Hamlet had no intention of killing any human. While she is lying to Claudius, she is attempting to protect her son from harsh

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Gregory Doran's Hamlet

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    The way he views Polonius’ corpse bears more disdain than regret at killing the wrong man. Even towards the end of the scene, he drags the corpse away with flippancy, his tone bordering on cheerful when he bids his mother goodnight; his reaction at killing for the first time takes away from his humanity and arguably makes Hamlet a less sympathetic character. Conversely, David Tennant’s portrayal of Hamlet, especially the dramatic way his mood changes, makes his madness frighteningly real, as he goes from fury at his mother to cowering, almost childlike, in fear at the reprimand of his father’s ghost. Additionally, the vulnerability evident at the end of the scene, when he breaks down into tears and hugs Gertrude, coupled with the legitimate madness he shows, helps to elicit sympathy for the

    Read More

  • Hamlet Sanity Analysis

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet runs into Ophelia and angrily Hamlet denies having given her anything; he laments the dishonesty of beauty, and claims both to have loved Ophelia once and never to have loved her at all. Then Hamlet spits out nasty comments including, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” (Shakespeare 3. 1. 131-132). He criticizes women for making men behave like monsters and for contributing to the world’s dishonesty by painting their faces to appear more beautiful than they are. This illustrates Hamlet shifting from sane to insane. During Hamlets talk between him and his mother he hears a noise behind the arras. Hamlet storms into the room and asks his mother why she has sent for him. She says that he has offended his stepfather. Hamlet accosts her with an almost violent intensity and declares his intention to make her fully aware of the profundity of her sin. Fearing for her life, Gertrude cries out. From behind the arras, Polonius calls out for help. Hamlet, realizing that someone is behind the arras and suspecting that it might be Claudius, cries, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead” (Shakespeare 3. 4. 29). He draws his sword and stabs it through the tapestry, killing the unseen Polonius. This begins the starts his complete transformation from sanity to insanity. . Therefore, while Hamlet argues with his mother in her room after the dumb show he makes insulting

    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 as Victim of a Corrupt World

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    Troubled by royal treason, ruthless scheming, and a ghost, Denmark is on the verge of destruction. Directly following King Hamlet's death, the widowed Queen Gertrude remarried Claudius, the King's brother. Prince Hamlet sees the union of his mother and uncle as a "hasty and incestuous" act (Charles Boyce, 232). He then finds out that Claudius is responsible for his father's treacherous murder. His father's ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his death and Hamlet agrees. He plans very carefully, making sure that he doesn't kill Claudius when in he has already been forgiven for his sins. Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, the King's advisor, thinking that it was Claudius hiding behind a curtain spying on Hamlet and his mother. This drives Ophelia, Polonius' daughter and Hamlet's love interest, insane. She then drowns in a suspected suicide when she falls from a tree into a river. Laertes, Ophelia's brother, teams up with Claudius and plot revenge on the strained prince.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Essay: Hamlet's Gone Mad

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play, Hamlet encounters many situations as well as mistakes due to the “act” he was putting on. Polonius’s death was a prime example of Hamlet’s confusion. His hatred for Claudius, his actions, and his inner conflict caused him to kill Polonius.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • Hamlet Insanity Essay

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition to verbal abuse, Hamlet is prone to fits of physical violence, the most notable being the murder of Polonius in Act 3, Scene 4, which will eventually lead to the untimely death of his one true love. He shows no remorse over the killing of his love’s father and when asked where he hid the body provides little information, at first taking an opportunity to further show his insanity before finally revealing the body’s whereabouts.

    Read More

  • Hamlet

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    In contrast to Laertes speculation of his father’s killer, Hamlet assumes the individual spying on his conversation with Gertrude is Claudius. “Nay, I know not. Is it the King?” (Act III Scene 4 line 28). Without thinking, Hamlet automatically thrusts out attempting to kill who he believed was Claudius and actually kills Polonius.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Revenge In Literature

    1507 Words  | 4 Pages

    Polonius takes this opportunity to spy on Hamlet and informs Gertrude that he will hide behind a tapestry and eavesdrop on their conversation. During their conversation Hamlet forces his mother in front of a mirror as to literally reflect on herself and the betrayal she’s caused him to feel. He tells her that he wants to reveal the figurative inmost part of her, but she takes this literally and thinks that he means he is going to murder her. She cries out for help which causes Polonius to cry out as well. Hamlet, thinking that the voice of the man who had just cried out for help belonged to his uncle, stabs Polonius through the curtain and kills him. Gertrude laments the murder of Polonius calling it a bloody deed and Hamlet retorts, “A bloody deed! Almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and marry with his brother” (Shakespeare 1862). In this scene, Hamlet reaps revenge on Gertrude by emotionally torturing her so she may feel the utmost guilt for betraying her son and husband. Then, Hamlet’s unremorseful character is revealed in his ability to murder Polonius when he thought it was Claudius he had heard behind the curtain. Hamlet then justifies his murdering Polonius by equating it to Gertrude’s sin of marrying the man, her brother in law, who killed her

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Gertrude's Relationship

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    The relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude is strained at first. From the beginning of the play to act III, Hamlet is bitter with his mother. He feels this way because it has been less than four months since the death of his biological father, yet she is already remarried to Claudius. He feels his father is being betrayed from her lack of mourning. She tells her son to "cast thy nighted color off" (I.ii.68) and "all that lives must die" (I.ii.72). Clearly, she isn't grieving over her late husband's death and instead puts forth an optimistic attitude to her new husband and life. Gertrude's concern with Hamlet's odd behaviour after his encounter with Ophelia in act II scene i also shows the strain in their relationship. For example, she agrees with Claudius' words that "of Hamlet's transformation" (II.ii.5) and suggests Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy and find out the underlying cause of her son's problems. In addition to that, she consents Polonius to hide behind the tapestry in act III scene iv without Hamlet knowing. These two decisions suggest their inability to communicate. Instead, spying is required for Gertrude to find out about her son's inner mentality. The mother and ...

    Read More

  • Free Will in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    Following the performance of “The Mousetrap”, Hamlet is summoned to his mother's chamber. Upon arguing with Gertrude over the intentions of his play, and his reasons for wanting to distress the king so openly, Hamlet kills Polonius.  “How now? A rat? Dead for a ducat, dead (III.iv.27-28)!  Perhaps Hamlet did not know whom he was killing.  “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! / I took thee for thy better”(III.iv.38-39)!  Perhaps Hamlet thought he was killing the king.

    Read More

  • The Realization Of Hamlet's Insane In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    / I will bestow him, and will answer well / The death I gave him.” (3.4.170-174) – despite his contempt of Polonius and his incessant nosiness – even after killing Polonius, Hamlet stills refers to him as a “wretched, rash, intruding fool” (3.4.31). To Bowers, Hamlet’s repentance shows that Hamlet is able to prevent his personal hatred of Polonius from barring himself from realizing that Polonius (however nosy) was still an innocent man and that therefore his murder was unjust, and that Hamlet is willing to accept any necessary punishment for his misdeed from God (Bowers 83). Through his repentance, Hamlet shows clear and rational thinking, and is totally unlike what a truly insane individual

    Read More

  • Indecision, Hesitation and Delay in Shakespeare's Hamlet - Procrastination

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet procrastinated only because of his fear of intimacy with his mother, knowing that Claudius was the only person separating he and Gertrude. Although Hamlet has a pious duty to avenge his father’s murder, his desire for his mother is too strong for him to leave an open pathway to her. He tries to find excuses to postpone his killing Claudius. First, he tries to discover whether or not Claudius really did kill King Hamlet, which gives him some time. After he has convinced himself that Claudius is to blame, he attempts to murder him just twice. The first time, he finds Claudius praying, and uses that as a scapegoat so he can again put off his pious duty. Later when he is alone with Gertrude, he thinks that Claudius is behind the curtains, and kills the man there. Unfortunately, Polonius becomes the victim of Hamlet’s dagger.

    Read More

More about How To Kill Polonius

Open Document