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Shakespeare purpose of polonius
Short note on character of polonius in shakespeare comedy in hamlet
Short note on character of polonius in shakespeare comedy in hamlet
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Polonius, shrewd and worldly man.
Played as a senile old fool, Polonius occasionally shows a dignity of a shrewd and worldly man.
As Polonius says, “You shall do Marvell’s wisely, good Reynaldo, before you visit him, to make inquire” we may suppose that Polonius is very attentive and has watchful eyes on his son,
Laertes. Otherwise, as Polonius says, “To thine own self be true” we can see that his speech is charged with the wisdom of a life fully lived, although he is a tedious and parental; however, in the other side, this advise shows the Polonius’s wackiness because, ironically, he says “To thine own self be true” to Laertes after many lines of a speech in which Polonius tells his son, Laertes to hide his feelings and impulses, to impress people by rich clothing and by
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As Polonius goes, “At such a time I’ll loose my daughter to him. Be you and I behind an arras then…” we can assume that Polonius is very systematic; to demonstrate, he intentionally plans for those happening and tries to get control over them. As his famous soliloquy goes, “ Though this be madness, yet there is a method in it” we can see that he is a very patient, shrewd and worldly man. In the personal favorite scene of mine, that is really tense, at the time before Polonius hides behind the queen’s closet, he goes, “My lord, he's going to his mother's closet. Behind the arras I'll convey myself…” Along this moment, I suppose that he likes to collect information about
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
“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.
After Laertes knows about the mysterious death of his father and thinks the King Claudius killed him, he organizes a rebellious army and fight all the way into the castle to get revenge for his father. By the time the messenger comes and tells Claudius and Gertrude that [Young Laertes, in a riotous head, overbears [the King’s] officers.] (Act IV scene iv l.102-103)Laertes’s rebellious army are already at the last door to where the King is. Laertes, as a gentleman from a noble family and a scholar studying abroad, has fairly high self-respect and sense of honor. When his father’s been killed and buried secretly his family lost their honor. Therefore his self-respect pushes him to regain the pride that has been lost, even if it means that he has to act against the head of the kingdom, the King of Denmark, to find out the truth of the death of his father. However his father, Polonius, is the totally opposite of him. Polonius has always been a sycophant to Claudius, everything he says is to please the King. He tells his daughter, Ophelia, that Hamlet doesn’t love her, he is only playing with her. Yet, what he says to the King is that “[He] went round to work, and [his] young mistress thus [he] did bespeak: ‘Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of [Ophelia’s] star. This must not be.’” (Act II scene ii l.147-149) Also, Polonius is willing to “loose [his] daughter to [Hamlet]. Be the [King and him] behind an arras then, mark the
After hearing this description, Polonius assumes that only one thing could cause Hamlet to behave like this so he asks is Hamlet is “Mad for thy love?” (II, i, 94) This scene is full of beautiful language spoken b...
...f the situation before he enters it, while Polonius and Ophelia must try to understand events as, or after they happen.
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.
...never truly know another’s inner nature. If Hamlet’s scenario is not convincing enough, an examination of the situations of Polonius— whose attempts to see into Hamlet’s interior based on Hamlet’s actions get him killed— and Claudius— who also falls prey to the belief that his soul is impenetrable and dies as a result of it— may be helpful. As Hamlet demonstrates, there exist certain moral principles beyond human control, and sometimes, as in Hamlet’s case, they are better left unchallenged.
Chronologically first, the death of Polonius triggers the events that lead to the deaths of both Ophelia and Laertes. From early on, Polonius is established as an untrusting and untrustworthy character. One of his very first actions is hiring a man to spy on his own son, “Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth”(31). Polonius tells Reynaldo to spread dishonorable rumors about Laertes in order to reveal his true behaivior. He is untrusting of his own son to obey the long list of advice he gave to him prior to his departure. This tendency to spy in order to ponder his suspicions is what ultimatley leads to Hamlet stabbing him to death. Due to the desire to confirm his false theory that Ophelia is the reason for Hamlet’s madness, Polonius chooses to spy on the Queen and her son,
"To thine own self be true," (Polonius - 1.3.84) the words of a fool followed only by the tragic hero, Hamlet. The masks of the characters were what lead each to their tragedy.
Paying particular attention to Act 3, scene 1, in which Polonius and others discuss keeping watch over Hamlet, write an essay which makes a case for why surveillance is so important in this play.
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...
Claudius, the shrewd politician is the most obvious example of a man who manipulates words to enhance his own power, possessing a professional grasp of the language. Using this he can oppress people and assert his authority, as we see him doing when delivering a polished speech to the council. He cleverly justifies the ill-viewed situation of his marriage to Gertrude, reminding them that their `better wisdoms' have `freely gone with this affair all along'. In this way he can brush past this sensitive matter, expect no interludes and proceed to other issues. It is interesting to note the changes and flexibility of his language. Addressing the crowd he initially adopts a personal tone on the matter of the past kings death, with creative oxymoron's like `wisest sorrow' and `defeated joy', knowing he speaks of a matter dear to all of them. He pays his own respect, in public, to the sensitive subject that should force the whole kingdom to `be contracted in one brow of woe'. Yet, once he has drawn the crowd to him, sympathised with them and become `one' of them in mourning, he then quickly proceeds to other matters in a far more formal tone. His clever use of language is once again shown, in his interrogation of Polonius's son. Laertes reveals that his `thoughts and wishes bend again toward France' and asks the Kings leave. Claudius does grant him the leave, but ...
Before Laertes is about to go to France, Polonius talks to him and tells him all of his good advice. While Polonius tells Laertes all of his good advice, he says, “My blessing with thee'; (I.iii.61). This statement shows that Polonius really wants Laertes to be successful when he goes to France. Polonius says, “Beware of entrance to a quarrel';, (I.iii.69) because he wants him to be safe. Polonius wants Laertes to stay out of trouble, and to be friendly with everyone he meets. Another point Polonius wants to make is that it is better to listen than to talk. “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice'; (I.iii.72). Polonius believes that it is better to listen too much than to talk too much, because sometimes people who talk too much get into trouble, and others don’t like them. Whereas, people who listen more than they talk rarely have others who don’t like them and they don’t get into much trouble. Another way Polonius tells Laertes to stay out of trouble is when he says, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be'; (I.iii.80). This is important because sometimes when things are borrowed, the lender will get mad that the borrower didn’t return when it was needed or the borrower ruined part of it. Even when it is an accident, it is still better to not borrow or lend anything from anyone just in case one person has a short temper. Polonius lastly and most importantly tells Laertes, “This above all to thine own self be true';. This is good advice because if people are not true to themselves, then they can’t really be true to anyone else. Polonius believes that Laertes should have enough self-respect to be true to himself.
After the death of Polonius, the one to take it the hardest is of course his daughter
He always wants to keep up the appearance of a loving and caring person, which is evident through his love and care of his son. Laertes. Polonius speaks to his son with advice that sounds sincere. but in reality it is rehearsed, hollow and without feeling. Page Number -.