More handpicked essays just for you.
Shakespeare and honour in Othello
Relevance of the ghost of hamlet in the plot
The power of love in the tempest
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Shakespeare and honour in Othello
Scene two begins with Polonius discussing to Reynaldo, a hired servant, to spy on his son Laertes. Yet, Polonius means of spying takes drastic measures. As revealed through their conversation, Polonius intends Reynaldo to “lay slight sullies on my son” (II.i.45). In other words, Polonius wants Reynaldo to spread rumors about his son. Obviously, this is absurd coming from a father, even Reynaldo mentions it, “would dishonor him” (II.i.30). Hence this sheds light on the motif of honor and duty since Polonius is ruining Larter's reputation in order to gain information. However Polonius declares his idea as, “a fetch of wit” (II.i.46) and ignores Reynaldo’s advise. As they continue through their conversation, Polonius express a metaphor by comparing the spreading of rumors to catching fish. …show more content…
This idea reveals the character of Polonius since he will go through corrupt ways to receive what he wants. Yet it's ironic how Polonius intends to use lying as a way of bring forth truth. The mentioning of “by indirections find directions out” is again the reference to use lies to uncover truths. Hamlet’s conversation between Polonius reveals his enmity towards this character. The scene begins by Polonius accompanying Hamlet after devising a plan with the king to figure out why he has gone insane. However, what Polonius, and majority of the characters in the play, do not realize is Hamlet’s pretending. This was established when Hamlet claims, “I hereafter shall put an antic disposition” (I.v.191-192). As the scene proceeds Polonius asks, “Do you know me, my lord?” (II.ii.189-190) which Hamlet replies, “You are a fishmonger”. In other words, Hamlet is degrading Polonius. The term fishmonger has two
“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.
When Laertes finds out his father, Polonius, died he acted without hesitation whereas Hamlet avenged his fathers’ death by slowly plotting in a step by step manner. During Act 3 Scene 4 (1-9 pg.1), Polonius and Gertrude talk to each other and tells Gertrude to talk to Hamlet while he spies on him. “Lord Polonius: He will come straight. Look you lay home to him: Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with, And that your grace hath screen 'd and stood between Much heat and him. I 'll sconce me even here. Pray you, be round with him. Hamlet: [Within] Mother, mother, mother! Queen Gertrude: I 'll warrant you, Fear me not: withdraw, I hear him coming.” As Hamlet and his mother Gertrude talk they have a little argument and Hamlet says he is upset that she married Claudius. So Gertrude went on to say we shall talk to others as well about this. At this point Hamlet doesn’t want it to be discussed out of the room and when Gertrude tries to leave Hamlet would not let her budge. Gertrude goes on scream help and when Polonius hears he does the same behind the tapestry. Hamlet already had presumed the rat was Claudius and without hesitation killed the rat with his sword and then later finding out he accidently killed Polonius. Act 3, Scene 4 (28 pg.2) “Hamlet “Nay, I know not: Is it the king?” The news reaches Laertes and as he returned from France he assumed it was Claudius who killed his father and attempted to take revenge immediately. “Laertes: To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation. To this point I stand That both the worlds I give to negligence. Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged Most thoroughly for my father.” Act 4, Scene 5 (105-110 pg.7). He later finds out it was Hamlet who killed Polonius. Through these points we can see how Laertes is a foil to Hamlet, because he acts without knowing reasons.
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
They are trying to deceive Hamlet into thinking their concern is genuine when it is actually just a farce provoked by the King. Hamlet is certain the ghost was truthful about his father's murder, so Hamlet too becomes deceitful and uses trickery to gain answers and avenge his father's murder. Polonius is also deceitful when he sends his servant to seek out answers from town's people on the reputation of his son Laertes. The playwright may have been warning his audiences without subtlety, by showing us that no matter the reason for deception, that in the end it will cause grief and dishonor. Misogyny is also a theme that is played out by when Hamlet speaks of the quick marriage of his mother; this causes Hamlet to distrust women and tells Ophelia that she should join a nunnery.
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.
The first way that deceit leads to the eventual downfall of Hamlet is Polonius' spying. In Act III, scene iii, Polonius decides to help the king by spying on Hamlet and his mother when he says, "My lord, [the king] he's going to his mothers closet. Behind the arras I'll convey myself to hear the process." (III; iii; 28 - 29) In Act III, scene iv, Polonius gets his chance and listens to a conversation between Hamlet and his mother, hoping that Hamlet would confide something in his mother that could be used against him. Unfortunately for Polonius, Hamlet hears him behind the curtain, and (thinking that Polonius is actually a spying King Claudius) immediately stabs and kills him. This event contributes to Hamlet's downfall because Claudius is able to use it as an excuse to send Hamlet away to England. Officially, the king sends Hamlet away, "for thine especial safety," (IV; iii; 37) with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because the murder might earn him some enemies. Privately though, Claudius plans to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern go with Hamlet to convey a message to the King of England that Hamlet is to be executed. In addition, by sending Hamlet away, Claudius is protecting himself because Hamlet is, "loved of the distracted multitude [the public]." (IV; iii; 4) So, if Hamlet were to show the people that Claudius had killed Hamlet's father, then they might believe him, and as a result, overthrow and kill Claudius. Thus, the downfall is that Claudius wants Hamlet dead. In addition, if Claudius' plan works, then Hamlet dies and his father’s death would not be avenged. So, if Polonius had not spied on Hamlet and Gertrude, Hamlet would not have killed Polonius and thus, Claudius would not have a good enough excuse to send Hamlet away to England.
Fortinbras, Laertes, Hamlet: hero, villain, mechanism of conflict. This triad is necessary to Shakespeare 's celebrated play, Hamlet. Despite his crucial role, the first named character is often absent in productions. Fortinbras represents the brave hero Hamlet wants to be and ultimately becomes, while Laertes represents Hamlet 's emotional self-doubt and self-hatred that drives the play 's conflict. The separate subplots of Fortinbras and Laertes mirror both Hamlet 's contradictory personality and the play’s plot.
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
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.
from that of the appearance of the ghost and the problems of Hamlet and his
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.
...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.
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:
... 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.
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...