From acting as an advisor to the king, to spying around the kingdom, and lastly a father of two, the character Polonius in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet faces a heavy weight on his shoulders. As the king’s advisor he must keep up his family name as well as doing a few side jobs such as spying around the kingdom, especially on his daughter and her relations to the- unraveling- prince. The stress and worry of what is going on leads to making him skeptical of most things in the palace. Although these emotions force him to keep up a more calm exterior as the stress of his position requires him to keep a clean family name. Polonius experiences stress and anxiety because of his desire to have control over his life as well as his daughter’s. The constant …show more content…
Due to the time period- around the late middle ages- women were perceived as weak and reliant on their superior, which most of the time was their father, and had to remain dependant on them. The advice given to her goes from being about Prince Hamlet to how she should act herself. Throughout the play women are recognized as weak- as said before- but also should remain pliant to their male authority as they know best for them. The powerful gender roles play a part in the decisions she makes. For example, Polonius explains to her that she,“‘must not take for fire. From this time/ Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence”’(I. 3. 120-121). To appear as ‘scanter’ is to seem limited or insufficient, for Polonius to use this phrase could reference his want to control her life and that she should lay low. Ophelia ‘must not take for fire’ or that she must not as extroverted as a fire and to lay low, appearing lady like to others and subordinate to her authority figures. Her acting this way will keep Polonius’ worries down as it will be shown to others that his daughter is trained to be respectful as well as keeping the family name …show more content…
Like her brother, Laertes, Polonius offers advice, but in a more fatherly and protective manner. He also commands her with instructions to keep up their clean reputation, for the family name shouldn’t be tarnished for her ‘recklessness’ with Hamlet. He acts strictly by saying, “‘I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,/Have you so slander any moment leisure,/As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet./Look to't, I charge you: come your ways” (I. 3. 132-135). His main goal of this advice towards her is to keep her under control and force her to listen. By being strict with her, it would keep the family name clean since King Claudius may not be as forgiving towards him if anything were said against him. By stating “Have you so slander any moment leisure” is instructing her to not speak or make any contact with Hamlet at all. He makes it clear of his intentions as if she were to make contact in her free time then she would bring dishonor to their
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
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...
Ophelia to think of him as a wise, moral, and respectable father as shown in the following lines:
Both Polonius and Ophelia try, unsuccessfully, to manipulate Hamlet into a place of inferiority. In the first scene of Act II, Polonius and Ophelia discuss the meaning of Hamlet's odd behavior. Though the two characters agree his actions arise out of the torment of spurned love, they arrive at that point through very different means. At the beginning of the dialogue, Ophelia says that she has been "affrighted" by Hamlet in her bed chamber. (II,i 75)
Leaving her only with the response saying “I shall obey, my lord”(1.3.145 ). Why Ophelia is unable to say more than a few simple words is made clear by societal expectations of the time. During this time daughters were the property of their fathers and were obligated to do their bidding. Campbell says “if she refuses Polonius, she risks social ostracism and grave insult to the man who capriciously controls her future” (58). Ophelia fears the backlash of disobeying her father, believing there is no other choice than doing what he has asked her to do. Even though a woman's virtue is a sacred and a very personal choice, her father leaves Ophelia with one option: to do what he says. “The issue of Ophelia’s chastity concerns Polonius as a parent and a politician—a virginal Ophelia has a better chance of attaining Hamlet’s hand in marriage” (Floyd-Wilson 401). This relationship Ophelia has between her father is very one-sided and unhealthy. It is formal and proper with very few emotions attached to each other. However, because Polonius is the only parental figure Ophelia has and loves him, his death was extremely difficult for her. Her father, hasn’t left her like Laertes and hasn’t rejected her like Hamlet. Making his unexpected death the final straw to her losing her sanity. Without someone to guide her, she is lost. She is unable to blindly follow a man but is to racked with emotion to think clearly.
In Phaedrus, Plato uses the symbol of a chariot and team to represent the soul. He states, “Let us then liken the soul to the natural union of a team of winged horses and the charioteer. The gods have horses and charioteers that are themselves all good and come from stock of the same sort, everyone else has a mixture” (Phaedrus 246B). As the chariot is made of a charioteer and two horses, Plato claims that the soul is made of three parts. In Plato’s myth, reason is the charioteer that drives the two other parts of the soul the horses onwards. This portion of the soul Plato associates with the virtue of nous (reason or wisdom), with which chooses the best path for the chariot to take. Plato believes that this part of the soul is
Polonius immediately calls to question Ophelia’s ability to reason with his opening remark, “I must tell you / You do not understand yourself so clearly.” (1.3.104-105). This statement along with his suggestion to, “Think yourself a baby” (1.3.114) in regards to how she feels about Hamlet show his commanding nature and instant mistrust of how Ophelia could possibly behave in the best way. Ophelia, to her credit, responds with a curt, “I shall obey, my lord” (1.3.145), which shows her maturity and respect by avoiding conflict through a calm demeanor. However, given how she responded to Laertes, this response also comes across as snide and mocking showing her independence through a resilient, almost defiant, statement. Ophelia, for the second time, faces immediate threats to her power over herself and deals with both calmly and intelligently by not provoking a reaction while still showing abject
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.
In the very first scene of the second act, Ophelia rushes to tell her father, Polonius, disturbing news:
told to a person of Laertes’ age. Martin Orkin comments on the nature of Polonius’
I agree with the statement that Polonius, adviser in the court of King Claudius of Denmark, is a good father who desires what is best for his children. Although he may be a fussy and overcautious old man, Polonius constantly gives good advice and his best wishes to both his children, Laertes and Ophelia.
is forced to obey her father Polonious, and is told to be careful with Hamlet,
In Hamlet Ophelia is controlled by her father Polonius who is trying to igain more insight into Hamlet’s behavior. Polonius uses Ophelia as a pawn in his schemes to involving his investigation Hamlet’s craziness. She has no opinions or say in his plans. Polonius uses the advantage of having a daughter to try to investigate Hamlet. He tells Claudius the king about his plan “I have a daughter- have while she is mine-Who in her duty and obedience, mark” (Scene 2 Act 2). Polonius suggests to the king that they should use her to try to learn more about Hamlet’s crazy behavior. Polonius does not consult Ophelia about his plan because he is the head of the family and it is her duty to obey her father. Polonius shows his dominance over her, she cannot argue with him about being involved because she is inferior to him. Polonius asserts himself as a dominant male figure in her life. He controls, and manipulates her for his own personal gain. Polonius formulates Ophelia’s behavior and her opinions through his manipulation and his dominance over her. She becomes a pawn in the king and his schemes and is not able to assert herself as a character with opinions ...
He is essentially telling Ophelia how she should be behaving and reacting to her own situations. This is portraying her as a woman who cannot think for herself and is dependant on Polonius. In addition, Polonius’ death is the trigger to Ophelia’s insanity, because she depended upon him a great deal. When Ophelia is told by Polonius to never contact Hamlet again, she obeys Polonius, but Hamlet acts crazy in reaction to her denial. Ophelia says, “No, my good lord; but, as you did command, / I did repel his letters and denied / His actions to me.” (2.1.109-111) By doing everything Polonius tell her to do, she makes matters for herself worse. Ophelia cannot stand up for her...
In addition to this internal struggle, Hamlet feels it is his duty to dethrone Claudius and become the King of Denmark. This revenge, he believes, would settle the score for his mother’s incestuous relationship and would reinstate his family’s honor. These thoughts are solidified in Act I, Scene 5, when his father’s ghost appears and informs Hamlet that is was Claudius who murdered him, and that Claudius deprived him “of life, of crown, and queen” (line 75). This information leads to Hamlet’s promise to kill Claudius, while not punishing his mother for their incestuous marriage. His statement, “thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (lines 102-103), demonstrates his adamant decision to let nothing stand in the way of his promise for revenge.