Polonius is a character in Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" who serves as the Lord Chamberlain of Denmark. He is a close advisor to the King and is known for his long-winded speeches and his tendency to speak in riddles and proverbs.
Despite his position of power and influence, Polonius is ultimately a flawed and shallow character. He is cunning and manipulative, using his intelligence and wit to further his own interests rather than acting in the best interests of the kingdom or its people. He is also hypocritical and self-serving, often giving advice that he himself does not follow.
One of the most notable aspects of Polonius's character is his relationship with his children, Laertes and Ophelia. He is fiercely protective of both of them and often gives them advice on how to behave and make good decisions. However, his guidance is often misguided and self-serving, as he advises Laertes to be honest and sincere, yet encourages him to be deceitful in order to win the favor of the King. Similarly, he advises Ophelia to avoid Hamlet's advances, yet is later revealed to be using her as a pawn in a scheme to test Hamlet's sanity.
Ultimately, Polonius's actions have tragic consequences, as his interference in the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia contributes to the downward spiral of events that leads to the deaths of several characters, including himself. He is killed by Hamlet when he spies on the prince and mistakes him for an intruder.
In conclusion, Polonius is a complex and flawed character in "Hamlet." He is intelligent and cunning, but ultimately his self-serving actions and hypocrisy lead to his own downfall.
An Interesting Character Study: Polonius
While all of these are possibilities, what Hamlet actually does is urge his mother to repent choosing Claudius over his own father. Is it a free visitation? He sends Reynaldo to spy on his son, and he uses his daughter as bait to trick Hamlet. QUEEN Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. HAMLET Follow him, friends. Moreover that we much did long to see you, The need we have to use you did provoke Our hasty sending.
QUEEN Have you forgot me? ROSENCRANTZ 355 I think their inhibition comes by the means of the late innovation. QUEEN 175 So he does indeed. His efforts to discover Laertes' reputation in Paris assume that Laertes will not follow his earlier advice; this, the later words become a comic reduction of his previous sermon to his son. The exchange convinces Polonius that 28 Hamlet greets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with warmth and sound mind, asking them their reasons for coming to Denmark or, as Hamlet refers to it, his prison. To me, it is a prison. Scholars believe that Shakespeare created Polonius as a fool because of his foolish dialogue throughout the play.
Summary: Act III, scene iv In Hamlet storms into the room and asks his mother why she has sent for him. So, again, good night. Now I am alone. HAMLET 210 Words, words, words. Who would do so? HAMLET In the secret parts of Fortune? He admits that he is not a man of great prestige, and yet he has risen to be counselor to the King. Hamlet, a young student and model soldier struggles to deal with a harsh reality that leads him to doubt the whole world.
At top, the king and prince and queen; beneath, the functionary and his family. Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor 425 Plautus too light. The Shakespearean audience viewed Hamlet as the protagonist of the play, and some scholars believe that Polonius served as his perfect foil. Still harping on 205 my daughter. POLONIUS What follows then, my lord? HAMLET Look here upon this picture and on this, The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. Mad let us grant him then, and now remains That we find out the cause of this effect, 110 Or, rather say, the cause of this defect, For this effect defective comes by cause.
Polonius, Hamlet: An Overview Of Polonius' Character
Polonius is Ophelia's father and Hamlet portrays an image of love toward Ophelia. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 1992. HAMLET 250 Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of her favors? Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief. ROSENCRANTZ Haply he is the second time come to them, for they say an old man is twice a child. GUILDENSTERN Which dreams, indeed, are ambition, for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.
Maybe, like my childhood friend—a refugee from a war-torn country—he cultivated a clownish persona that masked his trauma. HAMLET Mother, you have my father much offended. There was for a while no money bid for argument unless the poet and the player went to cuffs in the question. As the scene progresses, Gertrude goes through several states of feeling: she is haughty and accusatory at the beginning, then afraid that Hamlet will hurt her, shocked and upset when Hamlet kills Polonius, overwhelmed by fear and panic as Hamlet accosts her, and disbelieving when Hamlet sees the ghost. Masters, you are all welcome.
POLONIUS You know sometimes he walks four hours together Here in the lobby. Tweaks me by the nose? I will go seek the king. His form and cause conjoined, preaching to stones, Would make them capable. OPHELIA My lord, I do not know, But truly I do fear it. Will they pursue the quality 370 no longer than they can sing? Enter Guildenstern and Rosencrantz.
Polonius is ill-equipped for that approach. Here is your husband, like a mildewed ear 75 Blasting his wholesome brother. This was your husband. HAMLET Why, 440 As by lot, God wot and then, you know, It came to pass, as most like it was— the first row of the pious chanson will show you more, for look where my abridgment comes. GHOST Do not forget. I feared he did but trifle And meant to wrack thee. In this sense Polonius offers an alternative and far less extreme perspective on the impossibility of perfectly knowing oneself.
The conversations between Polonius and Hamlet can make the play almost comic. Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with And that your Grace hath screened and stood 5 between Much heat and him. But you shall hear. Yet he knew me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger. Use them after your own honor and dignity.
Drama attracts certain kinds of students: soulful, gregarious, eager for an audience. Retrieved 10 July 2014. The advices Polonius gave his son can also help me succeed in college. Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet. POLONIUS 560 Come, sirs. You build a great career to provide for your family. Hibbard ed , Hamlet, Oxford University Press, 1998, p.
