Lord Polonius is a character in Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. He is the chief counselor to the King of Denmark and is known for his long-winded speeches and his tendency to act as a busybody.
Polonius is presented as a wise and experienced counselor, but his actions and words often reveal his superficiality and lack of true understanding. He is a manipulator who seeks to use his position and influence for his own benefit and the benefit of his children, Laertes and Ophelia. He is also prone to making hasty judgments and giving unsolicited advice, which ultimately leads to his own demise.
Despite his flaws, Polonius is a complex character who is not entirely villainous. He genuinely cares for his children and advises them to be cautious and responsible in their actions. He also shows remorse for his role in the death of Ophelia, who goes mad and drowns after being rejected by Hamlet.
Overall, Lord Polonius is a fascinating character in Hamlet who adds depth and complexity to the play. His actions and words reveal the dangers of seeking power and influence at the expense of others, and the consequences that can come with making hasty judgments and acting without fully understanding the situation.
Hamlet Act 1 Scene 3
ACT I SCENE III A room in Polonius' house. Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. I am sorry that with better heed and judgment 125 I had not coted him. LAERTES For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, 10 The perfume and suppliance of a minute, No more. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief. REYNALDO Well, my lord. This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Is he more concerned about his own wit than Ophelia's feelings? Give every man thy ear but few thy voice. Polonius is a proud and concerned father. The chariest maid is prodigal enough, If she unmask her beauty to the moon: Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes: The canker galls the infants of the spring, Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, 40 And in the morn and liquid dew of youth Contagious blastments are most imminent. LAERTES Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord. A double blessing is a double grace. You experience the sensation of a pause without the sense of a stop.
For Lord Hamlet, Believe so much in him, that he is young And with a larger tether may he walk Than may be given you: in few, Ophelia, Do not believe his vows; for they are brokers, Not of that dye which their investments show, But mere implorators of unholy suits, Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds, 130 The better to beguile. But the figure is probably taken from hooping together the several staves of a cask, etc. Be wary then; best safety lies in fear: Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. The time invites you, i. Marcellus is present when Hamlet first encounters the ghost.
It was adorned with pretty bows of ribbon. Use QuoteFancy Studio to create high-quality images for your desktop backgrounds, blog posts, presentations, social media, videos, posters and more. William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley Lord Burghley, Secretary of State under Elizabeth I, wrote a short manual for his son as he set off on his youthful travels to France. There is a confusion of constructions between Whiles like, etc. LAERTES O, fear me not.
The Manipulative Behavior of Lord Polonius in William Shakespeare's Play Hamlet
As a comic character, he consistently shows himself less wise than he thinks. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Fear it, Ophelia; fear it, my dear sister, And keep you in the rear of your affection, Out of the shot and danger of desire. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. This is for all: 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.
He instructs Reynaldo to spy on his son, and even suggest that he has been gambling and consorting with prostitutes, to find out what he has really been up to. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not expressed in fancy rich, not gaudy , For the apparel oft proclaims the man, And they in France of the best rank and station Are of a most select and generous chief in that. LORD POLONIUS Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. Hamlet 1982 , 142. But, good my brother, Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven; Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, 50 And recks not his own rede. So please you, if it so please you the 'if' being inherent in the subjunctive ; a deprecatory form of courtesy. Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister, And keep you in the rear of your affection, Out of the shot and danger of desire.
William Shakespeare Quote: “Lord Polonius: What do you read, my lord? Hamlet: Words, words, words. Lord Polonius: What is the matter, my lord? Hamle...”
Does Ophelia understand Laertes' true nature? Polonius frequently makes long-winded, tedious speeches and proves himself incapable of following his own advice about being succinct. Hair, moustache, and beard were coloured as fancy prompted. Polonius advises his servant, Reynaldo, to spy on his son, Laertes, who has just departed for Paris. Rowse William Shakespeare: A Biography, 1963, 323; Shakespeare The Man, 1973 185, 186. LAERTES My necessaries are embarked. LORD POLONIUS Yet here, Laertes! REYNALDO Good my lord.
There, my blessing with thee. And convoy is assistant, and the means of conveying a letter is at hand: i. Horatio is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play. Laertes does not mean to charge Hamlet with insincerity; his love may be real enough, he says, but it will quickly change. Look to't, I charge you: come your ways. Is Polonius a foil to Hamlet? On Pope's reading hooks, which has been accepted by Malone and others, the Cl.
Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. The moustache was sometimes left very long. This is the very ecstasy of love, 115 Whose violent property fordoes itself ACT 2. Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. Jefferson, North Carolina: 978-0-7864-7333-5.
