Piper Gonzalez
Mrs.Orona
English 4
6 February 2018
Hamlet character analysis essay
“With new power comes abuse of power” (Rose).. As the father of Ophelia, Polonius feels he has some right to power. He wants power but not for the right reasons. Polonius plays a game of he said she said in order to manipulate the people around him in pursuance of power. In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare utilizes the character Polonius to show that the abuse of power, manipulativeness, corruptness, and social status can support his obvious discontent with the life he lives.
Polonius may seem to be demented and elderly but he declared it to himself that nothing was going to come between himself and his social standing. And in the play, Hamlet, Laertes
…show more content…
When polonius finds out about the little love fling they have going on it absolutely infuriates him causing him to band Ophelia from seeing prince Hamlet. As the obeying and loyal daughter ophelia is she obeys her father's wishes. “ Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain If with too credent ear you list his songs, Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open To his unmastered importunity. 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. 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. And in the morn and liquid dew of youth, Contagious blastments are most imminent. Be wary, then. Best safety lies in fear. Youth to itself rebels, though none else near” (1.3 30-40).. While he may think he is the good guy and only has his best heart for his children it is corrupted. He tells ophelia not to ruin her reputation with Hamlet just for his desires because she is treasure. He is just a typical dad who cares about his children, in a broad and general
In order to make sense of his behavior, the royal family spies on Hamlet. Polonius, the king’s chief counselor, believes that he is lovesick for his daughter Ophelia. However, in reality, Hamlet plans to kill the king. Hamlet’s deception can be seen when he is questioned by Polonius as he says, “These tedious old fools!”(Shakespeare, II.II. 218). After Polonius leaves Hamlet, Hamlet drops his act and refers to Polonius and King Claudius as fools.
Yet his position as advisor to the king undermines the importance of loyalty, duty, and service to the state. “...Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth, And this do we wisdom and of reach, With windlasses and with assays of Bias, by indirections find directions out.” In this quote, Polonius is instructing reynaldo to use deceit and manipulation to gather information about Laertes. This highlights Polonius’s willingness to use underhanded tactics to achieve his goals, even if it means betraying his own son. This quote also relates to the usage of power by other characters in Hamlet, such as Claudius using his power to manipulate and control the people around him, such as his wife and son, to maintain his kingly position.
In William Shakespeare’s, “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, a young prince named Hamlet is depressed and misguided. His father, the King has died and his mother Gertrude has already remarried his uncle Claudius. Hamlet is absolutely torn until his father’s ghost visits the castle and entreats Hamlet to avenge his death and kill his uncle King Claudius. Hamlet begins to test Claudius with plays and when Claudius finds out, all he has by his side is his councilor Polonius. Polonius tries to entrap Hamlet in every way possible, even by using his daughter Ophelia.
“ My lord, I have remembrance of yours, that I longed long to re-deliver; I pray you, now receive them” (Shakespeare 2. 2. 93-95). Ophelia’s decision to relinquish her love to Hamlet for her father’s sake spurred Hamlet’s decision for his feigned madness and also made it easier for him to reject Ophelia and emotionally abuse her, which in turn, spurred her own internal disappointment and hatred in herself. However,“We see Hamlet’s nobility and realise that his flippant comments to her stemmed from his antic disposition and feigned madness” (Tuohy, 2012).
However, after the death of Polonius, Ophelia can no longer hold onto her sanity. In his tragic play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses Ophelia to display to us the devoted love of a parent, and how the loss of a parent can lead to a sickness of the mind. Polonius was a devoted father to Ophelia, he loves her with all of his heart.
When having a conversation with Ophelia, Polonius says, “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 chanrge you. Come your ways.” (I.III.138-141). This quote shows how Polonius is manipulating Ophelia into not ever talking to Hamlet ever again.
In Hamlet, men in Ophelia's life took advantage of her to get what they sought, political power or something else. For instance, Polonius desired Ophelia to marry a powerful man so badly that it caused him to die. He thought Ophelia could fulfill his goals if she held herself to a higher standard (Act 1, Scene 3). Polonius misinterpreted Hamlet's return to Ophelia later in the play as a show of love because he needed to be seen as belonging to the upper class. He thinks Hamlet admires Ophelia and wants the two of them to wed. Even though he passed dead in the Elsinore
Hamlet once again fails to understand that Ophelia much like himself is only trying to stay loyal to her father, much like what he is doing himself. In addition, Hamlet blames woman for giving birth to such evil and deceiving men like Claudius and himself. When he was talking to Ophelia he told her "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better
Polonius, while seemly stuck between being a devoted parental figure and a ruthless politician, is revealed to be an extremely self-centered character with a goal of self-preservation, achieved by any means possible, as his actions often imply. This goal of self-preservation to maintain his family name and his position to the king has severely limited Polonius’s range of the conflict around him and causes a disconnect
(3.1.43-49) Polonius orders Ophelia to distract Hamlet even though he knows the emotional distress it will cause her. He is the reason Ophelia breaks ties with Hamlet, yet he is willing to throw her at him for his own gain. Polonius cannot rationalize that spying on Hamlet is less important than his daughter’s mental stability. His utter selfishness makes him incapable of making rational decisions that are beneficial to both himself, and his children. Polonius gives good advice that he does not take himself, showing his bad decision making.
For the duration of the play, Ophelia was portrayed as a naïve and submissive woman. Her passivity and powerlessness reinforce the voicelessness of women during the Elizabethan era. For example, “I shall obey, my lord” (I.iii.134) shows that Ophelia concedes to her father’s will, even though she believes Hamlet’s love is genuine. She is willing and expected to obey her father despite the fact that she still loves Hamlet, which emphasizes her character’s submissive nature. Furthermore, in Act I Laertes warns Ophelia that it would be shameful of her to love Hamlet, and she responds with “I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as a watchman to my heart” (I.iii.45).
Ophelia responds to Polonius’ requests without resistance. For example, Ophelia easily gives away Hamlet’s love letters that. This shows her lack of appreciation towards Hamlet’s trust and love be being easily manipulated. In addition, Polonius’ corruption flaw Ophelia’s innocence when she agrees to let her father eavesdrop in on her conversation with Hamlet. Likewise, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern allow themselves to get manipulated by blindly following the crown.
Hamlet: The Tragedy of Female Oppression Feminism has erupted over the past century. The theme of patriarchy has ruled over women for centuries. With the uprising of the critique of patriarchy, more feminists have analyzed Shakespeare’s literary works as in favor of the male gender roles. In Act 1 scene 3, the station of Polonius and Laertes reveals their patriarchal position over Ophelia by constructing advices that molds their expectations of her and degrading her in ways that exemplify the oppression of women during the 1600’s.
Furthermore, knowing that Gertrude and Ophelia are dependent and obedient towards their male authorities, they are a little more than pawns for the scheming men in their lives. For example, when Polonius discovers Hamlet 's craziness from Ophelia, Polonius says, " Come, go with me: I will go seek the king / That is the very ecstasy of love / Whose violent property fordoes itself / And leads the will to desperate undertaking / As oft as any passion under heaven / That does afflict our natures"(2.I.101-106).
Hamlet is a very diverse character that goes through several different emotional stages throughout the novel. Some think that he is depressed because of his father’s death, and some think that his breakup with Ophelia has made him go mad. Though Hamlet does seem out of control at times, it is because he is keeping a secret about his father’s death. The average person does not usually deal with the death of their parent well, and knowing that it was intentional makes Hamlet even more emotionally unstable. From the beginning of the novel, Hamlet proves to be very melancholy, and upset with his life.