Hamlet Polonius Speech Analysis

In Hamlet Act 1 scene 3, Polonius gives a speech to Ophelia about Hamlet’s intentions, tries to warn her about her relationship with Hamlet. Polonius is a selfish yet caring father, he uses different tones, dictions, metaphor, and puns to warn Ophelia that Hamlet is just playing around with her and she should not fall for it. Polonius talked to Ophelia in a sarcastic tone. When Ophelia told Polonius that she thinks Hamlet has shown his “affection” towards her, Polonius said she is like a “green girl unsifted in such perilous circumstance” (110-11). He mocked Ophelia for being so naïve and foolish like a child that she cannot see through Hamlet’s lies and false vows. Polonius believes that Hamlet is only saying these things to get close to Ophelia, and that the words he said are meaningless.

Besides the point that he does not want his own daughter to get hurt by another man, but he also cares about his reputation too. Polonius was devoted to King Claudius at the time, and since Claudius was not in a good relationship with Hamlet, Polonius does not want his daughter to embarrass him by being in a relationship with Hamlet. Polonius’ words to Ophelia showed that he is a person who cares more about material well-beings and his own reputation than his daughter’s happiness.

When Ophelia was explaining Hamlet’s actions, she said that “He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders of his affection to me” (108-09). The word “tenders” has three meanings: kind, money, and to give. Ophelia is claiming that Hamlet is kind to her, he is generous to her, and he gives her vows that made Ophelia feel secure. But then when Polonius said “Do you believe his ‘tenders,’ as you call them?” (112), Polonius is implying that Ophelia should not believe Hamlet’s kindness, his vows, because Hamlet is only doing these things to get closer to