Consequences Of Eavesdropping In Shakespeare's Hamlet '

While Laertes and Ophelia are talking, their father, Polonius, enters the room, and after some words of advice to his son, not the least of which is to be true to himself, Polonius bids him farewell. Polonius then turns to Ophelia and asks what it is that Laertes has said to her (1.3.57-89). Ophelia tells her father that Laertes has spoken to her of Hamlet, and Polonius responds that he has been informed of the time she spends

In Hamlet, the main character tries to get revenge on his father’s death by plotting the murder of Claudius, but it is his indecisiveness that leads to many problems. He is supported or opposed by characters who are considered foils to him. A foil is when a main character is compared to another character to better reveal the characteristics of the main character, as well as his intentions and motivations. There are many characters who can be considered foils to Hamlet. However, the characters that truly stand as foils to the protagonist are Laertes, Fortinbras, and Claudius. Hamlet and his foils are all put in a similar situation, but it is how they react and deal with their issues that makes them distinct from Hamlet.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern interrogate Hamlet about Polonius. Hamlet dosent answer their questions and says that they cant be trusted because they are working for the king and tells them that the body is somewhere where t isn’t just to mess with them. This scene shows how Hamlet dosent trust any of his former friends anymore due to paranoia and is now starting to get his revenge.

In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, doubt is one of the most important themes. In fact, the whole play is based on the story of a ghost who claims to be Hamlet’s father, and nobody can be sure if what he says is the truth. In this essay, I am going to focus on the theme of doubt throughout the play. I will first speak about the opening scene, and then I will talk about the ghost, which is a supernatural element used by Shakespeare to create doubt in the play. I will also analyse the passage in which Hamlet declares his love to Ophelia. Finally, I will briefly discuss Hamlet’s sanity.

After Claudius concludes his speech, he turns to Laertes, Polonius son, where Laertes expresses his desire to return to France, where he used to stay before coming to Denmark for Claudius coronation. Polonius gives permission to his son, and also Claudius too grants his consent to Laertes. Than Claudius conversation starts with Hamlet. Seeing Hamlet upset for his

When individuals lack the ability to defend their ideas and personal preferences to others, with confidence they will lose their identity and sense of self as they allow others to control their opinions and thoughts. Ophelia’s lack of confidence in herself solidifies both Laertes and Polonius into occupying a dominant role expected of men in the 16th century. Polonius assures Ophelia that her obedience is the best thing for her, and creates this illusion of himself as a crutch she needs to respond to competing demands. Subsequently, when Ophelia finds herself torn between two loyalties – her love for Hamlet, and her father’s expectations, Polonius sways her to compliance with his ideas. “I shall obey, my lord.” (I, iv, 145 )This complete obedience of her father ultimately eliminates Ophelia’s self-preservation that would ensure her best outcome. It is clear her father’s requests of her are not out of love and concern for Ophelia but for his own issues of vanity and securing his status. This can be seen in misalignments in Polonius’ claims, and the condescension in his words to Ophelia. As Laertes prepares to leave, Polonius grants him with advice, “This above all: to thine own self be true.” (I, iii, 84). He contradicts

Hamlet, the eponymous hero of Shakespeare’s greatest work, descends swiftly into madness and paranoia after the murder of his father and the realization of his mother’s true, morally reprehensible, nature. As a result of these new responsibilities and extreme circumstances, Hamlet diverges from his usual, logical thinking into paranoia and over analysis, a condition that prevents him from trusting anyone. Hamlet, having been born a prince, is, for the first time, forced to make his own decisions after he learns of the true means of his father’s death. Another contributing factor to his madness is the constant probing of others into Hamlet’s sanity. These factors all contribute to Hamlets delay, and that delay contributes to the tragic

It is clear how Hamlet a lack of communication with his family. Although what happen with his father do not justify his actions it does justify his emotions. Hamlet loved his father very much. With any loss of a dear person, the human reactions towards the lost are always unknown. The grief Hamlet felt was so intense it was the main reason on why he could not forgive his mom for marrying his uncle. It is unknown why Queen Gertrude married King Claudius. Perhaps she married him for love, grief, or even the sake of Denmark, During this time period if the king died the queen must remarry or the prince must get married to become the next king if neither of the events happens the next person (not the prince) must take the throne. Queen Gertrude

In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s speech or soliloquy from Act 4, Scene 4 effectively targets both the plays audience and other characters in the play. In Hamlets speech, he is reflecting on how he is meaninglessly prolonging Claudius’s death, even though he could have killed him at anytime and how he has everything he needs to accomplish his goal. He is also reflecting on how God has blessed humans with the power of thought to use when needed and that blessing is what makes humans different from animals. Hamlet’s speech opens the eyes of the audience by showing them how humans are capable of doing anything they put their minds too and the consequences of overthinking and not taking action to

asks Reynaldo to defame his son. He is more obsessed with his image and fame than his son’s. Once Polonius was murdered, Laertes still wanted to avenge his fathers death, which shows this relationship was only one-sided.

The relationship is between Polonius and Laertes, is the ultimate bond. It is a bond, which contains the necessary love and respect in a father-son relationship, but yet it lacks the closeness, or real emotional bonding required in a true relationship. Polonius as a father loves Laertes and listens to him and councils him on different topics. He is proud of his son and his intelligence, yet he does not altogether trust this intelligence enough to let him use his own discretion in France. In the first scene of Act Two, we see Polonius

Polonius is telling Reynoldo to spy on his son, Laertes. During the conversation between Reynoldo, Polonius says, “Before you visit him, to make inquire, of his behavior" (2, 1, 4-5). Polonius believes that his son is not acting like a noble youth so he tells Reynoldo to watch his behavior. He tells Reynoldo ask people about his son. This tells us that Polonius does not trust his own son. He wants to use the information he finds about Laertes against him.

James L. Calderwood describes Polonius' counsel to his son: "imposing patterns of prudential wisdom on the departing Laertes--establishes the dominance of father over son…control through precept is reinforced by control through spying…in Act two scene one, where Polonius coaches Reynaldo in the subtleties of surveillance" (Calderwood 16). Ultimately, Polonius' advice to his children serves his own interests. He is consciously controlling his image as the wise old courtier and father, but he does not practice his own teachings. The wise old man routine is short-lived once his pre-occupations (his image and duties as lord chamberlain) are made clear.

Towards the beginning of Hamlet Laertes is leaving Denmark to make his place in the world. At the beginning of the play, Polonius speaks to his son and gives him advice because he knows his son's character very well. Famously Polonius tells his boy, "This above all: to thine own self be true" (I. iii. 78). He is told to do what he feels to be right, indicating that if he listens and thinks then maybe he will not err in his actions. Laertes is hot-headed and quick to act, rash behaviors which his father worries will get him into trouble. Physically, no description of Laertes is given, but he is usually played by an

Shakespeare goes to great measures to convey countless tragedies in Hamlet to make it the most popular and known tragedy ever written. Not only did Hamlet have to surpass the tragedies life threw at him, but he also had to consider his conflicting views. Shakespeare also writes the play to show how Hamlet’s hesitation to get revenge on Claudius leads other characters to their death. The tragic theme of Hamlet stems from Hamlet procrastinating revenge, while Laertes and Fortinbras immediately sought revenge for their father’s death, creating a foil between the three characters.