Hamlet Character Analysis

Polonius has the most asides and they are all in response to the words or actions of Hamlet. When Polonius tells the king of his theory that Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia and intends to prove it by having him speak to her while he and the king watch, he first approaches Hamlet to talk to him. When they talk Hamlet believes that Polonius is a fishmonger which Polonius denies in a polite way while still trying to get information out of him. His first aside says “How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter. Yet he knew me not at first. He said I was a fishmonger. He is far gone, far gone!” (II.II 106-109) Although unnecessary, this aside reveals once more his true beliefs when speaking to Hamlet which are that he is madly in love with his daughter and that is why he is so mad that he can’t even recognize Polonius. His asides reveal only his true intentions when talking to Hamlet and his own personal thoughts on his actions. However, this is enough to affirmate that Polonius is someone who puts up the front of loyal chamberlain to everyone, including those that he works for, like Hamlet. This front does not apply to King Claudius, however, as it seems that he is the only one he is truly loyal to. Lying to Hamlet for Claudius and thinking less of him because he is mad whilst still pretending to be loyal only supports that idea

As one of the four Shakespeare’s great tragedies, Hamlet has always been comment by people all around the world. Hamlet, the son of the last king of Denmark, after knowing the truth of his father’s death, begins planning revenge. Hamlet has been racked with grief after his father’s death, and it makes him like a person with crazy behaviors. Except Hamlet, there are several characters play an important role and lead this story to a tragic end, such as Polonius, councilor to King Claudius and father of Ophelia and Laertes. His distrust of other people, sense of self-important makes him a dislikable person, but if we read the play carefully, it is not difficult to find out that Polonius has been suffering from several psychological disorders. It is useful for us to understand what kind of psychological disorders drive Polonius to act so impolitely and conceitedly, and what are his personality traits and the motivation of his actions. Polonius’s overconfident and usage of others shows his Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which causes he trusts himself but distrusts and suspicion others, and it proves Polonius also have Paranoid Personality Disorder.

Furthermore, in act three of Hamlet, Polonius and Claudius formulate plans to spy on Hamlet when he is with Ophelia and then another time when he is with Gertrude. Claudius tells Gertrude how he and Polonius have arranged Ophelia to meet with Hamlet and stage a confrontation between them so that Hamlet would reveal his true self. Claudius says to Gertrude,

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also sow the seeds of their own destruction by betraying their lifelong friend. From their point of view of course, they are being loyal to the king. They are faithful, obedient subjects, merely doing services to their king, trying to find out the reason for Hamlet’s madness. To Hamlet however, their willingness to do the King’s bidding is just more evidence of the corruption of the court. He urges them to treat him as a friend, to be loyal to him, to tell him the truth-;’were you not sent for?’ They eventually and reluctantly agree that they were sent for. But this is not the last of it. They continue to do the King’s bidding,

When Horatio and Hamlet see each other for the first time in a long while, they immediately are excited. Hamlet, with his sometimes-sinister blunt remarks, goes on to tell of how close the wedding and funeral are to each other. “Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables” (1.2.179). However, on the opposite end of the spectrum of Hamlet’s commentary, his conversations with Polonius are rude and often pointed. In act 2 scene 2, Hamlet makes fun of Polonius for being old and for his long-winded speeches, but does so with such intelligence and awareness that Polonius fails to understand what Hamlet is saying at all, thereby thinking Hamlet is simply mad. This differentiation between playful banter and slanderous remarks show that Hamlet was incredibly mentally alert.

Polonius played a vital role in Hamlet even though he was not one of the main characters. He continued to reinforce the theme of corruption and displayed the social and ethical collapse of Denmark. His deceitful actions show the reader that he is one of dishonesty and chicanery. In the play, Polonius was portrayed as someone who is a deceiver and pretender that betrays people he is supposed to be devoted to; and who only cares about things that will benefit him. These characteristics of Polonius are seen through his interactions with Ophelia, Hamlet, Laertes, Reynaldo and the King.

       The most interesting thing about all of the characters' guesses as to the logic behind Hamlet's insanity is that the majority of their opinions stem from the thing that most plagues or preoccupies them. Claudius believes that Hamlet is crazy because he has a secret. This was ironic because the secret that Hamlet does have is that he knows that Claudius is his father's murderer. The very secret that plagues Claudius is the same that plagues Hamlet. Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, is wrapped up in her guilt about marrying Claudius so soon after the death of her late husband. She thinks that this must be what makes Hamlet rant so incoherently. While spying on Hamlet for the King, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern decide that he is going crazy because he can no longer fulfill his potential. Their betrayal of their school chum is fueled by the same blind ambition that they believefuels Hamlets insanity. Polonius thinks that Hamlet must be mad

A foil in literature is a minor character whose differences to the main character highlight specific traits. There are two specific characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet that exemplify those attributes of a “foil” to Prince Hamlet. Horatio, who is Hamlet’s closest confidant and his best friend, is there to balance out Hamlet’s angst. Laertes is the brother of Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest and a nobleman of Denmark. Laertes sees that opportunity for revenge and takes it right away. These characters differ from Hamlet so greatly, that Hamlet’s own characteristics are emphasized.

No, because Hamlet has already expressed his feelings by the expression of his sad face. No, because I thought that Hamlet would utter up his anger towards Polonius but surprisingly he did not show up any angry expression. He called Polonius as a fish monger because Polonius is a kind of person that took care and loves his daughter very much. He will do anything so that Ophelia was good in condition. Instead, he strictly prohibited the relationship between Hamlet and her.

Polonius also notices that Hamlet’s actions and

It is clear from this situation that from this point on it is Polonius’s job to spy on Hamlet in order to keep the King up to date on his actions.

Polonius’ interactions with Hamlet are often the source of misinterpretations that Polonius is a bumbling fool. In every conversation, Polonius appears oblivious to the witty and cruel remarks Hamlet makes in response to his persistent questioning. Even when explicitly called a “fishmonger,” Polonius feigns surprised ignorance and suggests that Hamlet is insane rather than sarcastic (II.ii.187). He appears to continue ignoring Hamlet’s thinly veiled insults even when Hamlet compares Ophelia to “maggots in a dead dog,” assuming that Hamlet is “still harping on [his] daughter” (II.ii.669). However, Polonius is not the “tedious old fool” that he appears to be; just as Hamlet confessed to being “not in madness,/But mad in craft,” Polonius merely feigns stupidity (II.ii.224; III.iv.204-5). By pretending to be clueless, Polonius is able to question and study Hamlet further without

Everything that Hamlet here says is capable of an equivocal interpretation reflecting upon Polonius and Ophelia. "Fishmonger," as many commentators have noted, means a pander or procurer; "carrion" was a common expression at that time for "flesh" in the carnal sense; while the quibble in "conception" needs no explaining. And when I asked myself why Hamlet should suddenly call Polonius a bawd and his daughter

Polonius' pre-occupation with his courtly duties overshadows his character as the wise old man and marks his role as the fool. As the fool, Polonius provides comic relief, and a "busybody" messenger for the court. His speech, for all its wisdom, "makes him so comic and absurd. All his ludicrous exhibitions of pedantry and expertise, his mouthings of clichés and commonplaces, his observations and definitions--all imprison the mind's potential range in littleness" (Long 137). In addition to his speech being superfluous, Polonius' messages to Hamlet are quite ironic. The arrival of the Players and Gertrude's request to speak with Hamlet have already been relayed to Hamlet before Polonius repeats the messages. This foolish redundancy is comic and even more so is Polonius'

Claudius reminds the audience that he is rotten by stating his priorities as “my crown, mine own ambition and my queen.” His crown being his first priority shows he is selfish and the queen being the last shows that he used her to become King. Polonius getting killed causes Ophelia to think about death and she doesn’t want her father to be in the “cold ground”. That Ophelia describes the ground as cold shows she doesn’t see Denmark as a hopeful place for the dead or living.