Polonius is not a main character in Hamlet; he simply serves to reinforce the pattern of corruption, and demonstrates the social and moral decay of Denmark. His devious ways show the audience that he is one of many characters who lack conviction and integrity. Throughout the play, Polonius is a hypocrite who looks out for his own interests and betrays those he should be loyal to. These aspects of his character are revealed in his relationships with the King, Ophelia, Laertes, and Hamlet.
Polonius addresses the Christian value of honour in Act 1, scene 3 and says to Ophelia, You do not understand yourself so clearly as it behooves my daughter and my honor This scene shows how much of a hypocrite he is as he constantly does dishonourable deeds, yet he is preaching to Ophelia to act honourably. Polonius makes decisions based on benefiting himself, not on the well being of his family. This can be seen in his interactions with Ophelia and Laertes. In Act 1, scene 3 Poloniuss advice to Ophelia is delivered in blunt, unkind language that is not the typical loving, nurturing interaction between a parent and child. He refers to her as a woodcock and tells her 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. This last comment shows how much he only cares for himself. He does not care how Ophelia feels about Hamlet, what matters is that her love affair with him makes Polonius look bad. Therefore he forbids her seeing Hamlet in order to protect his image rather than her well being and dignity.
Although he is hypocritical in the advice he gives his children it could be argued that the advice is good and useful though he could be more reasonable with his words. Polonius speaks cruelly to his daughter, telling her to tender herself more dearly. As well as this he confuses her by changing the meaning of her words, like fashion and tenders. These tactics of intimidation are reminiscent of a politician.
In my view, Polonius is a foolish politician. He attempts to rival the other main characters of the play such as Hamlet and Claudius by giving long speeches and using eloquent language; but in doing so he makes a fool out of himself. However, he is still not completely dense, he is at the centre of a network of spies, working for him and he himself is a spy, but not a very good one since he is looking for something that is not there. Claudius suffers from a misleading impression of Polonius, whom he is unable to see through. Claudius believes that Polonius is actually helping him, Thou still hast been father of the good news. It is only the audience that realises that Claudius is wrong as Polonius is bringing incorrect news to him. He thus brings bad news disguised as good news. This first occurs with the news from Old Norway; Polonius then brings news that he knows the cause of Hamlets madness, when nothing could be further from the truth.
On the other hand, at other points during the play, we find ourselves believing that Polonius is a clever politician who turns peoples words against them, and is in control of the King and Queen. Even though it seems that the King is in control of Polonius. One time when we see him as a politician is in his acceptance of the new King, Claudius. He does not explicitly tell us that he accepts the King, although when Claudius says that the court has freely gone with this affair along, Polonius is present. Claudius is also specific to Polonius when he tells Laertes the head is not more native to the heart than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. The fact that Polonius, apparently, adapts easily to the new leadership of Denmark, could be a hint that he was part of the conspiracy to murder King Hamlet.
To conclude Polonius is an important character in Hamlet who can be seen as underhanded, sly, cunning, as well as loving, caring and fearful for himself and his family. In my opinion Polonius pre-occupation with his courtly duties overshadows his character as the wise old man and marks his role as a fool. As the fool, he provides comic relief, and a pragmatist messenger for the court. At times during the play it seems like we are dealing with a senile old man who cannot open his mouth without tempting a great speech, at other times the feeling is one of a malevolent figure threatening the life of the court through a network of spies.
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