My first reaction to this act was that no one trusts each other. It seems that throughout the two scenes that people are either spying on someone or running off to tell everyone what other people are doing. Throughout this act it also seems like there are a lot of emotions. Hamlet is clearly distrait at the beginning. Ophelia is also worried about Hamlet. Throughout this act there appears to be a lot of emotions and trust issues.
The character that stood out to me the most during this act was Hamlet. Throughout the story Hamlet is the main character with the spot light focused on him. Hamlet is a genuine person trying to get revenge for his father’s death. When the troop of traveling players arrives at the castle Hamlet gets them to help him mirror his father’s death in the performance to see Claudius’s reaction. Hamlets plain works and he knows that Claudius’s has killed his father. Hamlet does what ever he can to seek revenge. I think that Hamlet fits Aristotle’s concept of a classical tragic hero because in seeking revenge against his father’s death he looses the love of his life and ultimately looses his life.
The element that stood out to me the most was that Polonius was a foil to Hamlet. A foil is a minor character whose role sharpens our understanding of the major character by providing contrast. I think that Polonius does this by trying to counter act all of Hamlets actions. Polonius does this by telling the king everything that Hamlet is doing. This is done in line 100 when Polonius says “Come, go with me: I will go seek the king. With all of this going on it makes me wonder why is Polonius trying to work so hard against Hamlets efforts?
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Polonius is a suck up. He wants to ingratiate himself with the new King. He has no backbone of his own and uses other people to achieve nefarious plans. In hindsight, his fatherly advice to Laertes can be construed as disingenuous. Sad, though, since it really is good advice, albeit a bit condescending.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Daniel. Polonius is a total suck up who is looking to gain favors. In real life he would be the kind of person who you love to hate for his weasel nature. If Hamlet had more power the Polonius would suck up to him and snitch on the king.
ReplyDeleteYes, Polonius is a bit of a suck up and a wimp. Something tells me the former King probably wasn't a fan of Polonius- in my opinion. Polonius seems like the type of person who wants nothing to go wrong, and will tattle and whine to make sure this happens. Also, I think Polonius didn't like Hamlet in the first place due to the amount of time Hamlet spends with Ophelia.
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