DRJ #2- Hamlet Scene II

Initial Reaction: Forgive me if I say that Hamlet is beginning to read more and more like a modern day soap opera or a Lifetime movie with a tragically dysfunctional family only being played out using a kingdom. In the first scene Polonius is one of the main character as he is dealing with situations with his children. He sends Reynaldo to Paris to find dirt on Laertes and also has to listen to Ophelia’s account of how Hamlet came to her room seeming crazy. I think any college student can relate to Laertes situation, how parents who are not fully trusting of their children find a way to spy on them. I have heard how some parents sign up on Twitter or Facebook under a pseudo name and become friends with their children just to keep tabs on them. It is my opinion that Polonius is sending Reynaldo in order to protect his own status within the kingdom, not as much as trying to protect his son.

Character Analysis: Polonius is a featured character in Act II and we find out much about his motives and character. He seems to be a protective father to Laertes and Ophelia but it soon escalates to a damaging character flaw for him as his actions meant to protect his children are more detrimental to them. He doesn’t trust his son and he feels that Laertes’ possible misdeeds in Paris will reflect badly on him and thereby harming his status in the eyes of the new King. He feels his daughter is a gullible ignorant girl who cannot make decisions in life regarding men thus his warnings about Hamlet. He told her to be careful in a cold unemotional way, not with compassion and feeling as a caring father would. Polonius was loyal to King Hamlet before his death and he seems to be trying to make his mark with Claudius by using deceit and a corrupt nature much like Claudius. He shows his loyalty to Claudius by saying “I assure my good liege, I hold my duty as I hold my soul, both to God and to my gracious king…”. He launches into a speech on the importance of duty and honor and then follows up with declaring to the King that Hamlet is crazy. Polonius can’t keep up with all the pots he has in the fire and seems almost absent minded and confused when he loses his train of thought and says “What was I about to say? By the mass, I was about to say something. Where did I leave?”
Theme Analysis- Deceit and deception would be the theme for Scene II as it plays out throughout the scene. Polonius showed deception by having Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes and also by his actions with his daughter’s news to him of Hamlet’s visit to her room. Both show that he is using deception to gain his own rewards, not utilizing it to help his children. Claudius uses deceit in having Hamlet’s friends keep tabs on him, his whereabouts and his mental state. Hamlet begins his plotting on how he will uncover the truth about his father’s death. He asks one of the actors in a troupe that enters to perform a speech from Virgil’s Aeneid which tells of the story of Achilles death whose son was Phyrrus. He then tells them he wants them to perform “The Murder of Gonzago” the next night for Claudius with added language by Hamlet so that he can watch the reaction of Claudius and see if he flinches or seems guilty about King Hamlet’s death. He says that he has heard that some people who are guilty sometimes confess their crime when they are led to feel guilt through a certain scene in a play. Hamlet is seeking ways to confirm what he already knows, that Claudius killed his father. Hamlet is not brave enough to take the action of killing Claudius and is seeking other ways to inflict revenge. He even admits his own weakness when he says “Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,That I, the son of a dear father murdered,Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with wordsAnd fall a-cursing like a very drab,A scullion! Fie upon ’t, foh!”. He is also deceiving his own self in thinking that he could act on what his heart and mind is telling him to do.