Compare And Contrast Polonius And Hamlet

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Similarities:
- Both Polonius and Hamlet have a role in discovering the truth in the play. Polonius wants to know the truth behind Hamlet 's strange behaviour while Hamlet wants to know if Claudius actually murdered his father as the ghost said.

- They both think all the womankind are weak in characters compared to mankind. Polonius view his daughter, Ophelia, as innocent, weak and naive and treats her in a different way compared to how he treats his son, Laertes. Hamlet perceives that women are emotionally weak and dependent to others, which is evident when he says, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (I, ii, 146).

- Both of the characters are so intelligent that Polonius plans on spying Hamlet and gives wise advice to his children while Hamlet decides to feign madness in order to revenge Claudius.

- They are also similar …show more content…

- Polonius ' and Hamlet 's appearances are different to reality in common. While Polonius seems loyal and noble servant to the king, he is actually a selfish and sneaky man in reality. Similar to Polonius, Hamlet seems to be swift of actions and have antic disposition, but in reality, he procrastinates and is sane.

Differences:
- Polonius and Hamlet have dissimilar family relationships. Polonius ' family members have close relationship with each other while Hamlet 's relationship with Gertrude and Claudius is a bit distant.

- They are different in the way they make a decision. While Hamlet seems to be careful in making a decision, which is shown when he plans on feigning madness and playing The Murder of Gonzago to assure that what the ghost said is true and Claudius murdered his father, Polonius is impulsive as he says he is willing to die if Hamlet is not mad because of Ophelia without any realistic proof.

- They are also different in the way they think. For example, Polonius tells Laertes to embrace his old friends but Hamlet does exact opposite to this. He lets his friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be killed when they arrived in