Comparing Polonius And Ophelia

It is through intense human relationships, where we endeavour to explore the complexity of characteristics that manifest in mankind and the very essence in which these relationships become a focal point of one’s own introspection, thus rendering it imperatively significant. Shakespearean drama has transcended a legacy, wherein the frameworks and boundaries of literature have no limits. In his most famous play Hamlet, William Shakespeare crafts two of the most indicative relationships being, Polonius and Ophelia, and the second Hamlet and Horatio, with the latter character rooted in the dutiful service of the former. These intense human relationships, continually drive the plot and impacts the understanding of both the structure and fundamental

First impressions are often lasting impressions, and in this sense, Polonius is introduced as a father deeply concerned with the affairs of his children, providing advice first to Laertes and then Ophelia, instructing her to “Tender yourself more dearly; or…. you’ll tender me a fool” in Act 1, scene 3. Here, the word ‘tender’ is used as a verb and a command and echoes aspects of worth and value. Likewise, the very nature of their relationship is revealed. However, before this line, Ophelia introduces the word ‘tender’ in “He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders/ Of his affection to me.” Ophelia means “any offer of acceptance,” with the word an adjective meaning ‘gentle, affectionate or kind’. Nevertheless, Ophelia’s connotation is alarming for Polonius, thus his repetition of the word emphasises monetary connotations within “Think yourself a baby/ That you have ta’en these tenders for true pay/ Which are not sterling” (Act 1, scene 2) His last utilisation of the word is in “you’ll tender me a fool,” and focuses on strategic wordplay, with the pun reinforcing that gullibility makes Polonius look like a fool. As a result, Polonius sows the seeds of doubt in Ophelia’s mind and spoils the tender

In the play, Hamlet retorts, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy”. Shakespeare usually utilises the word philosophy, in the conventional stoic sense—a calm understanding of life’s vagaries that inhibits suffering from degenerating into madness. Here, in this sense, Hamlet is not represented as the typical revenging son as he is seen throughout the play, but is portrayed as Hamlet the university student. Spoken at a moment of high dramatic tension, with the ghost breathing the word “Swear” from beneath the stage, Hamlet is mocking the futility of his and Horatio’s academic training when it comes to the phenomenology of ghosts. As such, Hamlet underlines the weakness of reason in the face of life’s frantic riddles. He indicates to the limits of philosophy as an epistemological guide, for it cannot explain spirits within its parameters of