ipl-logo

Essay On Polonius And Laertes In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

638 Words3 Pages

Hamlet is the son of Gertrude and the deceased Lord Hamlet. He is the main character who is completely mad and intends on getting revenge on his Uncle Claudius. Dealing with the grief of his father’s death and his mother’s speedy marriage to Claudius, triggers a very disturbed Hamlet and a turn in events. Upon encountering the Ghost of Lord Hamlet who instructs Hamlet to avenge his death, Hamlet puts on an act to be insane, which others seem to buy. Everyone believes that his strange behavior is caused by his mad with love for Ophelia and Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius intend to spy on him. Laertes is the son of Lord Chamberlain Polonius and brother to Ophelia who goes off to college in France. Before he leaves, Polonius gives Laertes advice on how to act when he’s away and Laertes also advices Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet. He believes that Hamlet is unlikely to marry Ophelia because of Hamlet’s position. The three seem to have a normal relationship and Polonius and Laertes seem to be very protective over Ophelia, who seems to be very obedient to follow their orders. Later on in the play, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius who was spying on him, thinking it was Claudius. Laertes returns home very furious …show more content…

Both characters plan on avenging their fathers’ deaths and are outraged with madness in different ways. They are both very close to the women in their life and it is in a way that they are a little too close. For example, when Hamlet speaks to his mother and accuses her of adultery and being in on the crime with Claudius’ murder and when he talks about her sex life with Claudius. It seems as if Hamlet is very obsessive over his mother and cares for her a lot. Laertes is also very close to Ophelia and it is seen in the scene before he leaves for France when he speaks to her in a strong sexual manner. Both characters show actions what could be interpreted as

Show More
Related
768 Words | 4 Pages

The Awakening Of Hamlet and Laertes Comparing Laertes and Hamlet. Figuring out how they are alike and dislike in many ways, most of the play they are well alike. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Laertes down the road faces the same problems as Hamlet; a murdered father. In the beginning Laertes and Hamlet didn’t have the same similarities, but since both of there fathers were murdered they both have something in common. While Hamlet, is messing around and playing with the murderer as if he was an animal, Laertes takes immediate action.

Read More
1463 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the last two acts of the novel, we see Laertes change from an impulsive instigator into a more wise and rational person who realizes he is in the wrong. After he first learns of his father’s death, Laertes is seething due to his misery, and consequently, strives for immediate retaliation. Contrastingly, at the conclusion of the duel scene, he is downcast over his looming death and the fact that he has caused Hamlet’s death, while also being ashamed of how quick he was to murder. Though to some, Laertes may be a seemingly insignificant character, it is Laertes affliction (as a result of his father’s death) that ultimately drives the novel to its grievous climax. Albeit tragic, if the end scene would not have happened, Laertes would not have had the opportunity to discover that he was wrong, and thus change.

Read More
925 Words | 4 Pages

The type of love felt by Hamlet and Laertes is quite different. Ophelia is the sister of Laertes and therefore he has brotherly love for her. Before leaving Denmark, Laertes advises against relations with Hamlet. He remarks on the love Hamlet has for Ophelia as being “The perfume and suppliance of a minute,/ No more.” (I, iii, 9-10)

Read More
825 Words | 4 Pages

As shown, Laertes is taking his father’s death in a much more decisive stance than Prince Hamlet. Laertes goes straight to the issue and immediately demands vengeance on Claudius, whom he thinks is responsible for Polonius' murder. Laertes is ablaze with motivation and action, and says that he will throw "conscience and grace to the profoundest pit"(IV, v, 130). Unlike Laertes, Prince Hamlet doesn’t take any action when he was first informed about his father's death, which in comparison shows how both Prince Hamlet's and Laertes's personalities are in contrast with each

Read More
1552 Words | 7 Pages

Laertes and his actions provide the reader an appreciation for Hamlet’s lengthy process of dealing with revenge. Hamlet is more introspective and thoughtful throughout his process, maybe to a fault because he struggles to execute the task. However, he is constantly thinking about the details of the revenge, and is willing to take his time to make sure it is done at the right place and the right time. Laertes, on the other hand, is different because he is not as introspective nor willing to reflect, he wants to get the deed done. It seems as though Laertes has no guilty conscience, hence his impulsive and rash behaviors.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

Laertes believes Hamlet is to blame not only for his father’s death, but also for Ophelia’s death because the death of her father is ultimately what drove her to killing herself. Once Laertes returns, he asks King Claudius who is responsible for the death of his father and is informed that Hamlet is the one to blame. Ophelia enters and reveals to everyone that she has gone crazy and ends up killing herself. Hamlet returns to Denmark and is surprised to find out that Ophelia has died. Laertes and Hamlet start fighting at her burial service and Hamlet says he wants to be

Read More
633 Words | 3 Pages

Additionally, they are both vengeful. Hamlet shows that he is vengeful when he says “Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge”. Laertes shows that he is vengeful when he wants to kill Hamlet. They also both care about Ophelia. On the other hand, Hamlet and Laertes have some differences.

Read More
415 Words | 2 Pages

When his father died, he returned home in vengeance. When his sister went crazy, his first reaction was anger and pain, but it then turned to anger seeing how affected she was by her father’s death. Later on when she dies, he storms out filled with rage and at her funeral, he was crying so much that Hamlet fought him to prove he was affected more. Hamlet and Laertes are character foils for one another.

Read More
637 Words | 3 Pages

He says, “ O thou vile king, give me my father! That drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard, Cries “cuckold” to my father, brands the harlot even here between the chaste unsmirchèd brow of my true mother.” This furious and erratic behavior contradicts the way he is introduced in his first appearance and is important because it shows how Laertes is capable of murdering someone he has known his whole life. In his first scene, Laertes approaches his concern about Ophelia's relationship with Hamlet in a calm manner. However, from his actions later on in Act 4 scene 5 it is obvious that his head did not keep its cool like it had before.

Read More
965 Words | 4 Pages

In the exposition, Laertes is introduced as the brother to the beautiful Ophelia, the girl to whom Hamlet secretly loves. As a “loving” friend and relative, they both share a common bond in wanting to care for Ophelia, but the future shows differently than what they intended. When Ophelia died towards the end, that common bond they shared for her grew stronger and added to the fire that ultimately drew them to go against one another. Hamlet became rejectful of the news and anger soon took over. When confronted by Laertes and challenged by his feeling for

Read More
1167 Words | 5 Pages

The reaction of both Hamlet and Laertes to the

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

He is Hamlet’s love interest’s brother who implicates Hamlet’s success through conflict. Hamlet sparks the rivalry between the two families by killing some of the family members. By executing Laertes father and Polonius, this causes Polonius’ son, Laertes, to seek vengeance for his father. Consequently, Hamlet’s family goes against him and his love, Ophelia, kills herself. This demonstrates that family ties, even if not blood related, have serious impacts on Hamlet’s life which causes misery to overwhelm his life; this misery prohibits his success.

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

This is what causes Hamlet to compromise his love for Ophelia, as she is stunned and disrespected by his attitude. Similarly, Claudius wanted to gain power, and uses his ambitious attitude to murder his brother, quickly marry his widow, and take the throne himself. Despite their similar nature the two men are driven by different goals. Claudius works to gain and keep power, while Hamlet is working to seek revenge for his father. However, Claudius continues to rule in his power, and dwell in his wronged achievements allowing himself to pursue his

Read More
924 Words | 4 Pages

Polonius is a father to Ophelia and Laertes, and seems stuck up and holds himself in high regard. Ophelia is an innocent girl who is the love interest of Hamlet, yet her madness was because of him, eventually leading to her death. Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother who was quickly and recently married to Claudius after the death of Hamlet’s father, she loves Hamlet, but wants affection and status more than faith or morals. The relationships between the characters are also well thought out, and show a touch of reality in them. Hamlet and Horatio are the best of friends, and Horatio is fiercely loyal to Hamlet throughout the entirety of the play, even during his madness.

Read More
1386 Words | 6 Pages

Vow, to the blackest devil!”. For this reason, he is comprehensively denouncing any allegiance his family has ever had with the royal family being, that his fear of betrayal has finally come to pass. With regard to the statement made by Laertes, he goes on and declares, “... I give to negligence,/ Let come what comes - only I’ll be revenged/ most thoroughly for my father” (4.5.134-36). Moreover, Laertes’ motives are known; he is willing to travel to any extent for his father. The fear of betrayal is the troublesome feeling that loved ones and family members cannot be trusted.

Read More

More about Essay On Polonius And Laertes In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Related Topics

Open Document