How Does Shakespeare Present Polonius's Character In Hamlet

In Hamlet, William Shakespeare focuses much of the play’s plot on Hamlet’s attempts to justify killing his uncle, Claudius, and the emotional turbulence that he experiences in doing so. Oftentimes throughout the play, the reader cannot truly be certain about Hamlet’s thought process when he makes his decisions, or whether he acts purely based on his emotions rather than rationality. Indeed, Polonius’ death—the first death of the play—seems at first glance to be due to Hamlet’s own emotional instability and the spur of the moment in which Hamlet believes Polonius to be Claudius. However, despite Polonius’ own misdoings by choosing to spy on Hamlet, he ultimately only means to serve the king and to derive pleasure while doing so. Polonius’

After the death of his father, Hamlet appears devastated; however, an interesting detail to note is that Hamlet seems to be less focused on the death of his father than on his mother’s decision to remarry to Hamlet’s uncle so soon after the death of King Hamlet. In particular, Hamlet states disdainfully that his mother married with “wicked speed, to post / with such dexterity to incestuous sheets” (1.2.161-1.2.162). At this point, the reader can already establish Hamlet’s new distaste for women. Multiple times throughout the play, Hamlet denounces women—namely Gertrude and Ophelia—for their short-lived love and their excessive lust for physical pleasures, as demonstrated by Gertrude’s longing for the pleasure of “incestuous sheets.” In addition, it is salient to note that Hamlet’s first appearance in the play is pronounced with overwhelmingly negative energy, as he channels his bitterness in contemplating the “stale, flat, and unprofitable (…) uses of this world” and denouncing his mother’s repugnant marital actions (1.2.137-1.2.138). Because Hamlet seems more upset with his mother’s actions than the actual death of his father, the reader can conclude that Hamlet was not very close with his father and was instead much closer with his mother. After Gertrude remarries to Claudius, Hamlet’s relationship

Indeed, Hamlet states that he “perchance hereafter shall think meet / to put an antic disposition on” (1.5.191-1.5.192). Hamlet’s reasons for feigning madness and wearing an “antic disposition” is so that he may fool his uncle and evaluate his behavior to investigate whether or not he had actually murdered Hamlet’s father. By the end of Act 1, Hamlet is not yet sure whether his father’s ghost is truly his father, or if it is some demon who hopes to damn Hamlet. As such, Hamlet’s decision to become “mad in craft” in order to do his research is quite calculative and cunning (3.4.210). Indeed, if Hamlet can prove that Claudius is guilty, the reader may initially believe that Hamlet is capable of murdering his uncle in cold blood to avenge his father’s death. The aforementioned assumption is further bolstered by the scene after Hamlet confirms Claudius’ guilt after the play. Here, when Hamlet contemplates murdering Claudius after the play, he thinks through his decision carefully and exercises a great deal of restraint when he ultimately chooses not to kill his uncle as he prays. Hamlet states that if he kills Claudius during his prayers, then “he goes to heaven,” which would be “hire and salary, not revenge” (3.3.79-3.3.84). Hamlet recognizes that Claudius killed King Hamlet while he was enjoying life, before he