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Theme Of Polonius's Madness In Hamlet

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In act II scene 2, ambassadors Voltemand and Cornelius come back to tell the king that Fortinbras will not be invading his country. In fact, Fortinbras has promised not to attack Denmark. Now, he is asking King Claudius to let his army march through Denmark to go to Poland. This does not seem like a good idea. It seems like Fortinbras is trying to trick Claudius into letting his army march into Denmark territory and then he’s going to invade them. What is Claudius going to do about this? I don’t think he will realize what Fortinbras is trying to do and let him into Denmark. Claudius seems pretty blind to what is actually going on. Furthermore, how will this war contribute to the plot? Right now, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with …show more content…

Polonius says, “Hath there been such a time (I would faith know that) / That I have positively said ‘Tis so,’ / When it proved otherwise?” (II, ii, 163-166). Basically, he is saying that he has never been wrong. Polonius also says, “Take this from this, if this be otherwise” (II, ii, 168), which means that they can cut off his head if he is wrong. Polonius uses this hyperbole to show his confidence in his theory. I find this to be surprising as the audience knows that Hamlet’s madness is not caused by Ophelia. Instead, it is caused by the fact that Claudius might have murdered his father. I wonder if they will find out the real cause of Hamlet’s madness. If they do, will they punish Polonius for being wrong? I think we will find out pretty soon as Polonius has devised a way to test his hypothesis by hiding behind an arras while Hamlet and Ophelia talk. This does not seem like a good plan as Hamlet will most likely notice Polonius and Claudius. My prediction is that Hamlet will see Polonius and Claudius hiding. Then, he will make them think that his madness is directed at his love for Ophelia when it really isn’t. As a result, Claudius and Polonius will never see the true reason behind Hamlet’s behavior. It will be very interesting to see how this plays

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