7 quotes have been tagged as polonius: William Shakespeare: ‘If we are true to ourselves, we can not be false to anyone.’, William Shakespeare: ... CLAUDIUS Alas, alas. Basically, Polonius tells Hamlet after this that out of all this crazy and madness, there is a purpose, a reason, and a method. By heaven, I’ll make a ghost of him that lets me!”, Hamlet (to Horatio and the guards, instructing them to let him go follow the ghost), “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”, Marcellus (to Horatio, after Hamlet leaves with the ghost), “I am thy father’s spirit: Doomed for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confined to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away.”, Ghost (to Hamlet, describing who he is and why he is here), “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murther”, “O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!”, Hamlet (aside, remarking about encountering the Ghost), “There’s never a villain dwelling in Denmark. More matter with less art. Instead of punishing Hamlet for Polonius’ murder himself, Claudius sent the prince to England alongside Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with letters that would arrange Hamlet’s death, making it … His use of phrases such as, "Mad… Check out the scene where Hamlet's directing the players (actors). Downfall Polonius doesn’t necessarily change as the play progresses. However, the ghost of the late King Hamlet informs Hamlet, and the audience, about the true cause of the king’s death. Millions of books are just a click away on BN.com and through our FREE NOOK reading apps. Mignon McLaughlin. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play, and Hamlet speaks more lines than any other Shakespearean character. Neither a borrower nor a lender be. Polonius frequently makes long-winded, tedious speeches and proves himself incapable of following his own advice about being succinct. God! Can you paraphrase this passage? Votes: 4. He is helping also helping Claudius to spy on Hamlet, he tells Claudius "My lord, he’s going to his mother’s closet:/ Behind the arras I’ll convey myself,/ To hear the process"(3.3.27-29). I,2,260. Polonius explains that Reynaldo should approach his task with subtlety. Quotes about Polonius. Claudius, as he appears in the play, is not a criminal...He is..a good and gentle king, enmeshed by the chain of causality linking him with his crime Rebecca Smith on Polonius actions Polonius seems to love his children; he seems to have the welfare of the kingdom in mind. Even with everything he has warned Laertes about, Polonius clearly does not trust him and wants to keep updated on everything that Laertes does while abroad. 7 I loved your father and we love ourselves Claudius' Machiavellian tactics contrast his previous statements about Gertrude, Act 4 Sc. Act, Scene, Line (Click to see in context) Speech text: 1. When one of the players delivers a heart-wrenching speech about Priam's death, Polonius interrupts to say (and we are not making this up), "This is too long" (2.2.523) (Admit it: you were thinking it, too.) O God! Method in the madness. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). William Shakespeare's Hamlet follows the young prince Hamlet home to Denmark to attend his father's funeral. Here Claudius expresses the simple thought that he hopes he will not be blamed for the murder of Polonius with just such a metaphor (lines 40-44). To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou cans’t not then be false to any man (act 1 scene 3)Neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry Here, however, he recognizes something artful about Hamlet’s apparent madness. After conjuring the ghost of Hamlet's true father as an illusion, Claudius is proven the be a hero in waiting. As Hamlet himself memorably puts it: “Words, words, words” (II.ii.). Here, however, he recognizes something artful about Hamlet’s apparent madness. Analysis: This lie and act of deceit is a secret at the very beginning of the play since Claudius says King Hamlet died because of a snake bite. After Claudius runs screaming for light, Hamlet follows his mother to her confront her about what she has done. As Hamlet finds out, all contain lies and have hidden intentions within them. How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!”, Hamlet (soliloquy, referring to how he would kill himself if it were not a sin against God), Hamlet (soliloquy, lamenting the death of his father and marriage of his mother), “My lord, I came to see your father’s funeral.”, “I prithee thee do not mock me, fellow studient, I think it was to see my mother’s wedding.”, Hamlet (to Horatio, mocking him and the wedding), “Why, she would hang on him, As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on.”, Hamlet (soliloquy, lamenting why his mother married so early to Claudius), Hamlet (soliloquy, accusing his mother of being weak), Hamlet (soliloquy, oxymoron satirizing how quickly his mother was wed), “She married – O most wicked speed: to post With such dexterity to investors sheets.”, Hamlet (soliloquy, lamenting his mother’s quick marriage), “So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr.”, Hamlet (soliloquy, comparing King Hamlet to Hyperion and Claudius to a satyr), Hamlet (soliloquy, referring to Gertrude), “My father’s brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules”, Hamlet (soliloquy, referring to himself as Hercules), “It is not, nor it cannot come to good, But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue.”, Hamlet (end of soliloquy, lamenting how he cannot speak against his mother’s marriage), Horatio (to Hamlet, referring to his time in Wittenberg and why he has returned), “Thrift, thrift, Horatio! He becomes extremely obedient and will do whatever it takes to reach a good status, even if it means hurting his Polonius tells he acted before and was classed as a good actor. “My lord, the queen would speak with you, and presently.” Polonius … Polonius instructs his servant to spread believable and seemingly honest lies about Laertes to … King Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out where Hamlet has hidden the body of Polonius, but Hamlet has recently become very suspicious of R and G. Hamlet calls R and G sponges suggesting that they soak up all the information the king needs, and they can be squeezed dry whenever the king needs them. Yet this quote also works on another level, establishing a … Hamlet’s jest may also serve as a form of retaliation against Polonius, who instructed his daughter Ophelia to cut off contact with Hamlet. Polonius revealed his true power after he was caught practicing an occult ritual in the fortress basement by Rosencrantz. Be thou a spirit of health or a goblin damned, Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, Be thy intents wicked or charitable, Thou comest in such a questionable shape That I will speak to thee: I’ll call thee Hamlet, King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me!”, Hamlet (to self as Ghost makes its first appearance), “I do not set my life at a pin’s fee; And set my soul, what can it do to that, Being a thing immortal as itself?”, Hamlet (to Horatio and the guards, about how he knows the ghost cannot harm him), “Unhand me, gentlemen. When Gertrude tells Claudius of Polonius’ death, Claudius responds by saying: O heavy deed! Polonius advises his servant, Reynaldo, to spy on his son, Laertes, who has just departed for Paris. Lord Polonius… In Hamlet Polonius' use of clever language and situational humor help relive the tension in the play. Claudius’s questions echo Hamlet’s earlier doubts about the grief of his own mother, Gertrude, and in this sense Claudius’s questions speak to the play’s larger anxiety about the mismatch between appearance and reality. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Shmoop and verify that you are over the age of 13. Helpful Not Helpful. _____ 1. In a room in Elsinore, Gertrude tells Horatio that she does not want to see or talk to Ophelia, but Horatio insists that she should; Ophelia is not in good shape because her father, Polonius, was killed. Polonius defamation of his son portrays his own trust issues with his family. ... Polonius (to Laertes, advising his son before he departs) Polonius and Claudius both appear to be good and honest. Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! (Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2) In this quote, Hamlet is on stage alone during soliloquy. 2. Designed by GonThemes. A gentleman from the court reports that Ophelia is acting very strangely, saying, ''She speaks things in doubt, that carry but half sense. 14 Picture Quotes. Polonius' deliberate role in the play is to serve as both comedic relief, a sort of palate cleanser for all of the dark drama, and as a foil to King Claudius. Claudius’ sneaky and manipulative ways eventually lead to the death of Polonius at Hamlet’s hands. London: Macmillan. Hamlet ruthlessly calls Polonius a fool, and his opinion, as the play’s protagonist, would greatly influence an Elizabethan audience’s view of Polonius. O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!' (4. Why do you think Claudius now thinks it is necessary to "call up" his "wisest friends?" Polonius utters these words as an aside after Hamlet, feigning madness, delivers a short, near-nonsense speech in which he discusses the horrors of the aging body. 7 Polonius is loyal to the King, where he makes an arrangement to spy on Hamlet. It’s notable that Shakespeare has given Polonius several of the lines that have become top Shakespeare quotes, such as:. Claudius on his love for Polonius, Act 4 Sc. Played by the right actor, self-absorbed, long-winded, and dull becomes completely hilarious. He is the father of two important characters of the play, Laertes and Ophelia. 7 Written Quotes. Although he cannot discern Hamlet’s “method,” the audience can see that Hamlet is actually making fun of the aging Polonius. (Annoying!) Popular Quotes. Hamlet Fortinbras Quotes Claudius Quotes About Power Hamlet Rosencrantz Quotes Hamlet Quotes Polonius Gertrude From Hamlet Quotes Laertes Hamlet Quotes Guildenstern Hamlet Quotes Hamlet Ophelia Quotes Famous Hamlet Quotes Claudius Important Quotes Abraham Lincoln Quotes Albert Einstein Quotes. Powered by WordPress. However, he does get even sneakier because he wants to make himself look good to King Claudius. The Hamlet quotes below are all either spoken by Claudius or refer to Claudius. See all. Hamlet went to his mother’s closet, to discuss her marriage to Claudius, and how Hamlet believed her to be in on the death of Claudius. Polonius utters these words as an aside after Hamlet, feigning madness, delivers a short, near-nonsense speech in which he discusses the horrors of the aging body. Brevity is the soul of wit. Polonius Character Analysis in Hamlet - In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, Polonius is the chief counsellor of King Claudius. But he’s an arrant knave.”, Hamlet (to Horatio and the guards, remarking and demeaning Claudius), “So lust, though to a radiant angel link’d, Will sate itself in a celestial bed And prey on garbage”, “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damned incest”. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. Polonius is a verbose, faltering old man whose servile devotion to Claudius renders him slimy, untrustworthy, and pathetic in the eyes of Hamlet. Now must ... seal, after what you have heard, you can no longer fail to acquit me of all complicity in your father's death; for seal, see note on i.2. Reynaldo must use falsehoods to find out the truth, not unlike how a fisherman uses a small piece of “bait” to reel in a big “carp.” Polonius’s instructions relate to the motif of spying and the use of deceptive stratagems that runs throughout the play, in which certain characters direct other characters to try to discover something through deception and indirection. blogspot.com helpful non helpful. Act 3, scene 1 Claudius suggests that Hamlet may be a danger with his “ turbulent and dangerous lunacy ” and concludes that “ Madness in great ones must not unwatched go ”. Claudius lies to the entire state of Denmark by killing King Hamlet. Polonius is hilarious. Polonius Quotes From Hamlet Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Polonius is the chief counselor to Claudius, as well as the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Act 1, Scene 3 Neither a borrower nor a lender be: For loan oft loses both itself and friend. Earlier in the scene Polonius attempts to convince Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet has lost his mind. Combined with the quote below, Polonius believes that if you appear to be honest, people will believe you. Like his other pithy proclamations, this statement both conveys Polonius’s sense of self-importance as well as revealing how inaccurate his perception of himself actually is. Basically, this is SNL-type humor: … Polonius also sets up for Hamlet to meet Gertrude. K. Deighton. When Hamlet himself enters, he is confronted first by Polonius and then by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, whom he quickly identifies as Claudius’s spies. In other words, Polonius concludes that Hamlet must be putting on a show, and that his performance must serve some purpose. Polonius is determined to do whatever it takes to stay in the good graces of the king and queen, and invents many different ways of spying on Hamlet in an attempt to win the monarchs’ continued favor. Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long: And then; they say, no spirit dare stir abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.”, Marcellus (to Horatio, about the Ghost leaving when the cock crows), “But, look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastward hill.”, Horatio (to Marcellus, about the morning after the Ghost appears), Claudius (to court, in remembrance of King Hamlet), “With an auspicious and dropping eye, With north in a funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole.”, Claudius (to court, about moving on from the grief for King Hamlet and cementing his rule as king), “The head is not more native to the heart.”, Claudius (to Laertes, addressing him instead of Hamlet), “A little more than kin, and less than kind.”, Hamlet (aside, about Claudius being both uncle and father), “All that lives must die passing through nature to eternity.”, Gertrude (to Hamlet, trying to comfort his grief), “But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings and the suits of woe.”, Hamlet (to Gertrude, about his grief and depression), “Tis a fault to Heaven A fault against the dead, a fault to nature, To reason most absurd.”, Claudius (to Hamlet, referring to “unmanly grief” and how the death of a father is a common theme), “O, that this too too sallied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself to dew! Earlier in the scene Polonius attempts to convince Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet has lost his mind. Claudius and Gertrude set Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two boyhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him. Polonius’s words thus foreshadow significant events in the play, such as Hamlet’s attempt to use the performance of a fictional play to determine whether or not Claudius is truly guilty. The funeral bak’d meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.”, Hamlet (to Horatio, referring to the speed of the wedding after his father’s funeral), Hamlet (to Horatio, referring to how he sees his father in his head), “He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.”, Hamlet (to Horatio, speaking highly of his father), Horatio (to Hamlet, describing his encounter with the Ghost), “In the dead waste and middle of the night”, “All is not well; I doubt some foul play.”, Hamlet (soliloquy, referring to how he suspects some foul play in the death of his father after hearing of his Ghost), “A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.”, Horatio (to Hamlet, describing the Ghost’s countenance), “Foul deeds will rise, Though all the earth o’erwhelm them to men’s eyes.”, Hamlet (soliloquy, referring to how he is the only one in the castle who suspects foul play), “A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute.”, Laertes (to Ophelia, warning her of Hamlet’s fleeting love), “And keep you in the rear of your affection, Our of the shot and danger of desire, The chariest maid is prodigal enough If she unmasks her beauty to the moon.”, Laertes (to Ophelia, warning her not to be seduced by Hamlet), “Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven; Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, And decks not his own rede.”, Ophelia (to Laertes, telling him to practice what he preaches), Polonius (to Laertes, advising his son before he departs), “The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to hoops of steel.”, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For a loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”, “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”, Polonius (to Laertes, instructing him to serve himself and his needs before he helps others), “You speak like a free girl, Unsifted in such perilous circumstance.”, Polonius (to Ophelia, dismissing the legitimacy of Hamlet’s love for her), Polonius (to Ophelia, warning her that Hamlet’s declarations of love are meant to deceive her), “When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Lends the tongue vows.”, Polonius (to Ophelia, warning her of Hamlet’s intentions in courting her), “Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence.”, Polonius (to Ophelia, warning her to stay away from Hamlet), Horatio (to Hamlet, about how cold it is), “But to my mind – though I am native here And to the manner born, – it is a custom More honored in the breach than the observance.”, Hamlet (to Horatio, about Claudius throwing parties and celebrating despite the 6 month mourning period), “Angels and ministers of grace, defend us! The neurotic thinks himself both Hamlet and Claudius, in a world that belongs to Polonius. All quotes can be found in acts 1 and 2 Next: Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1 Explanatory Notes for Act 4, Scene 7 From Hamlet, prince of Denmark.Ed. What's in a name? Hamlet Act 1 Important Quotes ... Claudius (to court, in remembrance of King Hamlet) “With an auspicious and dropping eye, With north in a funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole. Furthermore, Polonius’s notion that “brevity is the soul of wit” could be read as an ironic comment on the play itself. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Polonius has a tendency to make pompous, aphoristic pronouncements, and his claim that “brevity is the soul of wit” ranks among his most famous. Top Polonius Quotes. As each character is presented in the play all appear to be good and honest, making it a difficult task for Hamlet to uncover the hidden truth about the nature of … She needs someone to take pity and listen to her. Polonius Quotes. He is sceptical of Polonius’ explanation of Hamlet’s madness (he is lovesick) but goes along with Polonius’ plan to spy on a meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet. 6. And you ... friend, nor can you help heartily recognizing me as a friend. Polonius cares deeply for his children, which is why he's so overprotective. quoteaddicts.com helpful non helpful. He also cuts in at their use of the words "mobledqueen" to say "Oh, that's good; 'mobled queen' is good." It had been so with us, had we been there. “In the most high and palmy state of Rome, A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets.”, Horatio (to Barnardo, comparing Denmark to the Fall of Rome), “And then it started like a guilty thing Upon a fearful summons.”, Horatio (to Barnardo, about the Ghost leaving when the cock crows), “It faded on the crowing of the cock. Quotes “That did I, my lord, and was accounted a good actor.” Polonius shows he is practiced in playing falsehoods. Her speech is nothing, yet the unshaped use of it doth move the hearers to…botch the words up to fit their own thoughts,'' which mean… As they talk, a … Polonius’s death occurs as a result of him being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. To thine own self be true. Get free homework help on William Shakespeare's Hamlet: play summary, scene summary and analysis and original text, quotes, essays, character analysis, and filmography courtesy of CliffsNotes. 60.

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