Polonius - Act 2, Scene 1 & 2

What is revealed of Polonius in Act 2, Scene 1 and 2?

Polonius is the chief political officer of state and this is the first example of the
surveillance techniques that we see him use to maintain control. Polonius instructs
Reynaldo to spy on Laertes in Paris. His devious ways show the audience that he is
one of many characters who lack conviction and integrity. He advises Reynaldo to use
wily and indirect methods of enquiry, rather than direct questions, and even to lie
about Laertes’ behaviour. The initial impression given here seems to be is that he is a
father willing to use underhand methods to keep watch for his own son. This may also
suggest that he does not have much trust or faith in his children. As Act 2, Scene 1
progresses, Polonius’s character hints not only serves to reinforce the pattern of
corruption, and demonstrates the social and moral decay of Denmark, but also allows
Shakespeare to portray amusement into the play. Polonius is often played as long-
winded and absent-minded. The scene in which his over detailed advice makes him
lose the thread of his argument, for example, ‘Where did I leave?’ is often a moment
of high humour in performances and it creates an additional opportunity for
Shakespeare’s own audience to laugh.
We get a different perspective of him when he actually apologises to Ophelia,
‘I am sorry…I feared he did but trifle’. The fact that he admits to his misjudgement
shows a slight degree of modesty. However, he jumps to the conclusion that Hamlet
has been driven mad by Ophelia’s rejection of his love and this can relate to his
eagerness in providing the King with useful information on Hamlet’s behaviour. This
is later supported when we read, ‘Both to my God, and my gracious King’. His
exaggeration in trying to flatter the King implies Polonius is a sycophant, and only
doing it to be on good terms with the King. We may see Polonius as being a hypocrite
who looks out for his own interests, and betrays those he should be loyal to. These
aspects of his character are revealed in his relationships with the King, Ophelia,
Laertes, and Hamlet. Polonius can be described as Janus-faced. Janus was a god from
Roman mythology who had two faces, each looking in opposite directions. Similarly,
Polonius is two-faced in his interactions with people. One example of this is his
relationship with the King. Polonius proclaims his loyalty to Claudius, the new King
in the following speech, ‘I assure my good liege, I hold my duty as I hold my soul,
both to God and to my gracious king…’ If Polonius was truly loyal to King Hamlet,
then he would have never supported the deceitful, murderous Claudius. This speech
also addresses the issue of Polonius’ moral integrity. He claims that his soul belongs
to God. Yet if he were the devout Christian that he claimed to be, he would have been
honourable and loyal to his children and King Hamlet. Honour itself is another
Christian value that Polonius talks about. Polonius says to Ophelia, ‘marry none so
rank…wanton, wild and usual slips’. This scene shows how much of a hypocrite he is;
he constantly does dishonourable deeds, yet he is preaching to Ophelia to act
respectably.
There is the suggestion that Polonius makes decisions based on benefiting
himself, not on the well-being off his family. This can be seen in his interactions with
Ophelia and Laertes. In Act I Scene 3, Polonius is giving advice to his daughter about
refusing Hamlet’s advances. The language that he uses can be seen to be blatant and
rather unkind; it is not the typical loving, nurturing interaction between a parent and
child. He refers to her as a ‘woodcock’, a gullible bird. He tells her, ‘I would not, in
plain terms, from this time forth have you so slander any moment leisure as to give
words or talk with the Lord Hamlet’. This last comment shows how much he only
cares about himself. He does not care how Ophelia feels about Hamlet; only what
matters is that her love affair with Hamlet would make Polonius look bad. Because
her actions will affect his image, he forbids Ophelia to see Hamlet.
When Polonius embarks on a longwinded explanation of Hamlet’s madness,
his pompous and oblique language consists ironically with his assertion that ‘brevity
is the soul of wit’ and prompts Gertrude’s sharp yet ineffective reply, ‘More matter
with less art’. Polonius carries on playing pedantically with words, usually to the
enjoyment of the audience and the irritation of Gertrude. It is known that in nearly all
productions Polonius revels in being the centre of the attention. He parades his
evidence (Hamlet’s letter and poem), comments on its poetic style, tells of his
instructions to Ophelia to have no contact with Hamlet, and unfolds his conclusion
that Hamlets has been driven mad by Ophelia’s refusal to see him.
To conclude, Polonius is no doubt a character that is essential to the plot or at
least in respect to Hamlet’s plan when he is trying to make people believe he is mad.
His character cannot be defined so easily since on one level we can see him as a
shrewd or foolish man, on the other hand we can also see him as a loving yet harsh
father. Nevertheless, his actions often contain an ulterior motive and his character for
the majority is presented in a negative light. Therefore, this allows us to feel less grief
and sadness for his death.

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What is revealed of Polonius in Act 2, Scene 1 and 2?

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