Discussing Hamlets speach with Polonius Essay

â€Å"Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well What I have said to you. † Line 88,Act 1 Sc 111. â€Å"Tis in my memory locked, And you yourself shall the keep the key of it. Line 90 Act 1 Sc 11. These were the last words Laertes and Ophelia exchanged before he left to France. It is when Polonius hears these words that he asks Ophelia what Laertes meant when he said, â€Å"Remember well What I have said to you†. Ophelia then tells her father that it was about her relationship with Hamlet. Polonius then questions Ophelia about this so-called relationship. Which then brings me to speech Polonius and Ophelia have Act 1 Scene 3 Lines 122-143 which I have based my essay own. I will go in depth and explain different characteristics of this speech. This whole speech between Polonius and Ophelia, though Polonius does most of the talking. I think it would be fairly accurate to say that he is actually lecturing Ophelia. Polonius is telling Ophelia that Hamlet is no good and also telling Ophelia that she shouldn’t give in to Hamlet so easily. Polonius in this speech also reveals to the reader what his true feelings of Hamlet are. From this speech we can imply that Polonius is very concerned about Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet. Shakespeare uses Metaphors, Similes, Alteration, and Personifications in Polonius’speech s to stress Hamlet’s faults and Ophelia’s personality as well. The speech becomes more alive because of these devices. I will show exactly how these devices construct Polonius’s speech. It is obvious that Polonius is concerned about his daughter’s relationship with Hamlet this is shown throughout the speech in various ways. The speech also shows Polonius strongly disapproves of Hamlet he does this by criticizing every aspect of Hamlet. We can see this by looking at Polonius’s speech for example when Polonius says† When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul†Act1, Sc3, Lines125, Polonius is saying that when Hamlet has a sudden churning for a women’s company that is when he goes to Ophelia. There is an alliteration here â€Å"blood burns† this put emphasis on these two words. â€Å"When the blood burns† is also a metaphor because we all now blood doesn’t burn, these two devices make Hamlet seem like a monster. It seems as if Hamlet is only using Ophelia for his own selfish reasons. Then Polonius continues to say â€Å"how prodigal the soul Lends the tongue vows† Act1, Sc3, Lines123-124 Polonius here is saying that when Hamlet has a sudden churning his soul lends his tongue vows or promises. We can see the personification here because Shakespeare’s writes as if soul is a person and can actually lend the tongue vows. This personification shows the reader exactly how fake Hamlet is. Then Polonius says â€Å"These blazes, daughter, Giving more light than heat, extinct in both† Act1, Sc3, Lines124-125, Polonius is saying that the blazes contain light and heat but they die out soon after. Polonius is saying just like light and heat die out and so will Hamlet’s promises. This shows the reader that Hamlet is not going to keep his promises that soon they will be broken. Polonius again uses personification to show us exactly what he think of Hamlet’s promises in this quote â€Å"Do not believe his vows for they are brokers,†Act1, Sc3, Lines134-135, Polonius is talking about Hamlet’s vows as if they were alive and they could actually break promises. This shows Hamlet’s promises aren’t worth anything. Polonius goes on to say that Hamlet is a fake in this next quote â€Å"Not of that dye which their investments shows† Act1, Sc3, Lines135, Polonius is saying that Hamlet is not the way his clothing or covering make him look. In this line Hamlet may be seen as an imposter or a hypocrite. In this next quote Polonius show us exactly what kind of person Hamlet is â€Å"Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds,† Act1, Sc3, Lines 137 this metaphor means Hamlet is acting like a humble person so he can hide his obscene, vulgar personality. In other words Hamlet acts like someone else so he can hide his true self. At this point the reader can speculate from Polonius’s speech that Hamlet is a rather nasty character or that Polonius has some hidden issues against Hamlet and that is why he is intent on giving Hamlet a bad name. Throughout the speech Polonius doesn’t give any reason as to why he feels this way towards Hamlet. In the previous paragraph I showed you how Polonius used comparisons and other literary devices to show his disapproval towards Hamlet. In this paragraph I will show you how Polonius makes Ophelia seem feeble and vulnerable. In the first line â€Å"Ay springes to catch woodcocks! I do know†Act1, Sc3, Lines122 Polonius compares Ophelia to woodcocks, which are known to be witless and easily trapped. Polonius is saying that Ophelia is easily trapped by Hamlet words, gifts etc. The reader might think of Ophelia as a little vulnerable girl who can be easily fooled. Polonius then accuses Ophelia of not being able stand up for herself and saying no to Hamlet, in this next quote â€Å"Set your entreatments at a higher rate. Than a command to parley. â€Å"Act1, Sc2, Lines129 Polonius is saying don’t automatically give in to Hamlet’s every request, have some self-respect and dignity. The reader may think that Ophelia can’t really say no when it comes to Hamlet. Then Polonius wraps up his speech by saying â€Å"I would not in plain terms from this time forth Have you slander any moment leisure As to give words or talk with Lord Hamlet. Look to’t, I charge you. † Act 1,Sc3, Lines138-142Polonius is ending his speech by telling Ophelia that she better not from this time on spend time or even talk with Hamlet anymore. Ophelia answers by saying â€Å"I shall obey, my Lord. â€Å"Act1, Sc3, Lines143 Ophelia doesn’t complain to her father this shows a certain amount of feebleness on Ophelia’s side. The reader can obviously assume that Ophelia is a vulnerable, feeble and a nai ve girl in here nature. The overall effect of Polonius’s speech is concern for his daughter and disapproval towards Hamlet. Polonius is trying to protect Ophelia from getting hurt by Hamlet, which whom he doesn’t particularly like. This makes Polonius seem like an overprotective father. The essence of Polonius’s speech is the concern mixed with extreme dislike toward Hamlet. He uses Metaphors, Similes, Alliteration and Personification this makes Polonius’s speech become more appealing. Polonius compares Hamlet to many things and says a lot about what Hamlet is and is not. Polonius does it so much that the audience is feels that the Polonius could have is own secret issues with Hamlet. The audience is hearing a lot of criticism directed at Hamlet and the audience might start to think that Polonius’s has other reasons for disapproving of Hamlet. This could mean that all the things said about Hamlet may not be true. How does the speech affect the rest of the play? This speech affects the rest of the play in the sense that Polonius’s disapproval of Hamlet causes for Ophelia to tell Hamlet that their relationship is over and Hamlet is not very pleased by this. After this episode when Hamlet starts acting weird, even a little mad. Polonius automatically suggests it is because Ophelia has dumped Hamlet, and therefore convinces Claudius and Gertrude that is what is causing Hamlet’s madness. Even though there is not direct evidence that implies Ophelia is the cause of Hamlet’s madness, in fact the reader know this is not even the reason for Hamlet’s madness further more Hamlet is not even mad. Polonius is simply playing devil’s advocate. I think Polonius’s extreme dislike of Hamlet that is revealed throughout the speech has affected the play in a number of ways.