Corruption & Politics

Question 1

Gardiner 1798 ‘it is his readiness…

Answer 1

‘It is his readiness to spy upon others than finally brings about his downfall’
- Polonius

Question 2

Gardiner 1798 ‘a profound slickness afflicts…

Answer 2

‘A profound sickness afflicts the whole society and gives rise to the plays recurring imagery of foulness, rottenness & disease’

Question 3

Bates 2008 ‘becomes a crucial player in…

Answer 3

‘Becomes a crucial player in a world of surveillance and overhearing, of court intrigue’
- argues polonius is ‘a very cunning politician’
- reflected in national theatre 2010 Hytner adaptation with Ophelia carrying a bible that is secretly bugged

Question 4

Blate 21st century ‘scurvy politician who….

Answer 4

‘Scurvy politician who does not practice the integrity he preaches’
- Polonius’s hypocrisy
- ‘it behooves my daughter and your honour’ he constantly does dishonorable deeds, yet he is preaching to Ophelia to act honorably.

Question 5

Greg Doran production 2008 RSC

Answer 5

• Two way mirror showing lack of privacy
• Security guards follow hamlet
• Motif of smiling villain represents duplicitous nature of court
  (Starring David Tennant)

Question 6

Dixon ‘the pervading sense of…

Answer 6

‘The pervading sense of corruption, deception and betrayal ultimately contaminates and destroys the good and the innocent, reinforcing the bleak world in which the play unfolds’

Question 7

Belsey ‘he is in fact the poison…

Answer 7

‘He is in fact the poison in the veins of the community’