hamlet act 2 Flashcards
what does polonius do with Laertes
- polonius gave money and letters to Laertes through Reynaldo
- p tells r to exaggerate and create false stories to create a new identity
- doing this because he wants to see if its dispelled based on how ppl know how Laertes is like
reinforcements
positive (Laertes is not like that) and negative (get more info..”oh right did you also know this”)
- polonius isn’t considering: that people may not know so it seems true to everyone
Polonious Father Complex
- untrusting of Laertes
- motivated by power
- politics comes first: wants to see how others perceive him and his family
- polonius may be worried about his own reputation being damaged by Laertes
- stark contrast: this situation + “to thine own self be true”
polonius losing track of thought indicates what
- fool
- check if Reynaldo is really listening
your bait of falsehood takes the carp of truth
- said by polonius
- he needs to use the bait of telling smaller lies about laertes to uncover what Laertes is like
polonius and ophelia when antic disposition occurred
- polonius has identified that the grief of H extends to Ophelia:
- believes he’s found a possible reason for hamlet’s behaviour, goes to Claudius to get praise from Claudius
- P apologizes for his mischaracterization of hamlet
hamlet’s antic disposition
hamlet wants polonius to intentionally go to the king
- potential distraction method
- lessens C’s worry that hamlet will try to take the throne
ophelia’s guilt
- afraid of hamlets condition
- since she’s ghosted him, feeling guilty
- may think of herself as the cause
rosencrantz and guildenstern
- hamlets childhood friends
- Claudius calls them to identify what’s bothering him (Hamlet)
- parallel between what polonius is doing and what Claudius is doing
“more than his father’s death and thus hath put him so much from h’understanding of himself, I cannot dream of”
- claudius=speaker
- literary device: dramatic irony, audience knows something that the character doesn’t know, Claudius doesn’t know that hamlet knows about the poisoning
“My too much change’d son. Go, some of you, and bring these gentlemen…”
- strange because as hamlet mother she should have an idea of what’s wrong with hamlet
- only spoke to hamlet (thus far) in public…does she really love him?
- clueless that her speedy marriage to Claudius bothers her son
ambassadors of Norway return to say what?
-
Gertrude character analysis
- gertrude acknolwedges that hamlet sr.’s death and the quick marriage are potential causes of hamlet’s antic dispoition
- admission of guilt (to an extend), actively engaged in not converting with hamlet is in someway responsible
- cause of not talking to hamlet: she doesn’t want to open the Pandora’s box of her questionable behaviour
gertrude vs opehlia
Gertrude is powerful and makes herself powerless, selfish as a mother
- ophelia does the opposite, she makes herself known and heard to an extent
polonius asking “what do you think of me?” to C
- P thinks that his daughters reflections are a direct reflection on him, insecurity; worried about perception
- C calls him loyal and honourable and P says he will prove it to him (recounts)