He is educated enough to be Lord Chamberlain, which earns him the trust of King Claudius and Queen Gertrude. When he advises that Laertes may return to Paris, or that Hamlet should be spied upon, the royal couple agrees without hesitation. Yet his loyalty masks a malicious intent. This is what makes the state "rotten" as Marcellus says in Act I, scene 4.
A Deceptive Subordinate
Polonius's respect for Hamlet is performative. He addresses Hamlet as "My Lord" and endures his insults. When Hamlet asks, "Have you a daughter?" and tells him "Let her not walk i' the sun," Polonius reacts in an aside: "How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter... he is far gone, far gone." (II.2) He pretends to be dutiful while secretly plotting to use his own daughter as bait.
A Machiavellian Father? A Father of Double Standards
Polonius's most famous lines are his advice to Laertes: "Give thy thoughts no tongue... Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar... Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice... This above all: to thine ownself be true." (I.3)
These words sound noble, but his actions contradict them completely. He preaches frugality and honesty — "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" — yet he sends Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes and explicitly teaches him to lie to uncover the truth.
His treatment of his children reveals a double standard. Laertes is given freedom, money, and permission to "womanize" in Paris, while Ophelia is ordered to be chaste, to return Hamlet's letters, and to remain obedient. Laertes decides his own future; Ophelia must act as she is told. As a father, Polonius is responsible in providing, but unprincipled in his control.
His most theatrical deception comes in Act III, scene 1, when he makes Ophelia hold a prayer book to trick Hamlet into thinking she is praying, while they spy on him. He admits the hypocrisy himself: "with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself."
Why Polonius Still Matters
Polonius is only a supporting character, but he changes the entire tragedy. By forcing Ophelia to break with Hamlet, he deepens Hamlet's grief and misogyny. His death behind the arras — killed by Hamlet while eavesdropping — leads directly to Ophelia's suicide, Laertes's return for revenge, and Hamlet's exile.
Unlike Hamlet, Polonius dies before the climax, yet his words endure. His advice "To thine ownself be true" is arguably more quoted today than Hamlet's "To be, or not to be."
Shakespeare, through Polonius, gives us a presage — a forewarning — of the modern political adviser: a man who uses wise words to mask self-interest, who values loyalty to power over loyalty to his own family.
To What Kind of People and Parents Can We Compare Polonius Today?
If we deep dive into his character, Polonius is not unique to Elsinore. We see him today in three familiar figures:
First, the helicopter parent. He gives Laertes a long lecture on how to live in Paris, yet he does not trust him enough to live it. He sends Reynaldo to spy. This is the parent who speaks of trust but practices surveillance.
Second, the corporate yes-man. He tells Claudius what Claudius wants to hear, always bringing a new theory about Hamlet. His survival depends on being agreeable and useful, not on being truthful.
Third, the image manager or PR adviser. His advice is all about appearance — how to dress, how to speak, how to seem wise. He tells Ophelia to be chaste not for morality but for the family name, and he stages her with a prayer book to look pious while they deceive. In modern politics, this is the handler who sugars o'er the devil himself with devotion's visage.
Will His Style of Parenting Make Good Children?
No. His style produces two broken outcomes, and we see both in his own children.
Laertes becomes impulsive and rebellious. Given freedom without real trust, he lives loosely in Paris and later returns ready to kill without questioning Claudius's version of events. A child who is constantly lectured but not trusted does not learn judgment; he learns to act quickly and angrily.
Ophelia becomes the opposite — obedient to the point of self-erasure. She repeats, "I shall obey, my lord." She has no inner voice left to protect her when her father dies and Hamlet rejects her. A father who teaches slogans like "to thine ownself be true" while modeling deceit does not create a child who is true to herself. He creates one who knows the words but not the practice. In both cases, his parenting fails because it values control over character.
If a Leader is Like Polonius, Will That Leader Be Helpful in a Company?
For a short time, yes. A Polonius-like leader is useful to a Claudius-like boss. He is diligent, he gathers information, he writes reports, he appears loyal. In a company, he would be the manager who always has data and always agrees with the CEO. But in the long term, he is destructive.
First, he creates a culture of espionage. When he teaches Reynaldo to lie to discover the truth, he teaches the whole court that lying is acceptable. In a company, when a leader spies on his own team, trust collapses.
Second, he confuses information with wisdom. He is certain Hamlet is mad for love, and he builds his whole plan on a wrong diagnosis. A company with a Polonius as leader drowns in reports but makes bad decisions.
Finally, he dies because he is listening in the wrong room. His end behind the arras is the perfect metaphor for the political adviser who spends his time eavesdropping instead of leading. He is not killed for being evil, but for being intrusive and irrelevant when real action is needed. A company can survive with a Polonius for a season, but it cannot grow with him.
References (APA - Academic Version)
Bloom, H. (1998). Shakespeare: The invention of the human. Riverhead Books.
Clark, W. G., & Wright, W. A. (Eds.). (1863). The works of William Shakespeare. Macmillan. (Original work published 1853)
Shakespeare, W. (1992). Hamlet (B. A. Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). Washington Square Press. (Original work published 1603)
No comments:
Post a Comment