Hamlet - Act 2 Scene 1
Polonius’ Rooms
Enter POLONIUS and REYNALDO
POLONIUS
Give him this money and these notes, Reynaldo.
Reyanldo may attempt to exit at this point, prompting Polonius to stop him, recalling Laertes' initial attempt to leave in 1.3.
REYNALDO
I will, my lord.
POLONIUS
You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo,
Before you visit him, to make inquire
Of his behavior.
REYNALDO
My lord, I did intend it.
Polonius' plan here is very much in keeping with the interest in observation and surveillance which he displays later in the play (at 2.2, 3.1, and 3.4), but sharply contrasts his conversation with Laertes in 1.3. Having given his son advice and expressed faith in him, we now learn that he is sending a spy to watch Laertes secretly.
POLONIUS
Marry, well said; very well said. Look you, sir,
Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris;
And how, and who, what means, and where they keep,
What company, at what expense; and finding
By this encompassment and drift of question
That they do know my son, come you more nearer
Than your particular demands will touch it:
Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him;
As thus, 'I know his father and his friends,
And in part him: ' do you mark this, Reynaldo?
REYNALDO
Ay, very well, my lord.
Given the details of Polonius' plan, Laertes has certainly arrived in Paris, and may have been there long enough to settle in. Some time has clearly passed between 1.5 and 2.1, though it is difficult to ascertain just how much.
POLONIUS
'And in part him; but' you may say 'not well:
But, if't be he I mean, he's very wild;
Addicted so and so:' and there put on him
What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank
As may dishonour him; take heed of that;
But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.
REYNALDO
As gaming, my lord.
Polonius' list is invented, but it suggests a portrait of Laertes as something of a libertine, in contrast to the rigid and intellectual Hamlet.
POLONIUS
Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling,
Drabbing: you may go so far.
REYNALDO
My lord, that would dishonour him.
POLONIUS
'Faith, no; as you may season it in the charge
You must not put another scandal on him,
That he is open to incontinency;
That's not my meaning: but breathe his faults so quaintly
That they may seem the taints of liberty,
The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind,
A savageness in unreclaimèd blood,
Of general assault.
REYNALDO
But, my good lord–
POLONIUS
Wherefore should you do this?
REYNALDO
Ay, my lord,
I would know that.
Polonius' dialogue is full of digressions and interruptions which suggest distraction or senility. These are conventional attributes of an 'old man' character, and can be effectively funny on stage. These elements can make seem Polonius seem harmlessly pedantic or can be played to indicate senility or dementia.
POLONIUS
Marry, sir, here's my drift;
And I believe, it is a fetch of wit:
You laying these slight sullies on my son,
As 'twere a thing a little soiled i' the working,
Mark you, your party in converse, him you would sound,
Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes
The youth you breathe of guilty, be assured
He closes with you in this consequence;
'Good sir,' or so, or 'friend,' or 'gentleman,'
According to the phrase or the addition
Of man and country.
REYNALDO
Very good, my lord.
POLONIUS
And then, sir, does he this – he does – what was
I about to say? By the mass, I was about to say something:
where did I leave?
The technique of using rumours and deception to uncover true information is fairly common in espionage, and may have been used by Elizabeth's agents in Shakespeare's day.
The idea of uncovering truth through deception recurs in Polonius' plans in 3.1 and 3.4, as well as Hamlet's play-staging in 3.2. It might also be viewed as a metaphor for the theatre itself, which reveals inner truth through artifice and pretense.
REYNALDO
At 'closes in the consequence,' at 'friend or so,'
and 'gentleman.'
POLONIUS
At 'closes in the consequence,' ay, marry;
He closes thus: 'I know the gentleman;
I saw him yesterday, or t' other day,
Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you say,
There was a' gaming; there o'ertook in's rouse;
There falling out at tennis:' or perchance,
'I saw him enter such a house of sale,'
Videlicet, a brothel, or so forth.
See you now;
Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,
With windlasses and with assays of bias,
By indirections find directions out:
So by my former lecture and advice,
Shall you my son. You have me, have you not?
REYNALDO
My lord, I have.
POLONIUS
God be wi' you; fare you well.
Polonius' phrase is ambiguous, and could mean "shape yourself to Laertes' inclinations" or else "observe him yourself," i.e. confirm the rumours by direct surveillance.
REYNALDO
Good my lord!
POLONIUS
Observe his inclination in yourself.
REYNALDO
I shall, my lord.
POLONIUS
And let him ply his music.
REYNALDO
Well, my lord.
POLONIUS
Farewell!
Ophelia enters in such a way that Polonius observes her distress before she speaks. She may be weeping, or in shock, running to her father's arms, or hesitant and removed. The way the actor enters will shape much of the rhythm and dynamic of the dialogue that follows.
Exit REYNALDO
Enter OPHELIA
How now, Ophelia! What's the matter?
OPHELIA
O, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted!
POLONIUS
With what, i' the name of God?
It's worth noting that this encounter between Hamlet and Ophelia is not staged (though many modern productions add it in). The audience does not see Hamlet's behaviour directly, but experiences it first through its effect on Ophelia.
OPHELIA
My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced;
No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled,
Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle;
Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;
And with a look so piteous in purport
As if he had been loosèd out of hell
To speak of horrors – he comes before me.
POLONIUS
Mad for thy love?
Given the play's (and Hamlet's) fascination with words and actions, it's interesting that Hamlet does not speak in this encounter, but affects and/or deceives Ophelia entirely through silent performance, complete with costume and gesture.
Hamlet's unexpected arrival in Ophelia's closet (a personal, private room) is taboo, and may be frightening, even threatening. Ophelia's reactions in 3.1 suggest that she fears for Hamlet more than she fears Hamlet himself.
OPHELIA
My lord, I do not know;
But truly, I do fear it.
POLONIUS
What said he?
OPHELIA
He took me by the wrist and held me hard;
Then goes he to the length of all his arm;
And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow,
He falls to such perusal of my face
As he would draw it. Long stayed he so;
At last, a little shaking of mine arm
And thrice his head thus waving up and down,
He raised a sigh so piteous and profound
As it did seem to shatter all his bulk
And end his being: that done, he lets me go:
And, with his head over his shoulder turned,
He seemed to find his way without his eyes;
For out o' doors he went without their help,
And, to the last, bended their light on me.
Polonius' apology is both unusual and ambiguous. Is he sympathizing with Hamlet's condition, consoling Ophelia, expressing his own misery, or some combination thereof?
POLONIUS
Come, go with me: I will go seek the King.
This is the very ecstasy of love,
Whose violent property fordoes itself
And leads the will to desperate undertakings
As oft as any passion under heaven
That does afflict our natures. I am sorry.
What, have you given him any hard words of late?
OPHELIA
No, my good lord, but, as you did command,
I did repel his letters and denied
His access to me.
This last line is obscure, but the sense of it is that revealing Hamlet's love (and Polonius' meddling) might incur Claudius' anger, but keeping the knowledge hidden would cause more damage in the long run (by preventing Hamlet's madness from being cured).
POLONIUS
That hath made him mad.
I am sorry that with better heed and judgment
I had not quoted him: I feared he did but trifle,
And meant to wreck thee; but, beshrew my jealousy!
By heaven, it is as proper to our age
To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions
As it is common for the younger sort
To lack discretion. Come, go we to the King.
This must be known, which, being kept close, might move
More grief to hide than hate to utter love.
Exeunt