As stated in the following quote “You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo, before you visit him, to make inquire of his behaviour” (2.1.3-5). Polonius was ordering the servant Reynaldo to spy on Laertes, and to secretly look after him. This type of logic that Polonius is using shows the distrust and fake appearance that he portrays to his own son. Another method of deception used by Polonius would be concealment. After Hamlet had staged the play, and noticed Claudius’s reaction, Gertrude was willing to speak to Hamlet about the play, and how Claudius is furious about it.
well, for the matter of fact all i had to do was make this up and it worked.... i hope. a central motif in the play is trickery or deceit, whether for good or evil purposes. counterfeiting, or concealing one's true feelings, is part of this motif. everyone seems to lie; good characters as well as evil ones engage in deceit as they attempt to conceal their feelings: beatrice and benedick mask their feelings for one another with bitter insults; don john spies on claudio and hero; don pedro and his 'crew' deceive benedick and beatrice. who hides and what is hidden?
Edward de Vere had a father in law named William Cecil. He is believed to have been parodied as the character Polonius in Hamlets story. Only a man close to Edwards Father in law, being himself, could parody this man convincing is de Vere himself. In a play called Henry IV, A prince that is named Hal is traveling, and he encounters what Edward and his company is noted to do to ill-fated travelers. They would play practical jokes on the travelers, and this is what Hal encounters in his play.
Although Polonius was helpful with his son the talk with his daughter had a different tone, but he was still worried about Ophelia and his own appearance "you'll tender me a fool" (if she is behind closed doors with hamlet. His advice was to stay away from Hamlet "Have you so slander any moment leisure, As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to ’t, I charge you. " 1.iii.133-135. This creates a character development of Polonius very important to the play and also adds to a common theme or appearance vs. reality throughout the play.
Things that appear true and honest may be evil or deceitful in reality. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of falseness: Ophelia, Polonius, and Hamlet. Ophelia tells her father of Hamlet. ``No, my good lord, but, as you did command, I did repel his fetters and denied``(I,ii,105-106). Ophelia was in love with Hamlet but she further reveals that due to Polonius’s orders, she has cut off all contact with Hamlet and has refused his letters.
In a dramatic dialogue with his father, Haemon defends the moral basis of Antigone's actions while warning his father that the people of Thebes sympathize with her determination to bury Polyneices. He and his father part in anger, as he simply asks his father to do what's right for Thebes, and his father stubbornly follows the path of least resistance. “Not here, no;she will not she will not die here, king. And you will never see my face again. Go on raving as long as you've a friend to endure you.” (3,132-134).
Polonius effectively demonstrates notions of corruption throughout the play. As Polonius himself is corrupt and false he cannot think of others as genuine. In Act 1, Scene 3, Polonius interferes with his daughter’s relationship with Hamlet - doubt’s Hamlet’s integrity, sincerity and affection for Ophelia, “Do not believe his vows” Polonius elucidates his corruption and falsity at the very beginning of Act 2, when he gives Reynaldo money to spy on his own son Laertes’ behaviour in Paris, through devious and indirect methods such as lies, “Inquire... and there put on him what forgeries you please”. Shakespeare’s examination of corruption through the interaction and relationships apparent between Hamlet and Gertrude,
Verbal irony is displayed many times throughout the story, such as when Chauvelin blackmails Marguerite, he says, “Your brother’s life hangs by a thread. Pray that the thread does not snap!” and right after that he adds, “Hope you sleep well.” Obviously no one can sleep well after someone tells them that their brother is about to die. Yet she also replies “You flatter me, citoyen.” Marguerite is actually internally torn between her love for Armand and her loyalty to the Scarlet Pimpernel. Verbal irony is also seen when Lord Grenville introduces Marguerite and the Comtesse to each other. They already know each other very well while when they were in France.
She spied on Hamlet through requirement of her father and also she only spied on him to figure out information that pertained to her. She first began spying on Hamlet during Act III while her father Polonious and the King hide behind a curtain. They requested that she find out whether Hamlet truly loved her or not. After she began talking to Hamlet, he humiliates her by replying to her statement with “you should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I love you not” (III.i.127-129).
Kate’s quote “I by thee have watched” shows Hotspur having a bad nightmare and shows that he has got doubts about this rebellion. The passage seems to suggest that Hotspur does not care about Kate and her feelings as the war he is about to embark on takes priority. It also gives us a view of the role of women in marriage. Despite the general impression that women were not equal to men in Shakespearean times, Kate does not appear to be intimidated by Hotspur. Whilst the tone in which she speaks to him express concern, she also speaks to him in a bold and assertive tone.