Hamlet said, “O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!” (I, v, 188-189). This seems significant because this is Hamlet’s vow to his father to take on revenge on his Uncle Claudius or in other words, set things …show more content…
The scene begins with Polonius speaking with his servant Reynaldo, whom he is instructing to go to Paris, where Laertes is studying, to spy on him. He wants Reynaldo to talk to Laertes’ friends to gain insight on the type of life he is leading away from home, as well as deliver a message to Laertes himself. When Reynaldo sets out on his mission, Ophelia enters the room completely distraught. She is shaken almost to tears out of fear because Hamlet has come to her disoriented, dirty, not put together properly, trembling, pale, and completely mad, but Ophelia does not know what is wrong because she has been obeying her father’s orders to ignore Hamlet and cut him off from contact with her. However, Polonius comes to the conclusion that he misjudged Hamlet and that he really is in love with Ophelia, which has driven him into madness since he has not talked to her or messaged her in anyway, so Polonius decides this is something the king should know since Hamlet is next in line for the throne.
3. Why does Polonius want to spy on Laertes? Is it about his son or him?
Polonius wants to spy on his son because he wants to know what he is doing since he is not at home and make sure he is not making bad decisions. But, I think Polonius is more concerned about Laertes doing something bad that goes against the advice he gave him before he left for Paris because Polonius does not want his name to be tainted by his son’s ignorance. It is directly about his son Laertes, but the motive behind it is more so about Polonius himself since he is so concerned with the reputation attached to his name.
Why is Hamlet all over the place when he comes to Ophelia? Why is Ophelia so scared by