Flashcards
ACT 1 SCENE 3
Cards in this deck (3)
- 1Lines 78-80 (not being false - irony)Polonius - "This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man"
*Polonius' advice is ironic as both Polonius and Laertes do not follow this advice throughout the play, leading to both their perishes.
*Naturalistic language ('the night the day') is used to demonstrate the direness of staying true to yourself and to others, something both these characters failed to do.
*He is giving his son advice which contrasts with the orders that he gives his daughter, highlighting the way women were seen in Shakespearean England (inferior and expected to take orders from men). - 2Line 98 (Female inferiority)Polonius - "Give me up the truth."
*It is an order not a a question portraying the inferiority that women faced in Shakespearean times.
*She is expected to obey men without question - conveys the character of Ophelia as weak and suppressed.
*However, it my demonstrate that he cares for his daughter's wellbeing and sees her as too naive and young to know whats right by herself.
*His character is repeatedly demonstrated as prying and always wanting to know everything. - 3Line 136 (Ophelia's inferiority)Ophelia - "I shall obey, my lord."
*By calling her father 'my lord', the audience can sense the detachment between the two characters, as servants call their masters my lord and obey them without question, not a daughter.
*Proves that she is not happy with her father's orders to not speak or associate with Hamlet, which shows that her character feels powerless as a women as she does not question her father's desires.