Mika Shapshovich
Mr. Doherty
English
8 January, 2018 The Human Nature of Manipulation for Power: Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius in Hamlet by Shakespeare
Manipulative individuals use their power to deceive others for social status or power. Evidently, manipulation is used to alter the perception of others through deceitful and misleading acts. When a person possesses surplus power they become insecure and unstable, which causes the person to anticipate distrustful acts. In the play Hamlet, there are many occurences of manipulation. Polonius manipulates Reynaldo by making him speak rumors to get information about Laertes’ reputation there because he does not trust him. Secondly, Claudius …show more content…
When Laertes transported to Paris, Polonius spoke with Reynaldo about traveling to Paris and spying on Laertes. Polonius tells Reynaldo to “Put on him what forgeries you please” (2.1.23). This shows Polonius’s cynical but intelligent attitude of manipulation of how he deceives through Reynaldo by making up rumors to see if his son is trustworthy. Polonius also told his daughter to not take Hamlet’s love seriously. Polonius tells Ophelia, “Tender yourself more dearly, or you’ll tender me a fool” (1.3.115-117). Polonius tells Ophelia that she should offer herself more respect. The word tender has a double meaning also known as a pun, when he tells her to respect herself, she will be making a fool of him if she doesn’t. Additionally, Polonius is forcing Ophelia to communicate with Hamlet, who she hoped to not see again for her fearfulness of him. Polonius is seen as the selfish person he is because of his selfish actions to manipulate his son and use his daughter to find the truth about Hamlet even though she is terrified of …show more content…
Every time a character plans to thwart another through manipulation, the characters end up constantly manipulating each other until they become so cynical and distrustful towards one another that it leads to their deaths. Shakespeare teaches us that there is no reason for trickery and manipulation if the more you do it the more you are endangering yourself. In the end, these cynical manipulations ultimately resulted in nothing more than death. The deceiving tricks these characters played didn’t only affect themselves but the people around them as
Mr. Doherty
English
8 January, 2018 The Human Nature of Manipulation for Power: Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius in Hamlet by Shakespeare
Manipulative individuals use their power to deceive others for social status or power. Evidently, manipulation is used to alter the perception of others through deceitful and misleading acts. When a person possesses surplus power they become insecure and unstable, which causes the person to anticipate distrustful acts. In the play Hamlet, there are many occurences of manipulation. Polonius manipulates Reynaldo by making him speak rumors to get information about Laertes’ reputation there because he does not trust him. Secondly, Claudius …show more content…
When Laertes transported to Paris, Polonius spoke with Reynaldo about traveling to Paris and spying on Laertes. Polonius tells Reynaldo to “Put on him what forgeries you please” (2.1.23). This shows Polonius’s cynical but intelligent attitude of manipulation of how he deceives through Reynaldo by making up rumors to see if his son is trustworthy. Polonius also told his daughter to not take Hamlet’s love seriously. Polonius tells Ophelia, “Tender yourself more dearly, or you’ll tender me a fool” (1.3.115-117). Polonius tells Ophelia that she should offer herself more respect. The word tender has a double meaning also known as a pun, when he tells her to respect herself, she will be making a fool of him if she doesn’t. Additionally, Polonius is forcing Ophelia to communicate with Hamlet, who she hoped to not see again for her fearfulness of him. Polonius is seen as the selfish person he is because of his selfish actions to manipulate his son and use his daughter to find the truth about Hamlet even though she is terrified of …show more content…
Every time a character plans to thwart another through manipulation, the characters end up constantly manipulating each other until they become so cynical and distrustful towards one another that it leads to their deaths. Shakespeare teaches us that there is no reason for trickery and manipulation if the more you do it the more you are endangering yourself. In the end, these cynical manipulations ultimately resulted in nothing more than death. The deceiving tricks these characters played didn’t only affect themselves but the people around them as