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Return Hamlet’s letters and renounce his affections
- However, as the question of Hamlet’s state of mind increasingly dire, Polonius tightens the reins on his daughter. At the top of Act Three Polonius forces Ophelia to return Hamlet’s letters and renounce his affections.
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From her very first scene, men tell Ophelia what to do. In Act One, scene three, where we first meet her, Laertes and Polonius admonish Ophelia not to trust Hamlet’s expressions of love. Despite the force of their warnings, Laertes and Polonius both trust Ophelia to make her own decisions.
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mwestwood, M.A. | Certified Educator. Share Cite. Polonius has promised the Queen that he will have Ophelia try to learn what is causing Hamlet's madness. So, he has his daughter pretend to be...
They affect Ophelia's heart most painfully; for in her ignorance and inexperience she has the greatest confidence in the wisdom of her father and her brother, and, therefore, feels inclined, against her own good judgment, to distrust her lover.
Polonius uses Ophelia to try to determine what the cause of Hamlet’s madness is (although Polonius, arrogantly, already assumes he knows that Hamlet is ‘mad for [her] love’). Similarly, Hamlet, determined to convince Polonius and Claudius that he is mad, speaks in riddles to Ophelia and verbally attacks her.
Polonius suggests Ophelia go with him to see Claudius, so that they can inform him of the “violent” affection Hamlet has developed for Ophelia. Polonius loves drama, schemes, and plots—so he takes the bait Hamlet has laid and begins developing a plan of his own.
Act 1, Scene 4. Themes and Colors Key. Summary. Analysis. As Laertes prepares to sail back to France, he bids goodbye to his sister, Ophelia, and warns her not to gamble her “honor” by falling in love with Hamlet —a broody man bound to the will of his country.
