“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare Polonius Family Essay Example

family. Ophelia shares with Polonius that Hamlet has frightened her, leading Polonius to conclude that Hamlet is mentally unstable. While some interpret this as Hamlet's final interaction with Ophelia before he starts his plan to kill Claudius, the fact that he terrifies her without attempting to ease her fears suggests that he is manipulating her to spread word of his madness throughout the kingdom via Polonius. In Act III, scene iv, Hamlet kills Polonius while he hides behind the arras in the Queen's room. This event drives Ophelia insane and ultimately leads to her drowning in a river near the castle in Act IV, scene vii. It is evident how Hamlet's plot, the death of Polonius, ultimately results in Ophelia's demise.

The tragedy lies in Ophelia's undeserved death as she becomes a mere tool for others' personal gain. Laertes, Ophelia's brother and Polonius's son, is the last member of their family to meet their demise. Although he ultimately kills Hamlet, it is a tragic act of avenging his father's death, which would have been endorsed by the moral standards of the 1600s audience. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes does not manipulate others to achieve his goals, and his revenge is partially driven by the pressure exerted on him by Claudius. Hence, Laertes' killing of Hamlet can be justified and is a tragic occurrence leading to his own death.

In Act IV, scene vii, Claudius manipulates Laertes in an attempt to kill Hamlet. During their conversation, Claudius questions Laertes about his feelings towards his late father. He wonders whether Laertes is genuinely grieving or simply pretending to mourn. Claudius uses these words to guide Laertes towards a plot to

murder Hamlet, asking him what he would do to prove his love for his father in action, rather than just words. It is evident that Laertes, fueled by anger and under Claudius' influence, easily falls into this scheme to kill Hamlet. Tragically, it is in this attempt that Laertes himself ends up being killed by the very poison he intended for Hamlet.

Yet again, a member of Polonius' family meets a fatal end as a result of unknowingly being involved in a conflict. This leads to the equally tragic downfall of Laertes. Contrary to popular belief, the tragedy in Hamlet does not revolve around him or his relatives. Instead, it centers on the sorrowful fate of Polonius' family. Their deaths are not due to their own wrongdoing but rather because they were manipulated by Hamlet and Claudius for unknown reasons. Despite the heartbreaking loss of Polonius' family, several other characters in the story also face an untimely demise.

In the final stages of the play Hamlet, the demise of a character becomes somewhat ordinary.