P2 OF: The Light and Dark of Polonius: A Twisted Journey Into the Unknown

Polonius fears loss of control and hence decieves others through disloyalty, insincerity, and lies in order to better control them. According to the infamous Macheavallian principles "deception is superior to legality in effectively controlling them." Here, Polonius sees power in deception and plays others in order to gain an upper hand on situations. Decpetion is a tricky thing and a complex order. It is a truism that some want to deviece you, some want to get decieved by you, some want to use you and some want to get used by you. Indeed, Hamlet opens the audience to this unfortuante part of the human condition. The uncertainty in reality is almost overbearing and Polonius feeds off of this. For him, class function dictates his motivations to spy on his family, Hamlet, and help the King: "What might you think? No, i went round to work;/And my young mistress thus i did bespeak:/'Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star' (i.ii.iii). As Polonius pretentiously quotes himself, he reveals his true self of a fool. Moreover, Polonius is trying to hard to impress the King and Queen through witty speech and intellectual conversation- yet his attempts to try so hard at this world of persona almost make it SEEM like he knows he needs to compensate for his doubts and ignorance. One must look beyond the mask of deceit in order to still see who Polonius is, an old fool. Polonius's foolishness shines when he has the audacity to use his own daughter as a pawn in his game of decpetion: "That show of such an excersie may colour/your lonliness. We are oft to blame in this,-/'Tis too much prov'd" (i.ii.iii). He willingly pushes Ophelia into part of the system, the spying maching, and makes her spy on Hamlet. As inappropraite as this is for a father, we see something important in his horrid actions, a symbol of property. Ophelia is clearly seen by her father as mere property with which he can USE to gain higher status with the King and Queen. Moreover, although Polonius is with the King, he still cannot help himself from using wordy, long-winded sentences giving way to prove even more of his stupidity. Indeed, Polonius gives both the actors and the audience a certain king of enlightenment to humanity's flaws and deciets. Hamlet forces both to come to acknolwege who are we decieving and why? And even before one may ask that question, it first must be addressed: what are deceiveing to ourselves? The uncertainty of reality will forever remain, as human condition causes humanity to blind itself to the biggest and scarest truisms.