Hamlet Blog

In Act II scene 1 we see some questionable actions happen. Polonius is either really overprotective in a loving manner or obsessively crazy. Polonius sends his slave Reynaldo, to Paris to spy on his son, Laertes. Polonius wants to know about his son's reputation and all the dirtiest deeds he has ever done. Polonius tells Reynaldo that he can go to extreme lengths including lying to get any information possible about Laertes. It is certainly questionable whether or not Polonius is all there, it seems pretty crazy to hire someone to go to Paris and spy on their son, especially being an adult. By contrast, Polonius declares Hamlet as mad due to the love he has for Ophelia.This scene has brought lots of controversy to critics. They claim that this scene is unimportant to the overall theme, but I say that the scene actually mirrors themes that are central to the play's purpose. Act II scene I was really interesting to me because of shady Reynaldo and Polonius's strange request to spy on his son. I also found it entertaining because there is a theory that Hamlet never actually loved Ophelia, but instead used her.