Shakespeare's Hamlet: Secondary Characters.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare was likely written around 1600, but the date of composition is uncertain. The inability to know the truth and to act on it is encapsulated in Hamlet himself, who is constantly seeking the answers to his own doubts and questions throughout the play. Shakespeare uses three main attitudes in his secondary characters to interact with Hamlet's mind, his doubts and his fears which are: people opposed to Hamlet, people supportive of Hamlet, and people who are indifferent. .
Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern loathe Hamlet. Polonius, King Claudius? loyal subject and right-hand man, detests Hamlet because he thinks Hamlet is madly in love with his daughter Ophelia. Hamlet's refusal to be thus translated in what leads to Polonius's death. Polonius spends much energy, in his last few days of life, on finding a language for a madman, trying-as in II, ii-at the same time to humour and to analyse Hamlet? (Ewbank 273). Polonius and Queen Gertrude are discussing Hamlet's sanity. They conclude that Gertrude should talk to her son while Polonius eavesdrops from behind an arras, to determine whether Hamlet is insane. Hamlet enters and has a conversation with his mother. During the conversation, Hamlet discovers that someone is lurking behind the arras. Wondering what is going on, Hamlet pulls his rapier and stabs the mysterious figure. Hamlet realizes that he has just eradicated Polonius. The other two characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are the betrayers of Hamlet. These two .
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people grew up as friends and schoolmates with Hamlet. His joy at first seeing them is obviously genuine-?My excellent good friends.? [II.ii.224]-but he quickly senses that they, unlike Horatio, have changed with time. After this, he treats them as the tools they have become? (Mack 265).
