1. Life and Death
Hamlet’s Minor Characters

2. Polonius
Live or Die?
LIFE
DEATH

3. CHOOSE A SIDE
Live Die

4. Polonius should die…
“How now! A rat?” (3.4.27).
“Polonius was weak and a pedantic statesmen”
(Warburton).
“Characterization of Polonius as a foolish
„meddler,‟ arguing instead that he should be
viewed as a seasoned political insider whose
downfall comes as he result of „overconfidence
about his schemes and his mastery of
manipulative tactics.” (Sacks)
Disloyal and
Scheming

5. Polonius should die…
“And I‟ll be placed, so please you, in the ear of all their
conference. If she find him not, to England send him.”
(3.1.184,185)
“Polonius is not the cunning spy he fancies himself to be;
good spies do not get caught, much less killed.”
“The play's repealed references to Polonius's old age
suggest his senility. In the stage direction at the opening of
2.1, for example, Shakespeare writes: „Enter old Polonius‟
(SD 2.1.1.). Shakespeare hardly ever includes adjectives in
his stage directions, so when he does, it seems reasonable
lo suppose that the adjective carries particular
importance.”(Sacks)

6. No, he should live
“spying twice behind an arras, though it certainly
does not dignify Polonius, is yet the move of a man
sincerely concerned by his lights to help . . . cure
seemingly dangerous madness in his prince”
(Wilson 84).
“Hamlet has spent the entire play thus far
agonizing over whether to kill a man who deserves
killing, yet when he kills a man who, though
officious, does not deserve to be killed” (Sacks).
Rebuttal

7. Polonius should live…
“I have a daughter that I love passing well” (2.2.370).
"At such a time I'll lose my daughter to him . . ." (2.2.14)
“That hath made him mad. I am sorry that with better heed
and judgment I had not quoted him” (2.2.122-24).
"My lord, he's going to his mother's closet: Behind the arras
I'll convey myself To hear the process, I'll warrant she'll tax
him home . . ." (3.3.29-31).
Concerned and
Wise

8. Polonius should live…
“Or look‟d upon this love with idle sight . . . No, I went
round to work” (2.2.145-6).
“Indeed, Hamlet‟s frequently roguish behavior toward
Ophelia, typified by his crude language in (3.2.108-
128), suggests that Polonius might have good reason to
fear for his daughter.” (Sacks)
“To Polonius, the experienced old politician, it is
inconceivable that a prince would bear true affection
for one of lower status, and therefore he can
understand Hamlet's overtures as nothing more than a
deception and an attempt to entrap his chaste
daughter” (Shelden 356).

9. No, he should die
“Perhaps the worst thing that Polonius does to
Ophelia is to rob her of her independence of
thought. When Ophelia, confused about Hamlet's
true motives, declares to her
father…Polonius uses this occasion as an
opportunity lo brainwash his daughter into
adopting his view of Hamlet. Since Ophelia has
trouble thinking and functioning for herself, it
should come as no surprise that she goes mad
(and might even commit suicide)
after Polonius dies.” (Sacks)
Rebutta
l

10. Conclusion for Polonius
DIE
SNEAKY
DISLOYAL
CUNNING
UNTRUSTWORTHY
LIVE
LOVING
CONCERNED
WISE
GOOD INTENTIONS

11. CHANGE YOUR MIND?
Live Die

12. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Live or Die?

13. CHOOSE A SIDE
Live Die

14. Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern should live
“Hamlet: [Aside] „Nay, then, I have an eye of
you.--If you love me, hold not off.‟
Guildenstern: „My lord, we were sent for.‟”
(2.2.9)
“Together the three share an affection for
what is pleasurable as can be witnessed in
their lively exchange of sexual puns. Hamlet
is being neither ironic nor superficial when he
greets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, "My
excellent good friends! ... Good lads, how to
ye both?" (2.2.241-243).
Loyal and Good Friends

15. Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern should live
“My immediate purpose is merely to
show that the theme of friendship runs
through out the entire play- that it
appears even where it might seem to
vanish briefly.”
“By the consonance of our youth, by
the obligation of our ever preserved
love”(2.2285-6)

16. No, they should die
"Blood, do you think that I am easier to be
played on than a pipe? Call me what
instrument you will, though you can fret me
you cannot play upon me" (3.3.317-318).
“Their betrayal of friendship is in order to
gain the court‟s favor” (Doubt).
Rebuttal

17. Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern should die
"We both obey, And here give up ourselves
in the full bent, To lay our service freely at
you feet, To be commanded." (2.2.31-34)
“The single and peculiar life is bound, With all
the strength and armor of the mind” (3.3.12-
13)
“Take you me for a sponge, my lord?”
“Ay, sir; that soaks up the king‟s
countenance, his rewards, his authorities”
(4.3.14).
Puppets and Betrayal

18. Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern should die
“their defeat does by their own insinuation
grow. . .” (5.2.61-63)
“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not good
in themselves; they are hollow men.”

19. No, they should live
“It seems clear that the King was the
one to blame for Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern‟s actions, for it was he who
forced it upon them.”
Rebuttal

20. Conclusion for Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern
DIE
BETRAYAL
SELFISH
PUPPETS
WEAK MINDED
LIVE
FRIENDS
LOYAL
HELPFUL
VERY WORRIED

21. CHANGE YOUR MIND?
Live Die

22. Works Cited
Doubt, Keith. “Hamlet and Friendship.” Hamlet Studies 17.1/2 (1995): 54-62. Rpt. In Shakespearean Criticism. Ed.
Michelle Lee. Vol. 82. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 26 Nov. 2012
Fejervdri, Boloizsdr. “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern meet Edward II: a Study in Intertextuality.” The AnaChronis T.
1-17. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
"Hamlet by William Shakespeare." Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 82. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 1-
81. Literature Criticism Online. Web. 29 November 2012
Sacks, Michael. “Conniving and Bumbling, Yet Sometimes Wise: An Examination of the Many Facets of Polonius.”
Shakespeare Newsletter. Fall 2010: 55+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 26 Nov. 2012
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” Compact Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R.
Mandell. 8th ed. Boston: Wassworth, 2013. 1335-1432. Print.
Sheldon, Michael. “The Imagery of Constraint in Hamlet.” Shakespeare Quarterly. 28.3 (1977): 355-358. JSTOR. Web. 24
Nov. 2012.
Straussler, Tom. “Reference Guide to English Literature.” Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press,
1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 26 Nov. 2012.
Tardeiff, Joseph C. “Shakespearean Criticism.” Ed. Church, Tony. Shakespearean Criticism. Detroit: C.J. Jonik, 1993. 416-20.
Print. Vol. 21.
Wilson, Elkin Calhoun. “Polonius in the Round.” Shakespeare Quarterly. 9.1 (1958): 83-85. JSTOR. Web. 24 Nov.
2012.

23. The End