Welcome back to Tuesday! It's lovely to see you all again. Or it would be, if this were a live discussion where I could actually see your lovely faces and not a one-sided virtual love-fest of
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Nothing goes together better than Shakespeare and Hiddleston. |
Shakespeare and sarcasm where I basically talk to myself. Anyway, on to the text!
Act 1 Scene 3
Laertes is having a conversation with his sister, Ophelia. Apparently, Ophelia has been seen carrying on with Hamlet. He asks her to stop seeing Hamlet because he (Laertes) is leaving. He tells her the Hamlet might love her, but he really only wants one thing. He tells Ophelia that it's not worth risking her honor over him, so she should just knock it off. Ophelia then tells him to not be a hypocrite and protect his virtue, too, because it would be really shitty of him to tell her to not get laid while he is doing whomever he likes. You tell 'em, Ophelia.
At this point, their father, Polonius, enters. He asks why Laertes is still hanging around. He asks in a nice way, he's not just being a dick. He's not Claudius, after all. Polonius gives Laertes some advice to take with him back to France. He tells Laertes a bunch of stuff that is pretty solid - listen and don't speak, be friendly but not common, don't lend or borrow. Most importantly he tells Laertes "to thine own self be true," which should sound familiar. It's also fantastic advice. Laertes then reminds Ophelia what he said, she reminds him what she told him, and Laertes exits.
Polonius is naturally curious as to what his two children were talking about. When she tells him they were talking about Hamlet, Polonius has a bunch to say. Polonius starts telling Ophelia that she doesn't know she doesn't know herself very well and asks what her relationship to Hamlet is. She tells him that Hamlet has told her that he has feeling for her. Polonius asks if she believes him. She doesn't know. Polonius says he will teach her. Because why not be a dick? Apparently he can only be respectful of one kid. He says that she shouldn't sleep with him because it would tarnish her honor and, more importantly, his own. Ophelia then basically says, "but daddy, he loves me!" Polonius again states that she shouldn't believe what he says and that she shouldn't even talk to him. Ophelia says she will obey and they leave the stage.