Sacrifice of Values to Please Authority in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay

Sacrifice of Values to Please Authority in Shakespeares Hamlet It seems that it is human nature to want to disport others, but compromising ones set in order to do so can result in people getting hurt emotionally or physically. In William Shakespeares Hamlet, the desire to please those in authority overweighs the judgment of many characters. These characters are more interested in pleasing those in power than doing what is in their best interest. This is seen in Polonious burning attempt to rehearse Ophelia, in Rosencrantz and Guildensterns being coerced into spying on a good friend, and finally in Laertes all too easy manipulation by Claudius to take revenge on his fathers death. In all these instances, the characters put their better judgment aside in order to do something to please a monarch. The marry between father and daughter is something that some consider sacred. Polonious uses this bond with Ophelia to please Claudius and Gertrude in finding our what is wrong with Ham let. The King and Queen were very upset at Hamlets seeming insanity. They tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that finding out what is wrong with Hamlet would be the supply and profit of their hope (P.34). They are obviously disenchanted at his behavior, and Polonious knows this, and tries to use his daughter to prove his theory. When Ophelia came and described to him her meeting with Hamlet in Act I, Polonious immediately took her to the King. Polonious, acting on his duty to both his God and to his gracious baron (P. 34) took Ophelia to Claudius to see if he could be any help in trying to find out what is wrong with Hamlet. He quickly tells the king that he will .loose his daughter to Hamlet (p. 38) and concocts an elaborate plan t... ...how others perceived them, especially those in power, than doing what was really in the best interest for everyone. These characters were manipulated by brutal puppet-masters that toyed with their strings to get the reaction that they wanted, know ing full well that all would agree to anything in order to please them. This urge to do what was wanted by those in ascendancy was so great a weight, that values were pushed aside for a chance to glimmer in the light of attention from important figures in society.Works Cited and ConsultedLong, Michael. A exact of Values in Shakespearean Tragedy. London Methuen and Company, 1976. Mirrior, Ivor. Hamlet. The Role of Authority in the Tragedies. London George Allen and Unwin, 1972. 369-430.Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Boston St. Martins, 1994.