Polonius, father of Laertes, in William Shakespear's Hamlet, strikes me as someone
exceptional. In the first act, he gives
advice to his son who is departing on a journey. Polonius's advice guides me in almost
every aspect of my life. I would
like to talk with Polonius to gain more insight on life.
Along with other advice, Polonius delivers one of te most famous quotes from Hamlet:
"To thine own self be true."
Polonius's quote helps me make tough decisions. Such an occasion arises when I have
weighed the advantages and
disadvantages of a choice, and they are equal. When faced with this situation, I ask
myself, "would I be true to myself
if I..." For example, I am temperate, and do not participate in certain activities
harful to me such as drinking or doing
drugs. Occasionally, others try to influence me to drink. Sometimes, I am tempeted;
however, I know that I would not be
true to myself if I submitted. I realize drinking is not somthing I want, nor is it in
my best interest.
Being true to myself involves acting in accordance with my values. Imust conduct
myself like a gentleman and use
proper etiquette for te given situation. Thus, the quote acts as a reminder for me to
act properly. The next few lines are
"and it must follow as the day the night, / thou canst not then be false to any man." By
acting like a gentleman, I can
assure muself that I will not harm nor create conlict with many people. For example, I
remain calm in situations that most
people would become upset and swear. Then, I am in a better position to deal with the
would-be conflict.
Next, polonius covers many aspects of life. He tells us how to choose and treat
friends, as well as rules for listning and
speaking. We are told not to lend or borrow items becase "for loan oft loses both itself
and friend," meaning one will end
up losing a friend as well as what he lent "Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar"
tells us to understand things that are
immoral, but not to participate in them. I try to follow Polonius's advice in my daily
life.
I would like to meet Polonius because he has already assisted me in making choices
for myself. He could give me
insight on other things. Polonius gives his advice as Laertes is departing on a journy.
I too will leave for college. Polonius
could expand on the knowledge he has already provided. He could also explain how his
advice relates to our time period.
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