Advice That’s Really Control

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GEORGE:
Master Shakespeare, why do we go from the public court scene into this private household scene?

SHAKESPEARE:
Because the disease is not only in the crown.
It is in the rooms of the home.

GEORGE:
Let me paraphrase that in three ways so it lands:

Paraphrase #1 (simple):
You’re showing us that Denmark’s problems aren’t only political. They’re personal.

Paraphrase #2 (blunt):
The same habits that make a court dishonest can show up in a family.

Paraphrase #3 (image):
We leave the palace stage — but we’re still inside the same building of power. Just a different hallway.

SHAKESPEARE:
Aye.

GEORGE:
Let’s lay out the plot of Scene 3 in plain terms.

First: Laertes is preparing to leave for France.
He gives his sister Ophelia advice about Hamlet.

Second: Polonius enters and gives Laertes a long list of fatherly “rules” for life.Third: After Laertes exits, Polonius turns to Ophelia and questions her about Hamlet — and then he gives her orders.

So the scene is built like a sandwich:

Brother advises sister

Father advises son

Father controls daughter

SHAKESPEARE:
A neat division.

GEORGE:
This scene is about warnings.
And the warnings are not only about danger.
They are about reputation.
And reputation is currency in this world.

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