Laertes and Ophelia are siblings → Polonius is their father
- Laertes warns Ophelia of Hamlet
- “...the trifling of his favor...”
- → Laertes calls Hamlet young, mentioning how his emotion towards her are brief and trivial; something that won’t last long as he grows older and gains more responsibilities
- “His greatness weighted, his will is not his own//For he himself is subject to his birth”
- he warns that Hamlet can’t own up to his emotions → he is birthed into a life that requires him to put aside his own wants and needs for the obligations he has to complete
- he tells Ophelia to think about her honor/status → falling for his seduction and opening her legs to him would result in controversy
- “keep you in the rear of your affection”
- Crudely translated to: “Dude, Ophelia. Control your emotions!”
- Ophelia tells Laertes that she’ll keep his warnings in mind → but to also practice what he preaches
- Polonius enters the scene
- talks to Laertes → gives him last minute advice
- he shifts gear and questions Ophelia about the talk she had with her brother
- Ophelia tells her father about Hamlet’s show of affection → he belittles her; essentially calls her stupid for falling for his “show of love” and warns her to keep out of Hamlet’s affections
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