William Shakespeare Quotes

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1. Polonius tells Ophelia that we use the appearance of religious devotion and piety to mask the evil within ourselves. He is giving a prayer book to Ophelia to read, demanding that she pretend to read it for an encounter with Hamlet. Claudius has sent for Hamlet, who will “accidentally” run into Ophelia. The plan is for Polonius and Claudius to hide behind a tapestry to spy on Hamlet, hoping to learn if his strange behavior is because he is sick with love. Polonius is at his hypocritical and deceitful best here, playing the misogynist who cynically uses his daughter for his own ends to ingratiate himself with the King. This is after earlier ordering Ophelia to end her relationship with Hamlet.