Ophelia might not have gone crazy, Laertes would not have come home to fight hamlet, and king Claudius might not have wanted to send hamlet away.
Hamlet mistakenly stabs Polonius through the curtain. He heard a noise, and, thinking it might be Claudius, immediately stabbed through the curtain.
Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude that Ophelia and Hamlet have had a relationship which Polonius had Ophelia break off, and that this might be the cause of Hamlet's wild behaviour.
Both Laertes and Polonius were telling Ophelia not to have anything to do with Hamlet, for different reasons. Laertes says that she should avoid Hamlet because, being a prince, he can be compelled to a political marriage whatever he feels. Polonius says that she should avoid Hamlet because he is only trying to get into her pants.
She feels very guilty and she tells Hamlet so. Hamlet asked her to not reveal that he is not really crazy. She then protects Hamlet for the murder of Polonius by telling the king that Hamlet has gone mad. However, it is clear that Gertrude is not as guilty as you might think. She was not aware of the fact that Claudius had killed her first husband for her until Hamlet says "Almost as bad, dear mother, as to kill a king and marry with his brother." "To kill a king?" she asks. She had no idea. Nevertheless she was the motive, or part of the motive for the crime, and this makes her feel guilty.
Hamlet is disposed to believe ill of Claudius. He dislikes him and resents his marriage to his mother. That is why when the Ghost names Claudius as his murderer, Hamlet says "O my prophetic soul!"--he had already suspected as much. Because we hear Claudius admit his guilt (just before the "To Be or Not to Be" speech and in Claudius's "O my offence is rank" soliloquy) we know that the ghost is telling the truth. Otherwise, it might be plausible to believe that Claudius is innocent, as everyone including Gertrude seems to believe.
Hamlet mistakenly stabs Polonius through the curtain. He heard a noise, and, thinking it might be Claudius, immediately stabbed through the curtain.
Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude that Ophelia and Hamlet have had a relationship which Polonius had Ophelia break off, and that this might be the cause of Hamlet's wild behaviour.
In this hypothetical scenario, if Hamlet knew that Polonius was eavesdropping on his conversation with Ophelia, he might have intended for Polonius to hear the line, "Get thee to a nunnery." This statement could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt by Hamlet to convey his contempt for the corrupt world and his disillusionment with Ophelia, while also serving as a veiled criticism of Polonius and the court. Hamlet's words could be seen as a reflection of his inner turmoil and his disdain for the deceit and manipulation surrounding him.
Both Laertes and Polonius were telling Ophelia not to have anything to do with Hamlet, for different reasons. Laertes says that she should avoid Hamlet because, being a prince, he can be compelled to a political marriage whatever he feels. Polonius says that she should avoid Hamlet because he is only trying to get into her pants.
I assume we are discounting the various lines which Hamlet directs to Polonius' questions in the three scenes where he has a conversation with him: "Words, words, words", "You cannot, sir, take from me anything which I would more willingly part withal", "Do you see yonder cloud which is in the shape of a camel?", "Have you a daughter?", "Buz, buz", "O Jeptha, judge of Israel, what a treasure had thou?" I think Hamlet intended Polonius to hear all these lines. I doubt if he intended Polonius to hear the things he said to Gertrude in the closet scene, even though Polonius did hear them. There are other things which Hamlet says which Polonius overhears which he might have intended Polonius to overhear. The line "These tedious old fools!" is one. The entire soliloquy "To be or not to be" and some or all of the scene with Ophelia which follows is another. The line "Where is your father?" suggests that at least at this point Hamlet is aware of Polonius and intends him to hear.
She feels very guilty and she tells Hamlet so. Hamlet asked her to not reveal that he is not really crazy. She then protects Hamlet for the murder of Polonius by telling the king that Hamlet has gone mad. However, it is clear that Gertrude is not as guilty as you might think. She was not aware of the fact that Claudius had killed her first husband for her until Hamlet says "Almost as bad, dear mother, as to kill a king and marry with his brother." "To kill a king?" she asks. She had no idea. Nevertheless she was the motive, or part of the motive for the crime, and this makes her feel guilty.
Hamlet is disposed to believe ill of Claudius. He dislikes him and resents his marriage to his mother. That is why when the Ghost names Claudius as his murderer, Hamlet says "O my prophetic soul!"--he had already suspected as much. Because we hear Claudius admit his guilt (just before the "To Be or Not to Be" speech and in Claudius's "O my offence is rank" soliloquy) we know that the ghost is telling the truth. Otherwise, it might be plausible to believe that Claudius is innocent, as everyone including Gertrude seems to believe.
"To be or not to be, that is the question" Hamlet"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him . . ." Hamlet"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" Polonius"This above all, to thine own self be true" Polonius"The Lady doth protest too much, methinks" GertrudeThere will, of course, be a lot of argument about other quotations which might make this list. There is no argument about which one is number one.
Polonius and Claudius send Ophelia to talk to Hamlet to see how he responds to her. They wanted to find out if Hamlet truly was mad because of his love for Ophelia.Hamlet asks whether it is better to live or not to live. Should people suffer with what is going on around them or should they fight? He says that the only reason he and other people are not committing suicide is because they are scared of what might happen to them after death.The king's view has changed. He does not believe that the madness was caused by his love for Ophelia"Madness in great ones must not unwatched go." The king says this because he is not truly sure if Hamlet is mad because of Ophelia or not. He realizes that Hamlet is clever and could be up to something. He could think that Hamlet knew that Polonius and he were spying on him with Ophelia.
Hamlet not killing King Claudius, Gertrude believing the Claudius killed Hamlet's father.
Polonius says this to his son Laertes. Polonius is one of the most underhand and dishonest characters in the entire play. (In fact he is killed while trying to spy on Hamlet a few scenes later). Draw your own conclusion.
A brief synopsis might put the answer in the proper context. Hamlet's father has just been murdered, a ghost claiming to be his deceased father claims he was killed by his brother Claudius who then marries Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. While talking to his mother in her bedroom, Hamlet hears a spy behind the curtains and kills him, thinking it to be his uncle. It is not; it is his girlfriend's father Polonius. The full speech delivered may also shed some light on the discussion. For this same lord I do repent: but heaven hath pleased it so, To punish me with this and this with me, That I must be their scourge and minister. I will bestow him and answer well The death I gave him. So again good night. I must be cruel to be kind: Thus bad begins and only worse remains behind. Hamlet is sorry that he killed Polonius, but says fatalistically that "heaven hath pleased it so to punish me with this." He is imagining that heaven wants someone to be the "scourge and minister" to punish Polonius and Hamlet is the lucky guy. As for the phrase "I must be cruel to be kind", imagine this as a tough love approach. Hamlet believes that fate has put him in the position of the man who has to clean up the corrupt Danish court, but in order to do so, he must take some unpleasant measures. He is warning his mother that Polonius is not the only one who will be killed. He is preparing her for his intended killing of Claudius; the bad beginning is the murder of Polonius and the worse that remains behind is the killing of Claudius. But, he explains, although killing people may seem "cruel", in the end it is for the best, so in the long run killing Polonius and Claudius will be "kind" for Denmark.