In Paris, where Laertes has gone to study.
Reynaldo is a spy who is supposed to spy on Laertes.
Reynaldo is being sent to spy on Laertes. Polonius authorizes him to accuse Laertes of all kinds of immoral behaviour to find out from his associates whether he is in fact involved in it. The fact that this will tarnish Laertes's reputation in the process does not seem to bother him.
No, he sends Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes.
Reynaldo is the spy that Polonius sends over to France to spy on his son Laertes. He is told that he is supposed to ask people in France what Laertes is actually like (does he party, drink, sleep with prostitutes etc.). The reasoning behind Polonius sending Reynaldo over to France is to see if Laertes is actually there studying art, or if he is just playing around.
To France, so he can spy on Laertes.
Reynaldo is a spy who is supposed to spy on Laertes.
Reynaldo is being sent to spy on Laertes. Polonius authorizes him to accuse Laertes of all kinds of immoral behaviour to find out from his associates whether he is in fact involved in it. The fact that this will tarnish Laertes's reputation in the process does not seem to bother him.
No, he sends Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes.
Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. He is specifically tasked with asking around town in a roundabout manner.
Reynaldo is the spy that Polonius sends over to France to spy on his son Laertes. He is told that he is supposed to ask people in France what Laertes is actually like (does he party, drink, sleep with prostitutes etc.). The reasoning behind Polonius sending Reynaldo over to France is to see if Laertes is actually there studying art, or if he is just playing around.
To France, so he can spy on Laertes.
Polonius expects Laertes, when he is in Paris, to spend his time in pubs, brothels and gambling dens. He sends Reynaldo to spy on him and observe all his faults, and presumably to report back to Polonius. Why does Polonius do this? Because he loves spying on people. We will see him use this technique on Hamlet later on.
In Hamlet, Reynaldo is obligated to follow the instructions given to him by Polonius because Polonius is his superior Polonius sent Reynaldo to Paris so he could spy on Laertes for him..
Reynaldo is instructed to subtly gather information about Laertes while he is in Paris. He should approach Laertes' acquaintances and engage them in casual conversation, asking leading questions to discern Laertes’ behavior and activities without revealing his true purpose. Additionally, Polonius advises Reynaldo to use a mix of truth and exaggeration to probe the responses of those he speaks to. This approach aims to ensure that Reynaldo remains discreet while effectively gathering intelligence on Laertes.
He doesn't, really. He wants to see if other people will agree if Reynaldo starts slandering him, and doesn't realize that this plan will hurt Laertes's reputation regardless. He's acting out of curiosity. There's also a wild theory out there that he's specifically trying to get Laertes to kill Reynaldo.
• If Reynaldo follows Polonius’ instruction, he will essentially ruin Laertes’ reputation while trying to gather information.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spy on Hamlet, Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet while he is talking to Ophelia, and Polonius spies on Hamlet when he is talking to Gertrude. On the other hand, Hamlet and Horatio spy on Claudius during the play-within-a-play. And in a completely unrelated bit of spying Polonius gets Reynaldo to spy on Laertes.