The Final Consequence of Spying

In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, many of the characters resort to spying in order to find out information. Some instances of spying occur because of the lack of trust there is between the characters in this play. Even the women, who appear to be innocent and meek, are deceitful and untrustworthy. Spying is an integral part of the play but none of the characters truly benefit from spying and all who participate display the negative aspects of their character. Polonius is the best example of what the end result is when a character resorts to spying.
The first instance of spying, although not clearly stated in the play, occurs during a conversation between Laertes and Ophelia. Their father, Polonius, overhears part of their conversation before it is revealed that he has entered the room, showing that he will invade the privacy of others, even his own children’s. This is more a case of eavesdropping rather than actual spying but is very significant to the plot of the...