Hamlet Notes | Act 1, Scene 3

Laertes, bound for Paris, bids a fond farewell to his sister, Ophelia. Offering some brotherly advice, he warns Ophelia to guard her chastity against Prince Hamlet's romantic advances. Because Hamlet is royalty, he must marry someone of high rank. Therefore, he cannot be wholly serious in his love for the common Ophelia.

Polonius urges his son to depart promptly, yet he detains Laertes further with a long list of instructions. As the long-winded father advises, "'Give every man thy ear but few thy voice....Neither a borrower nor a lender be....This above all - to thine own self be true....'" Act 1, Scene 3, lines 68, 75, 78. After Laertes leaves for his ship, Polonius echoes his concern for Ophelia by warning her that Prince Hamlet is young and lustful. Polonius instructs his daughter to treat Hamlet coldly, to distrust his vows of love, and to avoid his company. Obediently, the chaste Ophelia agrees.