RALPH:  Sarah, I’m sorry, I just have to point out how funny this is. Ophelia’s just told her brother that she’ll keep his advice a secret, and then her dad immediately asks, “So what did he tell you?” Didn’t he hear the part about keeping a secret?

SARAH:  I’m afraid this does help us understand Polonius’ character as a meddling father.  At any rate, this scene is full of advice-giving:  first Laertes to Ophelia, then Ophelia back to Laertes, then Polonius to Laertes, then finally Polonius to Ophelia.

RALPH:  And yet it seems unlikely that all this advice will be heeded.

SARAH:  Well, that’s not quite fair, Ralph.  I think we’ll see Ophelia take both her brother’s and her father’s advice, in particular by showing Hamlet less affection and by refusing to see him — although this may not turn out to have been the best advice.

RALPH:  Good point, Sarah.  I suppose I was thinking of Polonius’ advice to Laertes.  As the play progresses, and in particular when Laertes returns to Denmark in Acts IV and V, we should remember Polonius’s words, and see whether Laertes manages to give “no unproportioned thought his act,” or to “Beware of entrance to a quarrel.”

SARAH:  Alright, Ralph, that’s enough, don’t want to give too much away now, do we?

RALPH: Sorry.