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"beautified"
Discussion
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 109-112

A discussion of the word “beautified” in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

Polonius

"To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most
‘beautified’ Ophelia" — That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase;
beautified is a vile phrase. But you shall hear —
"thus in her excellent white bosom, these ..."

Eight years earlier, when Shakespeare was first gaining attention, he was slammed by Robert Greene, one of the leading playwrights of the time. Greene labeled him an “upstart crow, beautified with our feathers,” implying that Shakespeare was imitating himself and his colleagues. Perhaps this passage is a little payback from Shakespeare, who was by now the most famous and successful playwright in London.