Yes Father

Ophelia:
No, my good lord, but as you did command
I did repel his letters and denied
His access to me.

Polonius:
That hath made him mad.
I am sorry that with better heed and judgement
I had not coted him.  I feared he did but trifle
And meant to wrack thee.  But beshrew my jealousy!
By heaven, it is proper to our age
To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions
As it is common for the younger sort
To lack discretion.  Come, go we to the King.
This must be known, which, being kept close, might
    move
More grief to hind than hate to utter love.
Come. (2.1. 120-134)

As the plot thickens it becomes evident that Hamlet has some serious issues and other characters are directly involved in these issues.  Regardless of the nature or the level of attraction between the two, Hamlet and Ophelia have a sort of romantic connection.  After seeing Hamlet after he saw the ghost of his father, Ophelia is shaken and reports to her father Polonius.  This recount of the event, however, is questionable as Ophelia could have embellished the truth and been too overcome with emotion to think clearly.  In this passage it is again unclear about how truthful Ophelia is being in her account.  In addition to characterizing Ophelia's trustworthiness, this passage also characterizes Polonius and his tendency to dramatize everything and be overly verbose in speech.

Ophelia's part of this passage is brief and respectful.  She addresses her father as 'good lord' which is indicative of their relationship.  She clearly recognizes him as her superior and has a high level of veneration for him.  The use of the woods 'command' and 'repel' are indicative of her intention.  Both woods have strong connotations.  The word 'command' is used in place of words such as 'asked' or 'requested' because it is non negotiable.  This shows that Ophelia could not imagine not doing what her father says.  The word 'repel' is used in place of words such as 'deny' or 'dismiss' because of its stronger, more assertive connotation.  This passage shows that Ophelia may not be acting with her actual feelings.  The formal tone shows that she would not dare cross her father which leaves room for question about her true feelings.  Her father's response to her simple but powerful statement is indicative of his character.

From the beginning, Polonius has showed that he is a dramatic, eccentric, and verbose man.  His response to his daughter's announcement that she rejected Hamlet's love furthers this characterization. Throughout this passage, Polonius uses more words than necessary on several occasions.  For example, he says 'I am sorry with better heed and judgement I had not coted him'.  He could have shorted this phrase and said the exact same thing by saying something along the lines of 'I am sorry I did not watch him close enough'.  However, this wrap around way of saying this is what makes Polonius' character unique.  It shows that he is not simple and does not let things go easily.  It also shows how he likes being involved in problems and getting after people, such as Hamlet, who he believes deserve to be punished.  Another example of Polonius being too verbose in this passage is 'this must be known, which, being kept close, might move more grief to hind than hate to utter love'. After reading this one may be confused about what the man is trying to say.  It would be much simpler to express his feeling in fewer words such as 'we must reveal this secret to prevent more harm'.  However, this would not be like Polonius.

This passage characterizes both Ophelia and Polonius.  It reveals the nature of their relationship. The level at which readers should trust Ophelia's account of situations is challenged in this passage. Polonius deepens his verbose tendencies and still cannot simply get to the point.