Polonius

Polonius
Hamlet character
Polonius Behind the Curtain by Jehan Georges Vibert, 1868
Created byWilliam Shakespeare
In-universe information
AffiliationKing Claudius
ChildrenOphelia (daughter)
Laertes (son)

Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the chief counsellor of the play's ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the course of the play,[1] Polonius is described by William Hazlitt as a "sincere" father, but also "a busy-body, [who] is accordingly officious, garrulous, and impertinent".[2] In Act II, Hamlet refers to Polonius as a "tedious old fool"[3] and taunts him as a latter day "Jephtha".[4]

Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet unknowingly kills Polonius, provoking Ophelia's descent into madness, ultimately resulting in her (probable) suicide and the climax of the play: a duel between Laertes and Hamlet.

  1. ^ 'Hamlet' in William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays.
  2. ^ "Polonius at Encyclopædia Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ Hamlet Act II scene ii – William Shakespeare.
  4. ^ 2.2.346