Polonius

Polonius is a character from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The character is best known for uttering the immortal words: "To thine own self be true.", as well a few other phrases still in use today.

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Father of Ophelia and Laertes, and adjunct to King Claudius, he can be described as a windbag to some, rambler of wisdom to others.

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He is ordered by Claudius to discover why Hamlet is acting mad. Polonius suggests that Hamlet is acting crazy because Polonius wouldn't allow Ophelia to see him. He attempts to put his theory to the test, but Hamlet confounds him even more. Polonius, although suspecting something afoot, could only say "Though this be madness, yet there is method in it" - Act 2 Sc.ii.

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While Polonius was hiding behind the curtains in Gertrude's room, Hamlet comes in and sees someone hiding there. Without checking to see who it was first, he stabs Polonius, thinking it may have been Claudius. Polonius dies, leaving Ophelia to go mad and Laertes to demand revenge.

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His last words are: "I am slain!"

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William Shakespeare: William Shakespeare (baptised April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616) was an English poet and playwright who has a reputation as one of the greatest of all writers in the English language and in Western literature, as well as one of the world's pre-eminent dramatists....

Hamlet: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and one of his most well-known and oft-quoted plays. It was written at an uncertain date between 1600 and the summer of 1602....

Ophelia: Ophelia means several things:...