rtrude are proud of his efforts because Polonius allowed them to learn about the love letters that only Ophelia was supposed to read, and he uses her to observe Hamlet. Polonius is responsible for allowing his daughter to hear cruel words from Hamlet and thrives only on satisfying the king. Polonius’ sneaky ways has led him to his own death. Hamlet conducts a play called The Murder of Gonzago, which is about how his father was murdered. Since Claudius killed the former king, he is deeply offended and makes a scene at the play. Gertrude wants to speak with Hamlet to discuss the play’s meaning. Before Hamlet comes to speak to his mother, Polonius informs the Queen to “tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with” (3.4.100). Polonius advises her to confront Hamlet about his behavior while he hides behind the curtain to listen. It appears that Polonius wants to continue observing him in order to gain more information regarding Hamlet’s madness. Gertrude begins to tell Hamlet of his actions, but he frightens her and Polonius yells in fear. Thinking it is Claudius, Hamlet stabs Polonius. Polonius’ impatient ways to understand Hamlet’s behavior costed him his own life, which later has an impact on Ophelia. Gertrude is notified of Ophelia’s strange behavior after Polonius’ death. She finds Ophelia singing, “He is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone” (4.5.129-130). Ophelia’s madness has caused her to constantly sing over and over that Polonius is deceased. “After the death of Polonius, she loses her mind” (“Polonius” Benet). As a result of her father’s death, Ophelia goes insane because she was so used to being forced to do things that only pleased her father and now has no one to tell her what to do after his death. Ophelia states to her brother Laertes, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembr...
