Hamlet – the wise Polonius The older man in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, namely Polonius, is not a typical character. Rather it is quite complete and complex. This essay will explore his character. In the Introduction to Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Hamlet, David Bevington presents Polonius as similar to Hamlet in various ways: Polonius, his [Hamlet] who seems opposite in so many ways, is, like Hamlet, an inveterate punner. . To whom else but Polonius should Hamlet address the provocation of “Words, words, words”? The elderly counselor recalls that in his youth “he suffered a lot for love, very close to this”, and became an actor at university. Polonius also has some advice for players: “Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light.” When Hamlet jokes with "so capital a calf" when representing Julius Caesar, killed in the Capitol, he reinforces the parallel with his own acting and anticipates the killing of Polonius behind the tapestry. (4)In “Shakespeare Nomenclature” Harry Levin discusses the name “Polonius” and other names in the play: The Latinism Polonius reminds us of the Polish question, controversial throughout Hamlet, where the name days are polyglot. If Marcello and Claudio are Latin, Bernardo and Orazio are Italian, and Fortebraccio means "strong arm" not in Norwegian but in French (fort-en-bras). On the other hand, Polonius' son has a Greek godfather in Laertes, Odysseus' father. Scandinavian names, at least the Germanic Gertrude, stand out because they are in the minority. (79)What's in a name like Polonius? Polonius' entry into the opera occurs during the social gathering of the royal court. Claudius has already been crowned; Queen Gertrude is there; Hamlet is present in the black robes of mourning. When Laertes approaches Claudius to say goodbye before returning to school, the king asks Polonius: “Do you have your father's permission? What does Polonius say?” And the father respectfully replies: My lord, he wrung my slow farewell from me with laborious entreaties, and at last, according to his will, I sealed my hard consent: I pray you, give him leave to go. (1.2) Thus, from the beginning, the reader/viewer respects the Lord Chamberlain as a very fluent speaker of the language and respectful of his superior, the king. Later, in Polonius' house, Laertes takes leave of his sister Ophelia and, in the meantime, gives her conservative advice regarding her fiancé, Hamlet..