Hamlet – the wise PoloniusThe oldest gentleman in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, namely Polonius, is not a typical character. It is rather quite round 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] seemingly opposite in many ways, is, like Hamlet, an inveterate gambler. . To whom but Polonius Hamlet should he direct the taunt of “Words, words, words”? The old counselor remembers that in his youth he "suffered many extremities for love, very close to these" and that he was an actor at university. Polonius also gives advice to players: “Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light. » When Hamlet makes fun of “such a capital calf” embodying Julius Caesar, killed in the Capitol, he reinforces the parallel with his own staging and anticipates the murder of Polonius behind the arras. (4) In “Shakespeare Nomenclature,” Harry Levin discusses the name “Polonius” and other names in the play: Polonius Latinism reminds us of the Polish question, controversial throughout Hamlet, where the onomastics is polyglot. If Marcellus and Claudius are Latin, Bernardo and Horatio are Italian, and Fortinbras means “strong arm” not in Norwegian but in French (fort-en-bras). On the other hand, Polonius' son has a Greek godfather in Laertes, the father of Odysseus. Scandinavian first names, at least the Germanic Gertrude, stand out because they are in the minority. (79) What's in a name like Polonius? Polonius's entrance into the room takes place during a social gathering of the royal court. Claude has already been crowned; Queen Gertrude is there; Hamlet is present in black mourning clothes. When Laertes approaches Claudius to bid him farewell before returning to school, the king asks Polonius: "Have you got your father's leave?" What does Polonius say? And the father replies conscientiously: He snatched from me, my lord, my slow leave by a laborious request, and at last, at his will, I sealed my hard consent. Please give him permission to leave. (1.2) So, 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 the house of Polonius, Laertes takes leave of his sister Ophelia and, in doing so, gives her conservative advice regarding her boyfriend, Hamlet..