The Fate Of Polonius In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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By the end of Hamlet, almost every character is dead, and the cause of every death can be trace back to the death of Polonius. As Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude discuss the play in private, Polonius takes it upon himself to spy on the two in order to find out more information for the king. After Hamlet begins to scare Gertrude and she calls for help, Polonius reveals himself. Immediately, Hamlet takes action, killing Polonius before he knew that it was his father’s right hand man behind the arras. Polonius’s death was surprising and dismaying to Denmark, but it was not without reason. Although Polonius dies tragically, he ultimately deserves his fate because his actions are motivated by selfishness throughout the entirety of the play.
Polonius controls the lives of his children in order to promote himself as an up standing citizen in Denmark rather than for the wellbeing of their lives. Whether it is good or bad, Polonius constantly gives his children advise. He believes that he could make better decisions than his children and trusts them little. As Polonius instructs Ophelia to “think yourself a baby,” he demonstrates that he believes she cannot make …show more content…
Polonius worries about his public image in society. For this reason, he constantly controls and spies on his children giving them sometimes decent but often terrible advice. This selfishness and lust for information eventually escapes the bounds of simply his family as he begins to spy on the royal family not for the king but for himself. Polonius’s selfishness of wanting to control their secrets, directly causes his death. As Polonius over steps his bounds, Hamlet finds and murders his father’s right-hand man who ultimately deserves his fate because of his overwhelming selfishness. Even though Polonius’s death is woeful, Polonius is the cause of his own death because he selfishly muddles in others

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