Polonius: an Archetype for characters we love to hate

Before beginning, I must confess my naivety. I have before now been exposed to Shakespeare only in the standard cursory ways that people of my generation often are. The only two pieces I have ever read by the famous bard are Caesar and Taming of the Shrew, and those I read so long ago that I barely remember them. In fact, one of my main goals for this class is simply a better exposure to Shakespeare, something the class has already succeeded in greatly. Simply put, I am a noob, and I come to this with fresh eyes. On that note, I would like to discuss a character that I believe gets a bad rap, the loyal, albeit naive, Polonius.


People seem to have a general dislike and hatred for Polonius, and I am not here to defend the character. In fact, it is the general hatred of him that I like so much. Polonius serves his purpose in the story very well, he provides a character that we love to hate. He is not on the level of Darth Vader or Jafar from Disney's Alladin, but more comparable to the Road Runner or Daffy Duck. In fact, if you know your old Looney Toons cartoons well enough, Foghorn Leghorn, the rooster, is a very close comparison to Polonius. He follows the archetype of the shifty character, that while he doesn't have a master evil plan, is often caught up in mischief, often as a henchmen for a more powerful character. The common theme with all of these characters is not that they are stupid or simple minded, quite the contrary, they are usually very intelligent, and simply misguided. We sympathize with these characters for their misguided use of their intelligence. Forgive me, I am going to quote Wikipedia here:

Until the 1900s there was a tradition that the actor who plays Polonius to also play the quick-witted gravedigger in Act V. This bit suggests that the actor who played Polonius was an actor used to playing clowns much like the Fool in King Lear: not a doddering old fool, but an alive and intelligent master of illusion and misdirection. Polonius adds a new dimension to the play and is a controlling and menacing character.

The beginning of ACT 2, SCENE 1, directly supports Polonius being intelligent and shifty, not bumbling and annoying:

LORD POLONIUS

Marry, well said; very well said. Look you, sir,
Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris;
And how, and who, what means, and where they keep,
What company, at what expense; and finding
By this encompassment and drift of question
That they do know my son, come you more nearer
Than your particular demands will touch it:
Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him;
As thus, 'I know his father and his friends,
And in part him: ' do you mark this, Reynaldo?

He continues on to show his reasoning, "Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach". Polonius likes to play the spy and the rumor mill to his own ends, a dangerous and misguided habit that eventually leads to his own demise. Yet, these traits make for an interesting character. He is relatable because of this traits. It is common to know some Maven, in modern contexts often portrayed as the nosy old lady, who is constantly trying to snoop and either play match maker or match breaker, often with ill conceived results.