Tragedy of the Polonius family in Hamlet ShakespeareIn Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the death of a character becomes a frequent event. Although many people lose their lives due to their own self-centered wrongdoings, there are others whose deaths were the result of manipulation by royalty. This is the case of the family of Polonius. The real tragedy of Hamlet is not that of Hamlet or his family, but that of Polonius' family, for their deaths were not the consequence of their own sinful acts but rather of their innocent involvement in the schemes of Claudius and Hamlet. The first character to die in Hamlet is Polonius. Although Polonius often acts deceptively when dealing with Hamlet, it is only because he is carrying out royally designed plans to discover the nature of Hamlet's madness. As the King's Lord Chamberlain, it is his duty to obey the wishes of the King and Queen and it is this loyalty that ultimately proves fatal for him. Hamlet stabs Polonius while he is hiding in the queen's bedroom. “You miserable, reckless, intrusive idiot, goodbye!” I took you for your best” (III.iv.38-39). It shows how Polonius, a man unaware of the true nature of the situation he finds himself in, is killed by a member of royalty while carrying out one of their plans. This makes Polonius' death a tragedy. The next member of Polonius' family to die is his daughter, Ophelia. Ophelia's death is tragic because of her complete innocence in the situation. Some may say that Polonius deserves his fate because of his deception in his dealings with Hamlet while he was mad; but Ophelia is entirely manipulated and used, by Hamlet and the king, for their own selfish reasons. Hamlet uses it to convince his family that he is crazy. He took me by the wrist and squeezed me tightly; reading my face as he would draw it. It remained like this for a long time” (II.i.98-102). Although this is open to interpretation, and many believe it is simply Hamlet taking one last look at Ophelia before committing to his plan to kill Claudius, the fact that it scares her and does not does not try to allay these fears, but concludes that he is simply using it to help spread his madness throughout the kingdom, via Polonius..