hamlet33
In Act 3, scene IV, Hamlet meets with his mother, Gertrude, in her quarters while Polonius is secretly listening to their conversation behind the curtains. Polonius and the queen are trying to figure out Hamlet’s intentions, and Gertrude begins by accusing Hamlet of disrespecting and offending Claudius. Soon, the queen feels threatened by Hamlet’s aggressiveness towards her and screams for help. At this time, Hamlet hears a noise behind the curtain and immediately stabs and kills Polonius through the curtain. At first, Hamlet may have thought that he killed the king, but after he finds Polonius dead behind the curtain, Hamlet calls Polonius an “intruding fool” and claims he did him a favor.