Tragedy of Polonius's family in Hamlet ShakespeareIn Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the death of a character becomes a frequent event. While many people lose their lives due to their own self-centered wrongdoing, there are others whose deaths are the result of manipulation by the royals. This is the case of Polonius' family. The real tragedy of Hamlet is not that of Hamlet or his family, but of Polonius' family, for their deaths were not the consequence of their sinful actions but, rather, of their innocent involvement in Claudius and Hamlet's plans. the first character to die in Hamlet is Polonius. Although Polonius often acts deceitfully when dealing with Hamlet, it is only because he is carrying out plans devised by the kings 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 to him. Hamlet stabs Polonius while hiding in the queen's room. «Wretched, reckless, foolish intruder, farewell! I took you for your best” (III.iv.38-39). This shows how Polonius, a man unaware of the true nature of the situation he finds himself in, is killed by a member of the royal family while executing 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 argue that Polonius deserves his fate because of his deceitfulness in dealing 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 mad. He grabbed my wrist and held me tight; then extends to the full length of the arm, and, with the other hand thus on the forehead, falls into this position. careful examination of my face as he would draw it. He remained so a long time” (II.i.98-102). While this is subject to interpretation, and many believe that this is simply Hamlet taking one last look at Ophelia before committing to his plan to kill Claudius, the fact that he frightens her and does not try to alleviate these fears, points to the conclusion that he is simply using her to help spread word of his madness throughout the kingdom, via Polonius.