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What have Polonius and Claudius learned from their plan in Hamlet?
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Both Polonius and Claudius realize something big is up with Hamlet after spying on him with Ophelia, but they can't pinpoint just what. Before, Polonius suggested it was Hamlet's desire for Ophelia that made him go nutty, but after Hamlet snaps at Ophelia and tells her to go to a nunnery, Claudius dismisses this idea. He thinks Hamlet is hiding something big and this makes him uneasy. Claudius knows Hamlet is still uneasy about the former king's mysterious death and he doesn't want Hamlet to find out what went down. Polonius doesn't want to drop the love angle entirely though, because if true, it benefits him at court.
Both Polonius and Claudius realize something big is up with Hamlet after spying on him with Ophelia, but they can't pinpoint just what. Before, Polonius suggested it was Hamlet's desire for Ophelia that made him go nutty, but after Hamlet snaps at Ophelia and tells her to go to a nunnery, Claudius dismisses this idea. He thinks Hamlet is hiding something big and this makes him uneasy. Claudius knows Hamlet is still uneasy about the former king's mysterious death and he doesn't want Hamlet to find out what went down.
Polonius doesn't want to drop the love angle entirely though, because if true, it benefits him at court. He says he thinks his madness originated in frustrated love for Ophelia but has now shifted elsewhere, so he gets to both agree with the king while still sticking to his original, self-serving theory.
Regardless, both agree Hamlet needs to...
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be dealt with in some fashion, since problems within important people of rank cannot go unchecked. Polonius suggests they send him somewhere like England for a while.
In Act III, Scene i of Hamlet, Claudius and Polonius have decided to spy on Hamlet. They set a scene so that they can, unobserved, see and hear his conversation with Ophelia. Hamlet gives his famous "To be or not to be" speech, then proceeds to insult Ophelia, calling her an ugly whore.
After he exits, Polonius and Claudius reveal themselves. Claudius believes that Hamlet is not in love, but that he is also not mad. Instead, he thinks that there is something secret that is bothering Hamlet and thereby affecting his behavior. Polonius, however, still is convinced that Hamlet is in love, and rationalizes his anger and insults by saying that they spring from neglected love for Ophelia.
As a result of their plan, Claudius and Polonius determine that Hamlet must be at once sent away to England.
What do Claudius and Polonius learn from their plan? Why is Hamlet sent to England?
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Claudius and Polonius plan to send Hamlet to England, but first, Polonius says that he will hide himself and listen to the conversation between Hamlet and his mother in hopes of learning the nature and source of Hamlet’s madness. Let's look at this in more detail.
Hamlet is only pretending to be crazy, but Claudius, Polonius, and Gertrude do not know this. Hamlet is trying to buy time and obtain information. He wants to know for sure whether Claudius murdered his father as his father’s ghost has claimed.
Polonius guesses (wrongly) that Hamlet is crazy because of his love for Ophelia. Gertrude thinks Hamlet’s madness stems from his grief. Claudius, though, seems to have other suspicions. He believes that Hamlet’s madness may prove dangerous to his own kingship. He tells Polonius that he will send Hamlet to England to collect the tribute owed by the English king. Hamlet will go with his two school friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who will watch him and try to determine the source of his madness.
Polonius thinks he can get to the bottom of things if he listens in on the conversation between Gertrude and Hamlet, but this scheme proves deadly to Polonius. Hamlet, thinking that Claudius is behind the curtain, stabs and kills Polonius.
At this point, Claudius is all the more set on sending Hamlet away, and he now decides that Hamlet must not return. The cause of Hamlet’s madness is no longer Claudius’s primary concern. He sends a letter along with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern addressed to the king of England. In it, Claudius tells the king to have Hamlet killed. Claudius wants to get rid of his troublesome nephew once and for all.