ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Where does brevity is the soul of wit come from? Brevity is the soul of wit comes from the play Hamlet, written by English poet William Shakespeare around 1603. Polonius says it in act 2, scene 2.

Detailed explanation-2: -Polonius speaks these lines. He’s talking to the king and Queen, Claudius and Gertrude. (Claudius, who murdered Hamlet’s father, is now the King of Denmark, married to Hamlet’s mother.)

Detailed explanation-3: -Polonius is the character of the play Hamlet whose words and speeches cannot be called short. He is almost always verbose and overly detailed, repeating his words. Consequently, his phrase “brevity is the soul of wit” contradicts his actions.

Detailed explanation-4: -This proverb is the based on the words of Polonius I “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’ is the phrase of the multiplicity of meanings. In the first sense, it means that a good piece of writing or a good speech should be brief and concise.

Detailed explanation-5: -The irony all belongs to Polonius; he is there to trap Hamlet and finds himself trapped instead. He has said he will silence himself, and he is indeed silenced. There is both simple irony and dramatic irony. The Ghost’s invisibility to Gertrude raises the question of Hamlet’s sanity.