In Hamlet, who kills Polonius?

In Hamlet, Hamlet kills Polonius.

The killing takes place in Gertrude’s chamber during Act III. Polonius hides behind an arras, or wall hanging, so he can secretly listen to Hamlet’s conversation with his mother. When Polonius calls for help, Hamlet assumes that Claudius is concealed behind the curtain and stabs through it.

Hamlet then discovers that he has killed Polonius, not the king. The mistake intensifies the tragedy: Polonius’s death drives Ophelia into madness, enrages Laertes, and gives Claudius a stronger reason to remove Hamlet. Hamlet drags Polonius’s body away and later refuses to tell Claudius exactly where it is.

This death is different from Hamlet’s deliberate plans against Claudius. Hamlet has already had opportunities to kill his uncle but hesitates, especially when Claudius is praying. Polonius is therefore killed impulsively, in a confused act of mistaken identity rather than as part of Hamlet’s formal revenge strategy.