Polonius’s pontifications float freely above landscapes, which is why Hamlet mocks him: Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that’s almost in shape of a camel? Polonius: By the mass, and ’tis like a camel indeed. Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel. Polonius: It is backed like a weasel. Hamlet: Or like a whale. Polonius: Very like a whale.2
