Scene summary
Gertrude, distraught, tells Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius by striking the arras. The king sees in his stepson's freedom a threat to everyone and blames himself for not having restrained him. She says the son weeps for what he did. Claudius decides to ship him off at sunset, sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to fetch the body, and calls the Council to head off the slander.
Analysis
Claudius does not mourn Polonius: he weighs the risk. He sees in Hamlet's freedom a threat to everyone and blames himself for not having restrained him, and for that reason he ships the prince off at sunset and calls the Council before the death becomes a rumor against him. Gertrude, by saying that her son weeps for what he did, protects him before her husband.
Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend / Which is the mightier.
(IV.1)
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