Question: What was Shakespeare's opinion of politicians, as inferred from his use of the word?
Answer: Shakespeare evidently did not have a very exalted
opinion of politicians, for he frequently speaks of them in
the most disparaging terms "one who would circumvent God," says Hamlet, as he muses on the skull of a dead man, whom he imagines was once a politician.
Mertins, Emma. Shakespeare Examinations. Ed. William Taylor Thom, M. A. Boston: Ginn and Co., 1888. Shakespeare Online. 10 Aug. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/examq/sixteen.html >.
