Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, / And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, / I will be brief.
Act II, Scene 2 · Polonius
Context
Polonius promises Claudius and Gertrude he will be concise before explaining Hamlet's madness, claiming that brevity is essential to intelligent speech.
Analysis
The irony is immediate: Polonius declares brevity the 'soul of wit' and then proceeds to speak at length, his own verbose structure contradicting his claim. Shakespeare uses this gap between Polonius's self-image and his actual behavior to mark him as a character who cannot see himself clearly.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Polonius is an unreliable interpreter of Hamlet—if he can't recognize his own wordiness, he's unlikely to understand the prince's deliberate performance of madness.