Hamlet I: Act 1 Scene 3

No parents are absolutely perfect, and this holds true in Hamlet as well as in life. Claudius and Gertrude - Hamlet's adopted parents - are obviously highly capable, but also villainous. By contrast, as a foil to them, Polonius is entirely benevolent to his children. However, due to his lack of consideration of Hamlet's style of life - of Hamlet's philosophical nature as well as maturity, and therefore the maturity of his love - he gives poor advice, not because he is malicious, but rather because he lacks the knowledge necessary to give better advice. For instance, he says to Ophelia that Hamlet's promises and love are "springes to catch woodcocks" (I.iii.124). He fails, as was mentioned, to account for Hamlet's lifestyle and age. Similarly, he advises Laertes with a series of quaint epigrams, but lacking any substance beyond this: his advice is, clearly, standard, and lacks the true depth of character than involved advice would attain. In particular, he tells Laertes to spend money on his appearance: "Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy" (I.iii.76). While he does state that Laertes should not be overly fancy, his focus on physical appearance rather than character presents this as more superficial advice - thus, while certainly not as malicious as Hamlet's parents, even Polonius, their character foil, is imperfect.