Brevity is the soul of wit.
– William Shakespeare
Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2. Polonius says this to Claudius and Gertrude, as he about to tell them Hamlet is mad. It is ironic for Polonius to come up with this aphorism, as he is known for his long-winded, tedious speeches and not brevity. And doubly ironic that it is contained in Shakespeare’s longest play, in which the protagonist Hamlet speaks more lines than any other Shakespearean character.