Polonius is a wretched character and lives his life the exact opposite of what he is telling Laertes. He is a pompous hypocrite and that ultimately gets him killed. In this scene, Polonius is talking to hear himself talk. Laertes and Ophilia are behind him rolling their eyes and making fun of their father. The same person who plays Polonius also plays the foolish comedic grave digger at the end of the production thus tying the fool to the fool.

Husbandry meant something very different in Shakespeare’s day. It initially meant “management of a household.” Later, it evolved to refer to “farm management.” The word is formed by combining two elements: Husband, in an obsolete sense, referred to a “peasant farmer.” It was derived from Old English “husbonda,” which meant “male head of a household” or “master of a house.” The second element is “-ery.” This word-forming element creates nouns denoting “place for,” “art of,” “condition of,” or “quantity of.” It comes from Middle English “-erie,” which traces back to Latin “-arius.” Interestingly, the word husbandry replaced the Old English term “wer” (meaning “married man”) and became the companion word for “wife.” So, in this context, husbandry encompasses the management of households, farms, and the art of thrift and frugality.

The monologue is really Shakespeare making fun of people who believe all of those sayings. In real life, those who have the money are the ones who ruin the friendship. Rarely is it the one who borrows. And when someone borrows like that, it is usually because they have no other choice. No one likes to borrow money but there are times when you have no other choice.