Act 3, Scene 2 This scene is happening some hours later. It falls into eight linked episodes; 1) Hamlet is coaching the actor who will deliver his lines. 2) Alone with Horatio, Hamlet expresses his admiration for his one trustworthy friend. He asks Horatio to observe Claudius’s looks during the scene in which the murderer pours poison into the king’s ear so the afterwards they can compare notes and judge the truth of the Ghosts’ story. 3) Hamlet sits by Ophelia to watch and observe his uncle. He continues to slash verbally at Claudius, Polonius and Ophelia. Ophelia confirms that Hamlet’s father has been dead less than six months. 4) The performance begins with a mime closely modelled on the Ghost’s account of his murder. Ophelia doesn’t understand it; there is no reaction from anyone else.

5) The play proper begins. 6) Hamlet asks Gertrude’s opinion 5) The play proper begins. 6) Hamlet asks Gertrude’s opinion. 7) The performance breaks up. 8) Hamlet considers what happened.

The play presented within Hamlet is actually called ”The Murder of Gonzago”. The plot of it closely resembles the actual murder of Hamlet's father, and the reason that hamlet chooses to have it performed is to trap Claudius into revealing his guilt.

The play begins. The Player King and Player Queen have been married for 30 years. The Player King’s health is failing and he predicts that when he is dead, his wife will remarry. She asserts that such a marriage would be ‘treason’ (line 159). The Player King is sceptical but again his wife affirms, on pain of punishment, the sentiments that Hamlet cannot forgive his mother for violating.

Hamlet asks Gertrude what she thinks about the play Hamlet asks Gertrude what she thinks about the play. Her famous rebuff ‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks.’ (line 211) reveals she is aware that her son is trying to make her feel uncomfortable. The second half of the play presents the assassination in the garden, which Hamlet said he hoped would provoke Claudius into revealing his sins.

But in Hamlet’s running commentary on the play, he announces that the murderer, Lucianus, is not the King’s brother but his nephew. As the performance proceeds with no obvious response from Claudius, Hamlet becomes increasingly agitated, interrupting more and more determinedly until his final outburst: ‘A poisons him i’th’garden for his estate… you shall see anon how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago’s wife.’ (from line 237) This is a desperate attempt to provoke a response from a man who has his conscience, in public at least, absolutely under control.

How does Hamlet feel after the performance? Euphoric: he is convinced Claudius has had his conscience touched. ‘I’ll take the Ghost’s word for a thousand pounds.’ (line 260) Hamlet’s happiness becomes for a moment like Lucianus, the nephew about to murder his uncle: ‘Tis now the very witching time of night… now I could drink hot blood…’ (lines 349) Yet his next move is not to pursue Claudius, but to visit his mother. ‘I will speak daggers to her but use none.’ (lines 357) – the cruel irony of which is that in her room he will kill Polonius. But Horatio’s judgement is guarded and critical of Hamlet’s performance. It’s significant that Hamlet turns away from Horatio at this point to talk to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and then Polonius.

Guildenstern reports that the King is mad with anger, and that the Queen is in ‘most great affliction of spirit’ (line 282) and wishes to see him. To the spies, Hamlet explains his distemper (line 305) as frustrated ambition: another message for Claudius’s ears. Hamlet is left on stage to contemplate what happened as he prepares to face his mother. It’s as if he wants to provoke Claudius to act, so he won’t have to.