Hamlet Act Two

Scene One  Polonius is sending a servant, Reynaldo, to check up on Laertes in Paris  Polonius wants Reynaldo to hint that Laertes is doing bad thing so that strangers will feel comfortable telling Reynaldo the truth about Laertes’s behavior

Scene One Continued  Ophelia tells Polonius that Hamlet has just scared her with crazy behavior  Hamlet came into her room with his clothes in a mess and he looked sick and pale  He held on to Ophelia’s wrists, shook them, sighed and left without saying a word  Polonius believes this means Hamlet is crazy with love for Ophelia

Scene One Continued  Before this event, Ophelia sent back Hamlet’s letters and told him she could not see him again  Polonius believes Hamlet is lovesick and they must tell the king about his behavior

Scene Two  Claudius brings in Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to discuss Hamlet’s erratic behavior  Claudius believes the cause of this behavior is King Hamlet’s death, but he wants to be sure there is nothing else bothering Hamlet  Gertrude believes the reason for Hamlet’s behavior is obviously his father’s death and her quick marriage to Claudius

Scene Two Continued  Polonius enters with the ambassadors from Norway  Fortinbras’s uncle believed that his nephew was preparing to attack Poland, but ordered his arrest when he found out Fortinbras was really planning to attack Denmark  Fortinbras apologized to his uncle and in return his uncle gave him money and permission to attack Poland  Fortinbras needs to pass through Demark to get to Poland and he is asking Claudius’s permission and is promising to pass through peacefully

Scene Two Continued  Polonius tells the king and queen about Hamlet being love crazy  He shows them a letter he claims was written by Hamlet professing his love to Ophelia  They plan to see for themselves if Hamlet’s crazy behavior is a result of his unrequited love for Ophelia

Scene Two Continued  Hamlet calls Polonius a “fish monger” which means a pimp but Polonius doesn’t understand that Hamlet is making fun of him  Polonius believes that Hamlet is rambling because he is crazy and he believes there is meaning in everything he is saying

Scene Two Continued  Hamlet meets up with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and tells them, “Denmark’s a prison”  Hamlet questions why R and G are there and he quickly guesses that the king and queen sent for them because he has lost interest in everything that used to interest him  R and G admit to being sent for and inform Hamlet that his favorite company of actors is on their way to the castle

Scene Two Continued  Adult actors are now out of fashion in the city  People want to see child actors instead  Hamlet makes a connection between this change in the theater and the recent change in kings

Scene Two Continued  Hamlet makes fun of Polonius by pretending to be crazy  Hamlet compares Polonius to Jephthah who accidently sacrificed his daughter  Hamlet references a Greek drama in which a character seeks to avenge his father  The speech given by the actor is about the destruction and despair revenge causes everyone involved but Hamlet does not seem to notice

Scene Two Continued  Hamlet asks the actors to perform for the castle  He will write a part that describes his father’s possible murder and watch Claudius  Hamlet feels terrible that an actor can cry and feel real emotion over something fake when he has been acting like a coward  “The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king”