HAMLET: ACT II
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
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Ophelia’s father, Polonius, tells Reynaldo to go to Paris and investigate what Laertes is doing. He is so determined to find out something about Laertes, the he told Reynaldo to lie if necessary. After Reynaldo exits in pursuit of his mission, Ophelia enters and tells Polonius that the Prince has horrified her. Hamlet came to her in her sewing room with his jacket askew and unfastened and wearing no hat; his stockings were filthy and unfastened, drooping at his ankles; and he was pale and trembling, looking "piteous." Polonius thinks that Hamlet's madness is due to his love of Ophelia, because she rejected him after he told her to. Polonius decides to tell the Claudius and Gertrude.
The King and Queen enter with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and others. King Claudius has asked two friends of Hamlet to Elsinore to have them spy on the Prince and report to him. The Queen guarantees that they will receive a big amount of money for the service, which is for his own good. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agreed. Then, they leave to seek Prince Hamlet, and the King and Queen turn their attention to Polonius, who claims to have the answer to Prince Hamlet's behavior. He promises to elaborate further after Claudius receives his newly arrived ambassadors from Norway.
When Polonius exits, Gertrude remains certain that Hamlet is acting mad because of his father's death and their remarriage. Polonius returns with the ambassadors Voltemand and Cornelius. They bring news from Norway that the old king, brother of King Fortinbras, has managed to restrain his nephew, young Fortinbras, from invading Denmark. In return, however, the old man asks that Denmark provide some assistance in Fortinbras' campaign against Poland, that Claudius allow Fortinbras to pass through Denmark on his way to Poland.As soon as the ambassadors leave, Polonius launches into a discussion on the meaning of life and duty, promising to be brief and then launching into further wordiness. Finally, Polonius asserts that Hamlet is mad. Having no patience for Polonius, Gertrude admonishes him. Polonius reads a letter he confiscated from his daughter, written by Hamlet. Then, tells Claudius and Gertrude that he has forbidden Ophelia to accept any advances from the Prince.
Summary
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Polonius suggests that he and Claudius hide themselves behind a wall hanging so they can eavesdrop when Ophelia meets with Hamlet to return his love gifts. Claudius agrees, just as Hamlet enters reading. Polonius asks the King and Queen to leave them so that he may speak to Hamlet himself.
In the encounter that follows between Hamlet and Polonius, Hamlet warns Polonius to watch his daughter carefully and then toys with Polonius' limited wit. The exchange convinces Polonius that Hamlet is lovesick when, in actuality, Hamlet's responses have done little but ridicule Polonius. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter. Hamlet greets them as his "excellent good friends" and asks why they have come to his “prison”. Then, breaks through his friends' resistance, and the two finally admit that the King and Queen sent them to observe Hamlet and provide them with details of his behavior. Hamlet's melancholy then erupts when he said, "lost all my mirth." He laments that a foul and sickening fog now besmirches the heavens, which he once saw as a canopy "fretted with golden fire."
Rosencrantz seizes the opportunity to announce the arrival of the players, and Hamlet's mood changed. He asks who the players are and why they are on the road. Rosencrantz answers that they are on the road because a company of child actors has usurped the London stage. When Polonius enters to announce the arrival of the players, Hamlet requests that the lead player perform a speech from Virgil's Aeneid in which Aeneas tells Queen Dido the story of Phyrrus, whose father Achilles was killed at Rome. The player performs the speech and moves himself to tears over Hecuba's horror at seeing her husband dismembered. Hamlet asks Polonius to see to the players' lodging, and, as soon as the Lord Chamberlain has left, he tells the small group of players remaining on-stage his plans for their performance of The Murder of Gonzago. He tells them that he will provide them original lines to the play. They agree and leave. Finally, Hamlet reveals his real intentions for The Murder of Gonzago, which will enact the murder the Ghost has told him. Hamlet hopes that Claudius identifies with the crime and make him act guilty to reveal that he murdered King Hamlet. This act will prove to Hamlet that the Ghost is real and not his imagination.
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EXPOSITION
Queen Gertrude and King Claudius pay Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two friends of Hamlet, to spy on him and figure out the answer to his behavior. They told them that it was neccesary for Hamlet's own good.
RISING ACTION
Polonius told the king and queen of Denmark that Hamlet was acting crazy because Ophelia refused him, but they knew that it was because of his father's death and their hasty marriage.
CLIMAX
Hamlet speaks with his two friends about how his mirth has been lost and asked them why they had visited him. They ended up admitting that the king had sent them.
FALLING ACTION
Hamlet speaks with the actors of "The Murder of Gonzago" to give them more lines to act. The purpose of this was to find out if Claudius could be identified with the killer or if the ghost was just his imagination.
RESOLUTION
Hamlet reveals his real intention behind the play. Claudius got really mad and asked to stop it. Hamlet then assures that he was that he was guilty of his father's death.
PLOT
CHAracters
Hamlet
Prince of Denmark, son of Queen Gertrude, full of hatred towards his uncle King Claudius, bound to avenge his father's death
Current King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle, lust for power, antagonist of the play
Claudius
Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother, weak, desire for love
Gertrude
Father of Ophelia and Laertes, Lord Chamberlain of Claudius' Court
Polonius
Daughter of Polonius, Laertes' sister, in love with Hamlet
King of Norway, bound to avenge his father's death
Fortinbras
Rosencratz and Guildenster
Hamlet's classmates in Wittenberg, sent to spy on Hamlet
Ambassadors to the court of Norway
Voltimand and Cornelius
Polonius' servant
Reynaldo
THEME
Power
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Madness
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Lust
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Family
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Love
Uncertainty
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Suspense
TONE
Denmark
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Castle
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14th/15th Century
SETTING
HAMLET'S STUDY
Description
Development
Hamlet
Wrote a letter to Gertrude and Claudius. Warns Polonius to watch his daughter carefully. He is lovesick. Gives a script to the theatre group which narrates his father's death, to watch Claudius' reaction.
Gertrude
Remains weak. She knows that Rosencratz and Guildenster are spying on her son and promises them a compensation.
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Claudius
Sends Rosencratz and Guildenster to spy on Hamlet.
Polonius
Read the letter Hamlet sent to the king and queen which said Ophelia was forbidden to accept any avances from the prince. Suspects of Hamlet's madness and proposes they spy on him.
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Ophelia
Her father confiscated the letter just when she was about to read it. Forbidden by her father to see Hamlet.
Fortinbras
Has managed to restrain his nephew from invading Denmark.
Rosencratz and Guildenstern
Sent to spy on Hamlet.
Voltemand and Cornelius
Bring the news about Fortinbras to the King.
reynaldo
Sent by Polonius to observe what Laertes is doing.
Ophelia
Our Opinion
In our opinion, this act revealed who the characters really were and let us know a lot of emotion. We learned that trust is a really powerful word and can be a weapon for others. We also learned that the eye of the beholder can see and have different or dynamic perspectives, for example: when they said that Hamlet was "mad", not everyone believed it and thought it was just a thesis.
We can resume this act with the phrase "lust for power".