Intriguing Developments in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" Act Two
Polonius sends a spy to France, Ophelia recounts Hamlet's erratic behavior, and Hamlet plans to expose King Claudius's guilt through a play. Key plot points established include Hamlet's supposed madness due to unrequited love, the arrival of his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the actors' incorporation of Hamlet's lines. The tension builds as schemes and suspicions entwine at Elsinore Castle.
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Presentation Transcript
Hamlet: Act 2 Scene 1 Polonius sends a spy, Reynaldo, to France to keep an eye on Laertes. Ophelia enters and tells Polonius that Hamlet entered her room in a mad state, grabbing her wrists and staring wildly into her eyes. She also adds that she has cut off all contact with Hamlet. Polonius, certain that Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia and that it was Ophelia's rejection that put him in this state, decides to meet the king to concoct a plan to spy on Hamlet in conversation with Ophelia. Meanwhile, Gertrude has asked Hamlet s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to try to figure out the cause of his madness. Hamlet is suspicious of them, and he evades their questions. school friends
Hamlet: Act 2 Scene 2 A theatre troupe arrives, and Hamlet requests that the following night they perform a certain play, The Murder of Gonzago, with a few passages inserted written by Hamlet. Alone on stage, Hamlet voices his frustration about his own indecisiveness. He decides he must figure out if the ghost is truly his father or if it is a specter leading him to sin without reason. Because the play depicts of a king who kills his brother and marries his sister-in-law, Hamlet believes that the performance scheduled for the next night will make Claudius show his guilt.
Hamlet: Key Plot Points Established by Act Two Ophelia tells Polonius that she has been horrified by Hamlet. He 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 diagnoses Hamlet's condition as madness due to his love of Ophelia. Polonius tells Claudius that Hamlet's madness is due to unrequited love for Ophelia, Polonius's daughter, but Claudius is not convinced and plots with Polonius to spy on Hamlet Hamlet's childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, have been summoned to the castle by the king and queen to keep close watch on him. A troupe of actors also arrives at Elsinore to entertain the court and are persuaded to include some lines written by Hamlet. Hamlet reveals his plan: " The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." Polonius spies on Laertes.
