Hamlet- Act 2

Act 2


Scene 1-
       Polonius told Reynaldo the servant to go to Paris and see what Laertes has been up to. Polonius asks Reynaldo to go around talking to people about Laertes in a negative way so that he can get the truth out of them. He is going to lie so that he gets what he wants. Ophelia tells her father that Hamlet visited her and scared her a bit. He came into her room looking terrible took  her hand and then backed away and left. Hamlet also wrote a love letter to her telling her how much he loved her.


Scene 2-
         Claudius orders two of Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to figure out why Hamlet it acting the way he is. Polonius comes to Claudius and says that he sees that Hamlet has changed. Polonius says that he knows why Hamlet is the way he is. He is crazy because of the love for Ophelia. Polonius says that he'll talk to Hamlet and figure everything out. Claudius agrees to this and say Polonius can do this. Hamlet meets Polonius and he knows that his parents have sent him. Hamlet knows that Polonius is trying to do and he'll out smart them. Hamlet orders that the players perform for him and his parents one night soon. He knows that this play is known for making people confess what they've done especially murders.


Response-
         Throughout this scene there is a troupe that is coming to the castle to perform for Hamlet's and his family. When the players first enter Hamlet starts quoting a part from a play, and the player finishes it. This dialogue is about a guy attacking another man. As he tries to kill him he succeeds and they killer gets the man's kingdom. This directly relates to Claudius killing King Hamlet. Hamlet purposely wanted to show this experience to Polonius because he wants him to feel guilty. I think Hamlet thinks Polonius knows about Claudius killing Hamlet's father.          
           As Hamlet is reciting lines from the play he has a certain tone. He very anxious and expressive. He wants to leave a lasting impression on Polonius and make him feel sorry for Hamlet. I think Hamlet wants Polonius to fear him. In the lines he recites he is almost implying that the man who doesn't like the other guy will kill him. Hamlet wants to show that he will kill who ever stands in his way.
          The way that Shakespear writes this Act really shows how much he feels for Hamlet. He has Claudius and Polonius going together to go against Hamlet. Hamlet knows that this is happening and out smarts them both. Throughout this act he is insulting them both without them knowing so. Polonius thinks that Hamlet isn't smart and is completely clueless. Hamlet has a plan to out smart Claudius and Polonius. He orders that a play be performed. This play was called, "The Murder of Ganzago".
          This play is the perfect play to be performed in front of Claudius. This play was known for making people confess what they've done wrong. Hamlet wanted to watch Claudius watch this play and see how he would react. He wanted to see the facial expressions that Claudius  expressed and try to catch him for his fathers death. Hamlet knows that if he can make Claudius vulnerable then he can get him to confess the murder  that he committed.