Act 2 Summary
Act 2.1 Character List
 Polonius
 Reynaldo
 Ophelia
 Hamlet
 Polonius sends Reynaldo to France to inquire about and spy
on Laertes’ personal life.
 Ophelia, visibly upset, tells Polonius that Hamlet, unkempt
and wild-eyed, has grabbed her, & shaken her, but did not
speak to her.
 Polonius says that Hamlet must be mad with his love for
Ophelia because she has distanced herself from him.
 Polonius speculates that this lovesickness might be the
cause of Hamlet’s moodiness, and he hurries out to tell
Claudius of his idea.
Act 2.2 Character List
 King Claudius
 Queen Gertrude
 Cornelius/Voltemand---messengers sent to Norway
 Laertes
 Polonius
 Hamlet
 The Players-traveling actors
 Claudius & Gertrude welcome Rosencrantz &
Guildenstern.
 The king and queen have asked his friends to Elsinore
to cheer up Hamlet or at least discover the cause of it.
 Polonius enters, announcing the return of the
ambassadors whom Claudius sent to Norway.
 Voltimand and Cornelius return & describe what took
place with the aged and ailing king of Norway.
 Fortinbras rebuked nephew; they won’t attack Denmark
 The Norwegian king gives his nephew money to attack
Poland instead
 The Norwegian king asks that his nephew be allowed to
pass through Denmark on his way to attack Poland
 Claudius is relieved and will answer later
 Polonius declares that the prince is mad with love for
Ophelia & shows the king & queen letters and love
poems Hamlet has given to Ophelia.
 Polonius proposes a plan: hide while Ophelia
confronts Hamlet, allowing them (he & Claudius) to
see whether Hamlet’s madness really comes from his
love for her.
 The king declares that they will try the plan as Hamlet
enters.
 Polonius attempts to converse with Hamlet, who
appears insane.
 Polonius hurries away to arrange the meeting between
Hamlet & Ophelia.
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter.
 They ask about his unhappiness; Hamlet asks why they
have come. R & G at first say they are there to check up on
him, but then admit they were sent for by Claudius.
 Hamlet admits he has lost all of his joy & descended into a
state of melancholy in which everything (& everyone)
appears sterile and worthless.
 Hamlet tells his friends they are welcome to stay at
Elsinore, and he is mad only some of the time and at
other times is sane.
 Polonius enters to announce the arrival of the traveling
actors; Hamlet asks one of them to give him a speech
about the fall of Troy.
 Impressed with the player’s speech, Hamlet announces
that the next night they will hear “The Murder of
Gonzago” performed, with an additional short speech
that he will write himself.
 Hamlet curses himself, bitterly commenting that the
player who gave the speech was able to summon a depth
of feeling and expression for long-dead figures who mean
nothing to him, while Hamlet is unable to take action
even with his far more powerful motives.
 He resolves to devise a trap for Claudius, forcing the king
to watch a play whose plot closely resembles the murder
of Hamlet’s father “The play’s the thing,” he declares,
“wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” (II.ii.581–
582).