Hamlet by William
Shakespeare
Act II Discussion
Act II, scene ii (summary)
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Lines 1-39: Claudius sets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on
Hamlet.
Lines 40-85: The ambassadors report on their successful mission to
Norway.
Lines 86 – 165: Polonius claims Hamlet loves Ophelia, and proposes to
use her in a plot to spy on Hamlet.
Lines 166 – 212: Hamlet insults Polonius.
Lines 213 – 94: Hamlet discovers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
sent to spy on him.
Lines 295-338: R. and G. report that the players are coming.
Lines 339 – 489: Hamlet welcomes the players and listens to a speech.
Lines 490 – 500: Hamlet asks the First Player to speak new lines at
tomorrow night’s performance.
Lines 501 – 58: In soliloquy, Hamlet wonders at the contrast between the
Player’s faked emotion for Hecuba and his own inability to revenge. He
plans to use tomorrow’s play to find if Claudius really is a murderer.
1. What is ironic about Polonius’ attempt to
learn about Laertes’ life in Paris?
If Reynaldo follows Polonius’
instructions, he will essentially ruin
Laertes’ reputation while trying to gather
information.
 Polonius doesn’t trust his own son.
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2. Why would Polonius immediately jump to the
conclusion that Hamlet is mad for Ophelia’s
love?
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Ophelia’s description of Hamlet in
unfastened and rumpled clothing is the
Renaissaince convention of the “man
suffering from unrequited love.” As
Ophelia has broken off all contact with
Hamlet—at Polonius’ command—he
readily interprets his appearance and
actions, as described by Ophelia, to be
signs of unrequited love.
3. Consider how the episode of Hamlet in Ophelia’s closet
promises to contribute to the
overall calamity of the tragic plot?
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Ophelia has now—intentionally or unintentionally—
allied herself with those who (at least in Hamlet’s
mind) oppose Hamlet. If Hamlet does indeed love
Ophelia, then her breaking up with him is just another
betrayal—like his mother’s hasty marriage to his uncle
and (perhaps) her role in his father’s murder. If he
does not really love her, then he is using her to
advance madness ruse. In either event, she is now
involved in the intrigue and corruption of the court and
will probably not escape being destroyed in the
calamity.
In either case, Hamlet is exploiting Ophelia as is
Polonius.
Subordination of women
4. Are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern willing
spies for Claudius and Gertrude?
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Probably not. Gertrude flatters them by telling
them that Hamlet often speaks of them as his
favorite childhood friends and still feels a good
bit of affection for them. Claudius frames his
“request” in terms of two friends finding out
what is wrong with their third friend so that
they can help his family find the remedy.
 Use deception and flattery
 Acting again
 Constantly reminded that Hamlet is a play.
5. What effect is created by the scenes between
Hamlet and Polonius being in prose?
Hamlet’s part of the dialogue relies on
slang and puns. Shakespeare wants to
emphasize these and not allow the
audience/reader to lose them in the
metrical pattern of blank verse. Polonius’
prose responses also highlight his own
foolishness and lack of wit.
 Also reflection of Hamlet’s disdain for
Polonius
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6. What are some of the slang expressions and puns Hamlet uses
in his first exchange with
Polonius? Why are they significant?
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First, Hamlet calls Polonius a “fishmonger,” literally a lower-class
hawker (vendor of merchandise) of common fish from a wagon.
“Fishmonger” has also been generally regarded to mean some
form of “pimp”, given the fact that Polonius first ordered his
daughter to sever her relationship with Hamlet and then later ran
to the king excitedly to report that Hamlet was truly in love with
her. He has already arranged to spy on his own daughter and
Hamlet in order to maintain or increase his political influence with
the king and queen. When Polonius asks Hamlet what he is
reading, Hamlet replies, “Words.” When Polonius follows up with
“What is the matter?” meaning what is the subject matter of the
words Hamlet is reading, Hamlet responds to another
understanding of the question (what is the problem): “Between
who?” Later, Polonius says he will “take” his leave, and Hamlet
responds there is nothing he would give more willingly; thus,
Polonius does not need to “take” it since Hamlet will gladly “give”
it. Polonius’ invitation to walk inside “out of the air,” is met with the
retort that to walk out of the air is to walk into one’s grave.
Hamlet is a saucy fellow.
7. What is Hamlet’s initial reaction to the appearance of
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
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He comments to himself and the
audience that they are “tedious old
fools,” suggesting that they are not as
dear to him as Claudius and Gertrude
had presumed and that he is already on
to them.
8. Why are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hesitant to
admit that they are in Elsinore because
the king and queen sent for them?
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On the one hand, to admit that they were sent
for might be to admit that they are spies.
However, since they probably do not know that
they are spies and honestly believe that they
are on an errand of mercy, to admit that they
were sent for could hurt their friend’s feelings;
they did not think to come on their own but
came when they were summoned. Note that
they confess to being summoned only when
Hamlet demands that, if they love him, they
will tell him.
9.How does Hamlet’s famous “What a piece of work is
a man!” passage depart from typical
Renaissance humanism?
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The beginning of the passage reflects
the popular Renaissance belief that
humankind was at the top of the
hierarchy of creation: “the paragon of
animals.” But Hamlet ends, not
celebrating humanity’s godlike status,
but lamenting the mortality of flesh; “this
quintessence of dust.”
10. Why does Shakespeare introduce a
troupe of traveling players into the action of
the play?
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The players will be the vehicle by which
Shakespeare can evaluate various characters’
reactions to events and characters in the play.
Hamlet can assess his own inaction in terms
of the actor’s pretended grief. Hamlet (and the
audience) can assess Gertrude’s lack of grief
for her first husband’s death with the actor’s
pretended grief. Hamlet can also use the
scene portraying his father’s murder to
observe Claudius’ and Gertrude’s reactions.
11. What does Hamlet’s expression of concern about
the child actors used in the city contribute
to the plot or to the development of his character?
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This is a puzzling scene in that it does
not seem to do either. Shakespeare, the
playwright, head of a troupe of players,
and owner of a theater, seems to be
criticizing a current fashion, using his
play and his stage simply to advance his
own thoughts about the acting/theater
profession.
12. What is unusual about the player’s
monologue about the Fall of Troy?
This monologue is written and told from
the Trojan point of view. Thus, the son of
Achilles (a Greek hero and the son of a
Greek hero) is portrayed as the heartless
villain.
 Antithesis of conventional portrayal from
Greek perspective
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