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Hamlet Summary - Act II

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21 views1 page

Hamlet Summary - Act II

Uploaded by

nathaliasilva0510
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Act II

Scene 1
The scene opens with Polonius giving a lot of money to a man named Reynaldo
to deliver to his son in France, he also highlights that he wants the man to spy
on Laertes. After that, Ophelia comes in to talk to her father about her
encounter with Hamlet, saying that he looked terrible and rather lovesick. Up
until now, her father thought Hamlet was only playing with Ophelia’s feelings,
but after such a scene as a result of his daughter returning Hamlet’s love
letter, he now thinks that he does in fact love her. Polonius later decides to tell
the King about the situation.

Scene 2
Hamlet's strange behavior intrigues Claudius and Gertrude, leading them to
invite two of his school friends to spy on him. Polonius informs Claudius of his
theory that the Prince's odd behavior may come from his love for Ophelia.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that the conflict with Norway has been resolved, as
Fortinbras has abandoned his plans to declare war against Denmark. This
leaves the characters to focus solely on Hamlet's situation. Polonius decides to
speak with Hamlet and arranges an encounter between Hamlet and Ophelia,
intending to spy on them. However, their conversation leads nowhere,
everything Hamlet says only confuses Polonius. Though Polonius realizes that
the Prince is speaking in double meanings, he cannot decipher them. After their
talk, Hamlet's school friends arrive, and the Prince quickly infers that the King
and Queen arranged for their visit. They briefly discuss theater, but their
conversation is interrupted by the arrival of actors at the palace. Hamlet is
excited to see the players and suggests they perform a speech from The
Aeneid by Virgil, which recounts a son's revenge on a king (foreshadowing of
the events to come). After the performance, Hamlet asks the lead actor if they
can stage The Murder of Gonzago, with an additional speech written by Hamlet
himself. This choice of play is not at random, as Hamlet wants to observe
Claudius’s reaction to the reenactment of a murder similar to his father’s,
hoping to confirm whether the ghost was telling the truth. Hamlet is seen
lamenting on his delay in avenging his father and reflects on how actors can
portray vengeance for fictional characters, while he struggles to act on his
own father's real murder. He reveals that his hesitation comes from a fear that
the ghost might be deceiving him, as he knows the devil can take many forms to
induce people into committing crimes.

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