Hamlet Act 2 – Flashcards
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How much time has passed between Act One and Two? How do you know?
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Three months have passed since between acts, since it says two months dead, then she marries one month later.
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What is Polonious telling Reynaldo to do? What does this tell us about Polonious and his way of thinking and acting?
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Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes, showing his distrust and cunning.
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Why is Ophelia so upset when she enters? What has happened to her? Does Hamlets appearance as a mad man come as a surprise after what we last heard him say? Why would he appear in this sort of madness to her? Is there any possibility he really is a distracted lover responding to Ophelia´s apparent rejection of him? How well has she obeyed her fathers orders in 1.3?
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She is upset that Hamlet is acting mad with her, since he is pretending to be mad after his talk with the ghost. Apparently, she obeyed her father's orders to avoid Hamlet, but he grabbed her anyway.
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What is Polonious´ response to what Ophelia tells him? Where are they going?
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Polonius thinks Hamlet is mad with love for Ophelia, and they go to Claudius with this problem.
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Why have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to court? What is their relation to Hamlet? What use does Claudius have for them? Does this remind you of Polonious use for Reynaldo? Are there any significant differences?
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They are here to cheer Hamlet out of his melancholy, since they are his friends from the University. They are also here to spy on Hamlet, mirroring Reynaldo and Polonius.
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Lot of different explanations of Hamlets madness. Are people content with these explanations?
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Many believe that Hamlet is mad due to these reasons, but we know that it is more likely for him to be pretending to be mad.
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What results have come from Cornelius and Voltemands trip to Norway; Has Claudius use of diplomacy rather than war been justified? What will Fortinbras be doing next? Can we expect to see him in Denmark after all? Why?
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Peace has been made between Denmark and Norway, with Fortinbras now attacking the Poles.
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How effective is Polonious as a bearer of news? How convinced are Claudias and Gertrude that Polonious has found the answer? How do they plan to test this anser? Does Polonious´ plan sound like his normal way of operating?
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While delivering news, Polonius is once again highly talkative and wordy. They agree to spy on Hamlet via curtin while Ophelia confronts him. This solidifies Polonius's stealthy nature.
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Immediately following the discussion of the plan, Hamlet appears. Would´nt this be a good time to try out the plan? Do they?
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It would not be, since Ophelia was not there.
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How does Hamlet behave when he enters? Does Polonious think he is mad? Is this the way we would expect Hamlet to act after Ophelias description in 2.1? Why does he call Polonious and fishmanger?
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He behaves rashly and strangely, keeping to his ruse. While Polonius thinks he is still mad, he finds some meaning in what Hamlet says. Fishmonger is referring to Polonius fishing out his daughter for his plans.
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How does Hamlet behave initially with Rosencratz and Guildenstern. Is it different from the way he just acted with Polonious? How does Hamlet change when he realized they were sent by Claudius and Gertrude?
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At first he is happy, but turns mellow when he learns that they were sent by Claudius.
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Why are the players travelling? What has been going on in the city?
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A theatrical troupe is currently travelling to perform in Denmark.
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What is the significance of Hamlets referring to Polonious as Jephtah?
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Because Jephthah had a daughter and he vowed he would kill the next person who came out the door and it was his daughter. Jepahtah told God he would sacrifice the first person that greeted him after his victory. Despite this, out of respect for her fathers vows, it was the daughter who sacrificed as she lived a life in God´s service- spending her life as a virgin, leaving no heirs. Similar to this situation, Jephthah is like Polonious but allusion connects more to Ophelia and J´s daughter- as they both respect the wishes of their fathers- even if they strongly disagree with them
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What is unusual about the speech Hamlet begins to recite How is its style different than that of the surrounding lines of Hamlet? Why is its subject matter appropriate? Do lines 461-62 echo anything from or about the Hamlet play? Why cant the First Player finish the speech?
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The Murder of Gonzago; with a speech added by him.
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What play does Hamlet want the players to play? What does he want to do to the play?
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Hamlet is bitter that the player is able to summon feeling for these characters, while he cannot even act on his motives. It does not seem justified, since acting and murdering Claudius are very different activities. Hamlet will use the play to see if Claudius is guilty about murdering his brother.
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How does he use the players response to show how different his own position is? Is the comparison justified by what we have seen? Why hasnt he acted on his vengenace? Why does he need the play? What will he learn from it?
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He realizes that the player has shown emotion by crying about someone who is not even real. Hamlet feels that what he feels is real but he can't speak out about it to show his emotion. I think he hasn't sought vengeance because he is too concerned with how he comes across to other people. He also doesn't think the ghost will be enough evidence to prove he isn't crazy and that his uncle killed his father. He needs the play to catch his uncle in the act of being guilty because of the recreated scene of his father's death. If his uncle shows that he is guilty in any way, Hamlet will know for sure that He killed his father.
