Hamlet Act II Notes

Act II

Scene I

·         It has been a few weeks since the last Act

·         Polonius tells Reynaldo to spy on Laertes

·         Ophelia tells her father that she did not, in fact, sleep with Hamlet

Scene II

·         Hamlet has begun to act crazy so Claudius and Gertrude send for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s old friends

·         Claudius had successfully avoided a war with Norway

·         Polonius informs the king that Hamlet had been forced mad by love for Ophelia

·         The two sets of parents make plans to spy on their kids

·         Hamlet really begins to act crazy in his conversation with Polonius

·         Polonius and Hamlet engage in this big talk

·         Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves included as well

·         Players come up and Hamlet asks them to perform the Murder of Gonzago sometime in the next week.  They agree.

·         The murder in that play is done in a similar manner as the suspected murder of Claudius and Old Hamlet