Presented by: Kayla Viaene Group: Gertrude Hamlet: Act II Presented by: Kayla Viaene Group: Gertrude

Act II : Scene One Polonius converses with his servant, Reynaldo Polonius orders Reynaldo to spy on his son, Leartes, who is currently residing in Paris He is sent to spy on Leartes in an inconspicuous manner, questioning surrounding civilians and observing Leartes, himself Reynaldo is suppose to investigate whether Leartes is partying, drinking, etc. or studying music like he is suppose to be doing

Act II : Scene One Ophelia frantically approaches her father, Polonius, in an effort to define Hamlet’s erratic behavior She explains to Polonius that Hamlet made a dramatic entrance into her room, appearing disastrous Ophelia thoroughly explains to her father how oddly he acted toward her simply through his actions The two of them contemplate whether there is a correlation between Hamlet’s uninvited entrance and his love for Ophelia Polonius believes that forbidding Ophelia from being in contact with Hamlet is the reason that he is acting crazy Polonius and Ophelia finally agree that informing the king, Claudius, about this specific issue, as well as Hamlet’s behavior in general, would be beneficial

Act II : Scene Two The king, Claudius, and the queen, Gertrude, ask/order Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be friendly with Hamlet in order to create a fun atmosphere for him and observe Hamlet’s current behavior and personality Claudius and Gertrude hope that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will be able to identify what is bothering Hamlet so they can propose a helpful solution for him

Act II : Scene Two While delivering news about the ambassadors of Norway to Claudius, Polonius informs him that he knows the reason why Hamlet has been acting strangely Of course, this greatly concerns Claudius and makes him eager to uncover the truth Polonius gladly agrees that he will tell Claudius right after the ambassadors speak Gertrude believes that Hamlet’s father dying and her immediate marriage to Claudius is the root of the problem

Act II : Scene Two One of the ambassadors, Voltemand, informs the king about the matters of Norway, including its king The king of Norway’s nephew, Fortinbras, plotted an attack against Denmark without its king knowing When the king of Norway gained knowledge of his nephew’s planned attack, he threatened to have Fortinbras arrested Fortinbras promised to never threaten Denmark again, which let him off the hook Claudius is given a document from Voltemand, written by the king of Norway, asking permission of Norway’s troops to pass through the Denmark kingdom on their way to Poland (led by Fortinbras) This document also guarantees Denmark’s safety

Act II : Scene Two Polonius bluntly tries to persuade Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet is crazy Polonius reads Ophelia’s letter, written by Hamlet, to the king and queen, trying to convince them that Hamlet is crazy because of the absence of Polonius’ daughter, Ophelia Polonius suggests that they uncover whether this idea is the truth by having Ophelia meet up where Hamlet leisurely spends his time each day so Polonius can stake out the confrontation between the two

Act II : Scene Two Polonius confronts Hamlet, who is reading a book, in efforts to observe him Hamlet outsmarts Polonius with his striking, witty comebacks Polonius leaves the confrontation still convinced that Hamlet is crazy, and still planning to unite Hamlet and Ophelia for a stake out

Act II : Scene Two Rosencrantz and Guildenstern approach to have a friendly conversation with Hamlet, obeying the orders from the king and queen Hamlet realizes that they are not just talking to him because they are friends but because they were ordered to be friends with him The three of them converse for a while about random things Then, they bring up the topic of actors that Hamlet liked as a child Rosencrantz and Guildenstern let Hamlet know that those group of actors are coming soon to entertain Hamlet, and that those actors are currently being overthrown by children actors

Act II : Scene Two Polonius informs Hamlet that the actors arrived Hamlet recites some lines from a play and instructs the actors to perform a specific speech from The Aeneid Polonius becomes impatient and Hamlet retaliates to the comment Polonius makes by belittling him When the actors are asked to finished performing, Hamlet orders Polonius to keep the actors comfortable until tomorrow, when they are instructed by Hamlet to perform The Murder of Gonzago

Act II : Scene Two The act is completed with Hamlet wrestling with his own thoughts Hamlet concludes with himself that he will have the actors reenact his father’s murder in an attempt to discover whether Claudius killed him or not