1. Hamlet
Act 2 Summary

2. Act 2.1 Character List
Polonius
Reynaldo
Ophelia
Hamlet

3. Scene 1 Details
Polonius sends Reynaldo to France to spy on Laertes’ personal life.
Ophelia tells Polonius that Hamlet, unkempt and wild- eyed, has grabbed her, & shaken her, but did not speak to her.
Polonius says that Hamlet must be mad with his love for Ophelia because she has distanced herself from him.
Polonius speculates that this lovesickness might be the cause of Hamlet’s moodiness, and he hurries out to tell Claudius of his idea.

4. Act 2.2 Character List
King Claudius
Queen Gertrude
Cornelius/Voltemand---messengers sent to Norway
Laertes
Polonius
Hamlet
The Players-traveling actors

5. Scene 2 Details
Claudius & Gertrude welcome Rosencrantz & Guildenstern.
The king and queen have asked his friends to Elsinore to cheer up Hamlet or at least discover the cause of it. Gertrude feels Hamlet’s moodiness is due to his father’s death and her “over hasty marriage.”
Polonius enters, announcing the return of the ambassadors whom Claudius sent to Norway.

6. Scene 2 Details
Voltimand and Cornelius return & describe what took place with the aged and ailing king of Norway.
Fortinbras rebuked nephew; they won’t attack Denmark
The Norwegian king gives his nephew money to attack Poland instead
The Norwegian king asks that his nephew be allowed to pass through Denmark on his way to attack Poland
Claudius is relieved and will answer later

7. Scene 2 Details
“More matter with less art” says the Queen. Polonius declares that the prince is mad with love for Ophelia & shows the king & queen letters and love poems Hamlet has given to Ophelia.
Polonius proposes a plan: hide while Ophelia confronts Hamlet, allowing him & Claudius to see whether Hamlet’s madness really comes from his love for her.
The king declares that they will try the plan as Hamlet enters.
Polonius attempts to converse with Hamlet, who appears insane.

8. Scene 2 Details
Polonius hurries away to arrange the meeting between Hamlet & Ophelia.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter.
They ask about his unhappiness; Hamlet asks why they have come. R & G at first say they are there to check up on him, but then admit they were sent for by Claudius.
Hamlet admits he has lost all of his joy & descended into a state of melancholy in which everything (& everyone) appears sterile and worthless. “What a piece of work is a man!”

9. Scene 2 Details
Hamlet tells his friends they are welcome to stay at Elsinore, and he is mad only some of the time and at other times is sane.
Polonius enters to announce the arrival of the traveling actors; Hamlet asks one of them to give him a speech about the fall of Troy.
Impressed with the player’s speech, Hamlet announces that the next night they will hear “The Murder of Gonzago” performed, with an additional short speech that he will write himself. Polonius is in charge of the actors during their stay!

10. Scene 2 Details
Hamlet curses himself, bitterly commenting that the player who gave the speech was able to summon a depth of feeling and expression for long-dead figures who mean nothing to him, while Hamlet is unable to take action even with his far more powerful motives.
He resolves to devise a trap for Claudius, forcing the king to watch a play whose plot closely resembles the murder of Hamlet’s father. He needs to verify the ghost’s words
“The play’s the thing,” he declares, “wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” (II.ii.581–582). H