Hamlet act 2 scene 2 questions. Hamlet: Act II Scene 2 Summary & Analysis 2019-01-15
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Hamlet plays with Polonius, mocking him, evading his questions, and turning his language inside out. That you must teach me. In general synod take away her power; Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven, As low as to the fiends! And when Polonius picks up on that, he again thinks that Hamlet is still obsessing over Ophelia. Such an admission will prove to Hamlet, once and for all, that the Ghost is real and not simply a devil or the figment of his imagination. He wishes Polonius were as honest as a man selling fish. Having no patience for Polonius, Gertrude admonishes him.
A flourish for the Players. Both your majesties Might, by the sovereign power you have of us, Put your dread pleasures more into command Than to entreaty. Original Text Translated Text Source: Flourish. I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king and queen moult no feather. Hercules and his load too: One of Hercules' twelve labors was to hold up the world in the place of Atlas. He changes subjects quickly by asking if Polonius has a daughter. Lent is a period of fasting.
In hopes of finding out what's going on with Hamlet, they invite two of Hamlet's school friends to stay with them in Denmark. Beyond his cowardice, he's ashamed that even when Heaven and Hell would have him take revenge, he can only prance about and whine. What particular devious method of spying does Polonious ask Reynaldo to employ? In another winking moment in Act Three, Polonius declares that he was an actor in his younger days. Mad call I it; for, to define true madness, What is't but to be nothing else but mad? I will leave him, and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my daughter. Now Fortinbras has promised not to wage war against Denmark in order to take back the lands his dead father lost in a bet with Hamlet's dad. Analysis This Act begins by establishing the atmosphere of political intrigue at Elsinore. Excellent well; you are a fishmonger.
Hamlet also quips that honest men are rare in this world, something Polonius agrees with. He does not hurry along the revenge because he knows there is nothing really to revenge; nothing really happened; it has all been staged. Ilium: the central tower of Troy. In his soliloquy, Hamlet both upbraids himself and reveals his course of action. Gertrude and Claudius exit, leaving Polonius alone with Hamlet. Ecstatic at the opportunity for diversion, Hamlet asks who the players are and why they are on the road. Polonius then suggests that he and Claudius hide themselves behind a needlework wall hanging so they can eavesdrop on the couple when Ophelia meets with Hamlet to return his love gifts.
He keeps coming at Hamlet with more words, words, words. The Queen promises them handsome compensation for their spying and assures them that Hamlet's own good requires the service. Why, thy face is valanced since I saw thee last. I'll have grounds More relative than this: the play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Polonius proposes that they stage a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia and spy on it to test his theory.
Guildenstern and Rosencrantz agree to snoop around—for Hamlet's benefit, of course. Their conversation comes to an end when the players arrive. I have a daughter—have while she is mine— Who, in her duty and obedience, mark, Hath given me this. To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand. He's actually super excited to see them and he asks them to perform a speech right away. Hm, a son killing a king to avenge his dad? Left alone on stage, Hamlet muses about the strangeness of his situation. Come, give us a taste of your 455 quality.
. What is he saying, and how does this set of words help to move him to action? Claudius, too, shows remarkable political stupidity in trusting to the espionage of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two rather clownish fellows whom Hamlet sees through instantly. Gertrude is pretty sure it's the obvious: the fact that Hamlet's dad just died and that she and Claudius got married as soon as the funeral was over. It seems that Shakespeare is blurring the lines between theatricality and reality. Polonius has a plan to prove his theory is correct.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to avoid answering the question, but neither one of them has a very good poker face. My news shall be the fruit to that great feast. He wishes Polonius were someone as honest as a man selling fish. The speech details Pyrrhus's dark, scary, blood-covered rage, which totally bores Polonius, who only likes the bits with dancing and sex. What does he believe is the cause of it? This theme comes to a head, of course, with the appearance of the troop of players. And at our more consider'd time we'll read, Answer, and think upon this business. Voltimand and Cornelius enter and describe what took place with the aged and ailing king of Norway: the king rebuked Fortinbras for attempting to make war on Denmark, and Fortinbras swore he would never again attack the Danes.
But your news is not true. Hamlet is mocking both Polonius' lack of understanding and his over-protective attitude towards Ophelia. The King of Norway then rebuked Fortinbras and ordered him to abandon his plan of Danish conquest, which young Fortinbras agreed to do. Your noble son is mad. Specifically, they plan to set up a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia, in the location where Hamlet has taken to pacing insanely, and watch what happens. As most of the players follow Polonius out, Hamlet has a private confab with the main actor.
Still, Polonius doesn't fully understand what's going on here. In fact, Polonius doesn't understand anything Hamlet says until Hamlet starts calling him Jephthah, judge of Israel. He insists that we see his play as occurring at the same time in the fantasy world of Elsinore and in the actual world of the Globe Theater in London in the early seventeenth century which for us, at our historical remove, is yet another layer of fantasy. Hamlet sure knows how to push Polonius's buttons. I am but mad north-north-west: i. What is his mission in France? And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure; But farewell it, for I will use no art.
