Scene 2
Claudius and Gertrude are speaking with Rosencratz and Guildenstern about Hamlets madness and have asked them to spend some time with him in Denmark to see if they can’t find out the source of Hamlets craziness. The two agree to do so, as they are friends of Hamlets and go off to find him. Then Polonius and his daughter Ophelia enter and tell the king and queen that they believe Hamlet has gone crazy because Ophelia stopped seeing him and that he was in lovewith her. Before Polonius tells the king about Hamlet’s madness, he told him that the kind of Old Norway had no idea that his nephew Fortinbras had intentions of attacking Denmark and instead gave his nephew permission to attack Poland if he vowed to never to attack Denmark. The King of Old Norway also asked Claudius for a safe passage to pass through on the way to Denmark. Polonius wishes to speak to Hamlet alone and doing so gets nothing out of him and leaves just as Rosencratz and Guildenstern arrive. The two never tell Hamlet a good answer as to why they are here and finally admit that Hamlet’s conclusion that they were sent to find him is true. They tell Hamlet that the players have arrived and he is delighted to hear this news. He speaks to one of the players and asks him if he can perform a certain play in which a murder takes place and if so if they will perform some lines he wishes to write. The player says they will and Hamlet writes the exact murder that Claudius used to kill his father according to the ghost. He will use the play to see if what the ghost said is true by observing the kings reaction during the play.