Name_____________                                                                                      English 11

Mrs. Moorman/ Mrs. Murray                                                                           Period____

 

Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2

 

Summary – What happens in this scene?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characters –   Who are they?  What is their role in the scene?

 

King:

 

 

 

 

Queen:

 

 

 

 

Rosencrantz:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guildenstern:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polonius:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voltemand:

 

 

 

 

Cornelius:

 

 

 

 

Hamlet:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Players:

Important Lines – Interpret each quote in your own words and then explain why it is important.

 

1)      King:

“I entreat you both
That, being of so young clays brought up with him,
And since so neighbour'd to his youth and haviour,
That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time; so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather
So much as from occasion you may glean,
Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus
That, open'd, lies within our remedy.” 2.2.10-18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2)      Queen:

“I doubt it is no other but the main,
His father's death and our o'erhasty marriage.” 2.2.59-60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)      Polonius:

“At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him. (to king)
Be you and I behind an arras then.
Mark the encounter.” 2.2.176-178

 

 

 

 

 

 

4)      Polonius: Aside

“Though this be madness, yet there is a
method in't.-” 2.2.223-224

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)      Hamlet:

“Why, then 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either
good or bad but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.” 2.2.268-270

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)      Hamlet:

“O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a
king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” 2.2.273-274

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7)      Hamlet:

“What a piece of work
is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form
and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the
paragon of animals! And yet to me what is this quintessence of
dust? Man delights not me-” 2.2.327-332

 

 

 

 

8)      Hamlet:

“Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by th' nose? gives me the lie i' th' throat
As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this, ha?
'Swounds, I should take it! for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave's offal.” 2.2.558-607

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9)      Hamlet:

“ The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.” 2.2.633-634

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further Questions-

 

1)      Why are Rozencrantz and Guildenstern at Elsinore?  What do the King and Queen want them to do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

2)      How do the King and Queen react to Polonius’s reason for Hamlet’s apparent madness?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)      What plan do they come up with to assess whether or not Hamlet is in love with Ophelia?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4)      Compare Hamlet’s conversation with Polonius to his conversation with Rozencrantz and Guildenstern.  What is his state of mind in each conversation?  Does he behave similarly or differently in each conversation?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)      Why is Hamlet frustrated in the “Oh, what a rogue” soliloquy?

 

 

 

 

6)      What plan does Hamlet come up with to find out if the King is really guilty?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7)      Do you think that Hamlet completely believes what the ghost has told him?  Consider:

a.       Would he need to test Claudius’s guilt if he had complete faith in the ghost’s words?

b.      Do his actions suggest that he is acting rationally (i.e. purposely pretending to be mad to learn more) or is he acting out of madness?