Hamlet Act 2, Scene 1 and 2

Hamlet Act 2, Scenes 1 and 2

Jessie B, Quade and Brandon

Major Themes

Family Relationships

Gertrude and Hamlet

-Hamlet and Gertrude have a stronger bond

-Gertrude is more sympathetic towards her son and understands what he is experiencing better

“I doubt it is no other but the main:/His father’s death and our o'erhasty marriage.” (2.2.56-57).

“But look where sadly the poor wretch comes reading.” (2.2.160).

Ophelia and Polonius

-Polonius is very protective of his daughter

-His need to protect his daughter leads him to confront the King about why Hamlet has gone mad

-“Come, go with me. I will go seek the king./This is the very ecstasy of love,/Whose violent property fordoes itself/And leads the will to desperate undertakings/As oft as any passion under heaven/That does afflict our natures. I am sorry./What, have you given him any hard words of late?” (2.1.101-107).

Madness

-Hamlet's madness affects all of the other characters and the plot

-The other characters are concerned about his madness

“My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,/Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced;/No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled,/Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle;/Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;/And with a look so piteous in purport/As if he had been loosèd out of hell/To speak of horrors—he comes before me.” (2.1.77-84).

Conflict

Person vs Person

- Hamlet vs Ophelia Polonius and Hamlet

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Person vs Self

- Hamlet's Inner Conflict

-Ophelia's Inner Struggle

Polonius

Motivations: He does not have a lot of trust in his son and he is protective of Ophelia

Emotional: Confident and protective

Intellectual: Difficulty communicating ideas but shows intelligence

Character Significance: He initiates a plan to prove Hamlet's madness

Most Important Moment: Reveals to the King that Hamlet is mad because he is in love

Strength: Dedication and commitment to King

Weakness: Need to protect his daughter

Character Sketches

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Ophelia

Reynaldo

Motivation: Obeying her father's requests

Emotional: Reliant on Polonius and emotionally driven

Intellectual: Depends on her father to make decisions

Important Moment: When she tells Polonius she had obeyed his demands and listened to him

Strength: Ability to trust her father and communicate effectively

Weakness: Dependence on her father

Motivation: Actions are driven by Polonius' request

Emotional: More considerate and quiet

Intellectual: Doesn't share opinions

Character Significance: Shows elements of Polonius' character

Important Moment: When he interjects his opinion

Strength: Respectful and polite attitude

Weakness: His obedience

This is the very ecstasy of love (2.1.102)

Important Lines and Passages

Gertrude

Motivation: Concerned with Hamlet's mental well-being

Emotional: More sympathetic and caring

Intellectual: Thinks more realistically and can understand Hamlet's perspective better

Character Significance: Gives another perspective and attitude towards Hamlet's madness

Important Moment: When Gertrude notices Hamlet walking in an sympathizes with him

Strength: Ability to see things from Hamlet's perspective and understand him better

Weakness: Her dependence on Claudius

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Most fair return of greetings and desires.

Upon our first, he sent out to suppress

His nephew’s levies, which to him appeared

To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack,

But, better looked into, he truly found

It was against your highness. Whereat grieved—

That so his sickness, age, and impotence

Was falsely borne in hand—sends out arrests

On Fortinbras, which he, in brief, obeys,

Receives rebuke from Norway, and in fine

Makes vow before his uncle never more

To give th' assay of arms against your majesty.

Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,

Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee

And his commission to employ those soldiers,

So levied as before, against the Polack,

With an entreaty, herein further shown,

That it might please you to give quiet pass

Through your dominions for this enterprise,

On such regards of safety and allowance

As therein are set down. (Gives CLAUDIUS a document) (2.2.60-81)

I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is

southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw. (2.2.351)

Motivation: King and Queen's orders

Emotional: Loyal to the King and show respect. They show honesty towards Hamlet

Intellectual: Express opinions effectively but are obedient and dependent

Character Significance: They introduce another side of Hamlet's character

Important moment: When they admit to being sent by the King and Queen

Strength: Loyalty to King and Queen

Weakness: Obedience

Hamlet's Soliloquy

Hamlet

Motivation: The ghost of his father asking for him to seek revenge

Emotional: He is going mad, has a lack of respect and is emotionally driven

Intellectual: Very intelligent, answers are full of insight and expresses ideas strongly

Character Significance: The Act revolves around Hamlet and his madness since is one of the major themes

Important Moment: His soliloquy at the end of the Act

Strength: Love and dedication towards family

Weakness: How he lets his emotions consume him

Excellent well. You are a fishmonger. (2.2.166)

Literary Devices

-Alliteration -Chiasmus

-Assonance - Symbolism

-Foreshadowing -Simile

-Hyperbole - Pun

-Metaphor

Act Summary

Glossary Words

-Declension (2.2.140) - Scullion (2.2.548)

-Eterne (2.2.453) - Strumpet (2.2.223)

-Gentry (2.2.23)

-Perpend (2.2.107)

-Fishmonger (2.2.166)

-Sallets (2.2.405)

-Polonius sends his Reynaldo to spy on Laertes

-Ophelia tells Polonius about her encounter with Hamlet

-Polonius believes Hamlet's madness is caused by his love for Ophelia

-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are brought in by the King and Queen

-Ambassadors explain that the attack on Denmark by Fortinbras is no longer in action

-Polonius proposes to the King and Queen that Hamlet is mad from love

Symbols and Motifs

Motifs

Symbols

Distrust

“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,” (2.2.13-16)

Hamlet's Clothing

“with his doublet all unbraced;/ No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled,/ Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle;/ Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other” (2.1.78-81)

The Book

“Slanders, sir. For the satirical rogue says here that old/ men have gray beards, that their faces are wrinkled,/ their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum, and/ that they have a plentiful lack of wit” (2.2.86-90)