Act 2 Of Shakespeare's Hamlet

Act 2 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is unique in the sense that there are several dramatic productions that occur inside the tragedy itself. Hamlet’s role as both a director and an actor in the condensed production reveal his manipulative nature and his dire motivation to avenge his father’s death. In order to fulfill the wishes of his late father’s ghost, Hamlet must mislead the Danish court while he attempts to expose the truth. The play has already been marred with deception, as Hamlet has struggled to overcome the corruption of the Danish court as well as Claudius’ murder of his father and subsequent marriage to his mother. Additionally, Hamlet suspects his mother and stepfather’s devious operations when they send his childhood friends

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to blatantly spy on him. Hamlet is quick to channel the deception against him into a likewise means of achieving what he desperately covets: to heed the orders of his late father’s ghost and chastise his uncle Claudius. To do this, Hamlet employs an “antic disposition” (1.5.173) to preoccupy others, in his effort to “catch the conscience of the King” (2.2.634). Like aforementioned to his friend Horatio, Hamlet’s bizarre actions are not coincidental- he deems his insanity necessary to right the wrong of his father’s murder. For instance, his crazed love letter to Ophelia which conveniently falls in the hands of Polonius, a confidant of Claudius, confirms Polonius’ belief of Hamlet’s lunacy. He proceeds to assure Polonius of his madness by interrupting him and mocking him (2.2.416-419). Furthermore, Hamlet’s dexterity as a director is evident in his soliloquy where he plans to have the acting company perform a rendition of The Murder of Gonzaga in order to expose Claudius into confessing Old Hamlet’s murder. He orchestrates his own performance by “[having] these players / Play something like the murder of my father / Before mine uncle” (2.2.623-625). Hamlet’s attempt to deceive everyone by posing as both a director of affairs and an actor in his own master plan draw attention away from his scheme to surface Claudius’ lies without making him seem like a threat to his uncle's rule.