In this scene we see two new characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, childhood friends of Hamlets. They have been sent by the king,Claudius, to help discover why Hamlet's behaviour has changed, and to find out whether he is actually mad.
"The need we have to use you did provoke...something you have herd of Hamlets transformation"
The two men pretend to be visiting Hamlet.
This is an important part of the play, as it shows that Hamlet is getting to Claudius, worrying him, he feels threatened by Hamlet and his behaviour.
Next Polonius enters, he brings news that the ambassadors from Norway have returned and that he has found the cause of Hamlets lunacy. Naturally Claudius is more interested in the second point. Polonius exits before telling the king, Gertrude says the cause is clearly obvious,
"His father's death and our o'erhasty marriage."
This shows that Gertrude is not suspicious of Claudius.
Polonius re-enters, he reads out to the king and queen one of Hamlets love letters wrote to Ophelia. Polonius tells them he is mad and believes that his daughter is the cause,
"Your noble son is mad."
The supposed cause of Hamlets madness cold be quite relieving to hear for Claudius, as it would mean Hamlets strange behaviour has nothing to do with him.
Hamlet now enters, even more eccentric, he calls Polonius a "fishmonger." This adds humour and more evidence to Polonius that he has gone mad. As Hamlet exits he adds, so that I think Polonius can not hear,
"These tedious old fools!"
He is playing with every character.
Polonius exits, on his m=way out he meets Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, he says to them,
"You seek the lord Hamlet, there he is"
The fact that Polonius actually pointed Hamlet out, even though they are old friends suggests the extent to which Hamlets character/personality has changed. Hamlet asks them for any news, Rosencrantz say `The worlds gone honest', Hamlet reply's `then is doomsday near! But your news is not true', this is the first hint that Hamlet is suspicious of what they have to say. Hamlet questions their motives for visiting, asking why they have come to `prison', this confuses them. To Hamlet Denmark is literally a prison as he is not aloud to return to university. Hamlet asks them again why they have come,
."..what make you at Elsinor?"
At first they deny why and then finally, feeling guilty, Guildenstern admits,
"My lord we were sent for.
In act I scene ii Hamlet,his mother, and father/uncle were discussing how Hamlet should remain in Denmark and not go back to school in Wittenberg. This scene is crucial in the play because it takes the quote "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" very literal. By asking Hamlet to stay Claudius is getting the upper hand with having the ability of keeping his eye on Hamlet.The main character Hamlet is viewed as a recently become madman because of his rejected love from Ophelia. He is also seen a inexperienced prince by his stepfather, Claudius and Polonius. In Hamlet's soliloquies we can see that he disapproves of his mothers marriage to Claudius[uncle/stepfather] because she married him so soon after his fathers death.Along with
“What is the matter, my lord?” asks Polonius. Hamlet answers, “Between who?” (2.2.193-194). Tenney Davis responds to this by saying that Hamlet feigned his insanity convincingly by taking things too literally, which manifested in a desire to “split hairs” (Davis 630). Hamlet was always annoyed with Polonius and his garrulous speeches, but reacted not in an irrational way, but to the contrary, with the most simple, though rude, coherent answers.
In Hamlet, the new king Claudius is able to gain respect from the kingdom. He even steals the love of Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. The old king’s councilor, Polonius, becomes Claudius’s councilor and his best friend. He helps Claudius keep an eye on Hamlet and tries to keep him from finding out anything about his father’s death. Polonius believes that if he helps Claudius, that he can make life better for himself and for his daughter and son.
After hearing this description, Polonius assumes that only one thing could cause Hamlet to behave like this so he asks is Hamlet is “Mad for thy love?” (II, i, 94) This scene is full of beautiful language spoken b...
... of treachery and, luckily, Hamlet realizes the king’s subterfuge, crushing the plot and flipping it back on him. Claudius remains steadfast in his efforts to remove Hamlet, going so far as to set up a false fencing competition and foolishly pushing the poisoned wine without considering the suspiciousness of the action. In his short-sighted and rash decision making, Claudius shows that he allows his inflated sense of regality and self-worth to cloud his judgment.
Polonius instructs Ophelia on how to behave while he and the King are spying on Hamlet.
Oakes, Elizabeth. A. "Polonius, the Man behind the Arras: A Jungian Study. " New Essays on Hamlet.
They decided to invite some of his college friends to watch over him. The Queen offered many thanks for their decision to watch him. “For the supply and profit of our hope, / Your visitation shall receive such thanks / As fits a king’s remembrance.” (2.2.24-26). Claudius asked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get answers out of him, making them seem more like spies than helpful friends. When Hamlet shows up to Ophelia’s house, seemingly mentally disturbed, Ophelia tells her father. Polonius decides to tell the King of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship that he thinks that may be the source of his problems. The King and Polonius set up a meeting between the two. Seeming to know he is being watched, Hamlet acts very wildly, leading them to believe Ophelia was not the cause of his insanity. The King is not impressed at Polonius. “Love! His affections do not that way tend, / Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul” (3.1.170-72). At this point, Hamlet has started his drastic decline in his mental stability. When he is called by the Queen for a talk, he over hears something behind the draped curtains and stabs through it, killing Polonius. His reaction is not what one would expect, as he does not feel any remorse. Hamlet simply states it was for the best and his bad luck. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. / I took thee for thy
He also admits to his mother after he kills Polonius his lack of true insanity. While talking to his mother he says “I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft” (Act 3, Scene 4, Line 194-5). Others realize themselves that his madness may not be true, and that even if it is, he still has shred of sanity. Even Polonius catches on to his act and mentions “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Line 205-6) Polonius feels as though Hamlet’s insanity is nothing more than possibly rudeness and sarcasm, instead of genuine loss of mind.
In contrast to Laertes speculation of his father’s killer, Hamlet assumes the individual spying on his conversation with Gertrude is Claudius. “Nay, I know not. Is it the King?” (Act III Scene 4 line 28). Without thinking, Hamlet automatically thrusts out attempting to kill who he believed was Claudius and actually kills Polonius.
It scares Claudius and makes him afraid of Hamlet. * Hamlet is now sure that Claudius is the murderer, but Claudius is so worried that he sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with an order for Hamlet to be killed.
Deceit, misleading information, and spying on others can lead to their demise, intentionally or accidentally. The misleading and deceitful instances in the play are indirectly responsible for Hamlets’ death. Claudius misleads Hamlet when he shipped him off to England under the guise of a restful retreat and when he realizes that the new king has lied to not only him, but the people of Denmark about the death of the former king. Hamlets’ deceit comes from his mother, believing that she has betrayed his father’s love by not mourning for long enough after his death, and by marrying Claudius. Spying also causes problems for Hamlet down the line since it leads to the killing of Polonius, and the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Following the performance of “The Mousetrap”, Hamlet is summoned to his mother's chamber. Upon arguing with Gertrude over the intentions of his play, and his reasons for wanting to distress the king so openly, Hamlet kills Polonius. “How now? A rat? Dead for a ducat, dead (III.iv.27-28)! Perhaps Hamlet did not know whom he was killing. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! / I took thee for thy better”(III.iv.38-39)! Perhaps Hamlet thought he was killing the king.
When Polonius believes that Hamlet has gone mad, he informs Claudius and Gertrude that “[their] noble son is mad” and tells that “the very cause of Hamlet’s lunacy” is because of his abandoned love (2.2.99; 52). Then, already alert of Hamlet’s strange behavior, Claudius and Gertrude “[long] to hear” more and ask Polonius “how may [they] try it further?” (2.2.53;172). Consequently, Polonius suggests spying, and Claudius confirms his plan, as he says “we will try it” (2.2.182). Therefore, Polonius constantly spies on Hamlet throughout the play; he “looses [his] daughter” to purposely arrange an encounter between her and Hamlet and secretly listen to him behind the scene, and then further on, he again spies on him in Gertrude’s bedroom and eavesdrops on his conversation with his mother (2.2.176). Even though this Polonius’ spying might have manipulated Hamlet’s life and interfered his privacy, it was a duty he had to do as the councilor of the king and, in a way, was an inevitable act of good intuition. If he, instead, had rejected the order from the king and avoided to spy on Hamlet, that would have caused him more dishonor than what he had done. Evidently, Polonius’ spying on Hamlet was innocent and far from evil mean but was just to fulfill the King’s order. As a matter of fact, it demonstrates how good of a
We enter King Claudius’s life with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s friends and very quickly we see how the King shows his compassionate side. He asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to check on Hamlet and see if they can find out what truly afflicts Hamlet thus causing Hamlets change in behavior. On the surface what the Kings is asking of Hamlet’s friends shows genuine concern or is it a way of finding out if Hamlet suspects Claudius of any wrong doing.