Act 2 Scene 2

As one of the longest scenes in Shakespeare, its safe to say that Act 2 Scene 2 is jam packed with action. the scene starts off with Claudius and Gertrude welcoming Hamlet's old college friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Hereon referred to as R & G). They have been recruited to spy on Hamlet and discover the true reason behind his supposed madness, and Gertrude promises to reward them heavily if they do so. Polonius then enters and tells the King and Queen of Hamlet's bizarre interaction with Ophelia, and Polonius and Claudius agree to set up a meeting between the two and spy on them as it takes place. Claudius and Gertrude exit, and a conversation takes place between Polonius and Hamlet as Hamlet enters while reading a book. This is the first time we see Hamlet after he has assumed his mad demeanor, and he mocks Polonius while at the same time seeming to insult Ophelia as well. However, because he is so transfixed with Hamlet's strange behavior, Polonius doesn't seem to notice. Polonius exits and R&G enter and begin to converse with Hamlet. They exchange greetings and sexual innuendos, and Hamlet becomes serious as he comments on how he sees Denmark as a prison. He suspects that R&G have been sent by his "uncle-father and aunt-mother," and demands to hear why they have arrived to Elsinor (2.2.344-345). They admit that they were sent for to discover the root of Hamlet's melancholy, and Hamlet begin to explain how the beauty of the world means nothing to him. He is soon interrupted by the arrival of traveling players, and he insists that they perform a scene of the Trojan War. A player begins to recount the story of how Hecuba was distraught by the slaughter of her husband Priam, and he begins to cry. While Polonius (who re-entered a bit after the players) mocks the player, Hamlet is deeply affected, maybe even touched. He asks the player to perform a murder scene the next night at dinner with a speech that he wrote especially for Claudius, and he plans to see if Claudius grows uncomfortable. If he becomes distraught, Hamlet will know that he committed murder. After everyone leaves, Hamlet speaks of his own self-loathing, wondering whether or not he is a coward and wonders what he would have done if he were the player acting out the scene of Priam's murder.

The significance of this scene, I believe, lies within Hamlet's fascination with the players. He is fixated upon their ability to portray reality, and in his final speech he reveals how he wishes he could do so as well. This makes me think that Hamlet is struggling to show self-restraint as he plans how to avenge his father, and it pains him greatly to see the world go on as if nothing has happened. I also enjoy Shakespeare's shout out to the importance of acting and an actor's ability to connect with powerful stories. The great affect that they have on Hamlet mirror the affect that drama has on society. :-)

As an actor, I would LOVE to play Hamlet when he's talking crazy to Polonius. I believe that there is great room for humor and tension, and it could be played so that the audience never knows exactly what's about to happen. Hamlet is acting crazy, and he is utterly unpredictable. I love it when he says to  Guildenstern that he is "mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, [he knows] a hawk from a handsaw" (2.2.347-348). I believe that he dipped into his normal pensive habits while talking to his friends, but this is the line where he snaps back into pretending to be crazy. The line implies, however, that he still has an idea of what's really going on. Hamlet would be struck silent and would be in awe of the player's story. He's obviously deeply touched in his last soliloquy, and his reactions to the storytelling would portray this.