| What did Polonius ask Reynaldo to do? Why? (Act II, scene i) | He asked him to spy on Laertes; he wants to know if Laertes is having too much fun in France (“drinking, fencing, swearing, quarreling, drabbing”) |
| What did Polonius decide was the reason Hamlet has gone mad? (Act II, scene i) | He thinks Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia and she has denied him (following her father’s orders!) |
| What does Polonius decide to do to figure out what’s going on with Hamlet? Who does he pose this plan to? (Act II, scene ii) | He is going to arrange for Ophelia to “run into” Hamlet and observe his actions; Claudius and Gertrude |
| What does Gertrude think is the source for Hamlet’s madness? (Act II, scene ii) | Her fast marriage to Claudius (ew) |
| How will Hamlet “catch the conscience of the King?” (Act II, scene ii) | He will have the players reenact the murder of the king on stage and watch Claudius’s reactions to see if he seems guilty |
| Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and what are they doing at Castle Elsinore? (Act II, scene ii) | They are old school-friends of Hamlet’s; they have been summoned by the king and queen to spy on Hamlet and figure out why he is acting so strange |
| What does Hamlet figure out when he speaks with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? (Act II, scene ii) | He figures out that they have been summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to spy on him |
| Who are “the players?” (Act II, scene ii) | A travelling group of actors who have come to Elsinore to perform |
| What play does Hamlet ask the players to perform? (Act II, scene ii) | ‘The Murder of Gonzago’ |
| How does Ophelia determine that Hamlet has gone mad? (Act I, scene i) | He comes into her room while she is sewing, dressed strangely, staring at her in a crazed manner and acts in an equally strange manner |
Hamlet Act II Review
August 21, 2019