Hamlet Act 2

1)   What does Polonius tell Reynaldo in the opening of Act II? How does he plan to trap his son?

-Polonius instructs Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. To get info he wants Reynaldo to spread untrue rumors about Laertes to discover whether people agree with the falsities or not.

2) What does this say about Polonius?

-He is foolish, paranoid, and into espionage. Firstly, this could contribute to a bad image of Laertes, which reflects on the family name. By the constant attempt to spy, it is easy to infer that Polonius is paranoid about everyone and everything.

3) What particularly in Act II scene 1 has disturbed Ophelia?

-Hamlet grabs Ophelia’s arm and acts like a loon. Plus, he is very disheveled and dirty which further enhances the alarm Ophelia feels.

4) Why have Rosencrantez and Guildenstern been sent to Denmark?

-They have been called by the King and Queen to figure out why exactly Hamlet is mourning so heavily plus to decipher if he has anything planned or is scheming against the crown.

5) What does Hamlet ask the players to recite? How does the allusion mimic Hamlet’s position?
            -The story of Aeneas killing Pyrrhus in front of Pyrrhus’s wife Hecuba. It is from Hecuba’s viewpoint the tale is spoken. The killing was done in revenge for Aneas’ father who was slayed by Pyrrhus. This detail is quite relevant to Hamlet because he is seeking revenge for old King Hamlet’s untimely demise.

Identify the following speaker of the following lines and discuss to whom the lines are being delivered, and what the lines mean?

6) “No, my lord, but as you did command/ I did repel his letter, and denied his access to me”

-Ophelia: She is reporting to her father that Hamlet approached her, after she had rebuffed his advances and letters. Ophelia is making sure she is on her father’s good side by obeying him.

7) “More matter less art”

-Gertrude: Gertrude is telling Polonius to get on with his explanation of Hamlet’s actions because it is taking forever to reach a point by employing flowery language.

8) “That I, the son of a dear father murdered,/ Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell/ Must like a whore unpack my heart with words,

            -Hamlet: These lines are spoken to no one (a soliloquy). Hamlet is planning to trick Claudius into unveiling his true emotions and plans to ensure he is guilty before physically killing the new King. A prostitute would, according to Hamlet, sweet talk people into letting go of their money via emotions. Hamlet has a different goal, but the idea is the same.

9) “Your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth/ And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,/ with windlasses and with assays of bias,/ By directions find directions out.”

            -Polonius: The foolish father Polonius is instructing Reynaldo on how to gather information while spying on Laertes. He tells Reynaldo to say lies about Laertes to see which of them is true and which denied.

10) “For if the sun breeds maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion-Have you a daughter?”

            -Hamlet: Hamlet is pretending to not to know who Polonius is or that he is Ophelia’s father. The protagonist is saying the sun can be a force for good or evil. It is an implies self-directed metaphor for Hamlet being the sun, which is usually a good comparison, but it can also make things rot.

11) List three metaphors (1 direct, 1 implied, 1 extended) from the play.

            -Direct: Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth.

            -Implied: O Jephthah, judge of Israel, wha a treasure hadst though?

-Extended: The Garden of Eden is Elsinore, with characters playing different parts of the nature. Hamlet is the sun, Ophelia is a flower, Claudius is the snake and many other characters are represented.

12) What proof does Polonius have that he believe indicates Hamlet’s love for Ophelia?

            -His constant bothering of Ophelia. Plus Polonius was once deeply in love with a woman and he went to great lengths to court her.

13) Explain the quote, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” How does this relate to Hamlet.

-Nothing has morality until human assign it. Hamlet cannot objectively say for sure if the killing the old King was bad, but because he is the son of King he automatically thinks it bad.

14) What is a fishmonger?

            -A master of the brothel business. AKA a pimp.

15) Who was Jephthah?

            -A bible guy whose wife was a whore and he killed their daughter.