Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2 Summary

The King and Queen enter with two of Hamlet’s friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who he requests to observe Hamlet. They reluctantly except knowing that they dont really have a choice. They leave and Polonius enters with a theory as to why Hamlet has become mad. He believes that Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is the reason he has gone to madness, and he conducts a plan to prove this. He plans to release Ophelia onto Hamlet whilst Polonius, the King and the Queen watched on the sidelines. Voltemand comes from Norway to tell the King that the King of Norway managed to restrain young Fortinbras from invading Denmark and instead he is invading Poland. He also came with a request for them to pass through Denmark on their way to Poland. The king vaguely agrees and brushes the letter to the side. Hampet and Polonius then progress to have a brief conversation where Hamlet repeatedly mocked Polonius. Polonius leaves and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter. They try to lie to Hamlet about their intentions but he quickly decodes the truth. After a lengthy conversation about Denmark the players then enter the scene along with Polonius. Hamlet then tests one of the players by getting him to recite some a speech from a play about the legend of Troy. He then asks the players to put on a performance of Gongazo with an extra speech added by Hamlet tomorrow night. Hamlet schemes to create an enactment of Claudius’s crimes.