Name: ________________________ Date: __________________ Eng 12
Hamlet, Act Two Study Questions
Directions: Type responses. Label/number clearly. Leave each response single-spaced, but provide a blank space between responses for ease of reading. Use complete sentences when responding; some answers may require multiple sentences of critical elaboration/discussion to be considered complete. When providing in-text documentation, use the format modeled in your Folger edition (1.1.74-78 — act, scene, line range).
Scene One
1. What is ironic about Polonius’ attempt to learn about Laertes’ life in Paris?
2. Explain how the first part of this scene (Polonius’ conversation with Reynaldo) is an example of comic relief.
3. Why does Polonius jump to the conclusion that Hamlet is mad for Ophelia’s love?
4. Consider how the episode of Hamlet in Ophelia’s closet promises to contribute to the overall calamity of the tragic plot.
Scene Two
1. How does the beginning of this scene—the conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on pages 81-83—parallel the previous scene?
2. Are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern willing spies for Claudius and Gertrude?
3. Briefly paraphrase Voltemand’s report to Claudius on page 87.
4. What is ironic about Polonius’ remark that “brevity is the soul of wit” on page 89?
5. Find and quote a line or two that suggest Gertrude is genuinely concerned for her son’s wellbeing.
6. What effect is created by the scenes between Hamlet and Polonius being in prose?
7. Identify some of the slang expressions and puns that Hamlet uses in his first exchange with Polonius and explain why each is significant.
8. What is Hamlet’s initial reaction to the appearance of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? (Look closely on page 97.)
9. What effect is achieved by Shakespeare’s using prose for Hamlet’s conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
10. Hamlet and Rosencrantz’s discussion about the players on pages 103-105 is Shakespeare’s way of commenting personally on a controversial subject in Elizabethan theatre. What is the issue, and how does Shakespeare feel about it?
12. How do Hamlet’s remarks about the child actors on page 105 (lines 368-374) contribute to our understanding of his character?
13. In soliloquy #2, pages 117-119, how is Hamlet affected by the player’s emotional rendition of Priam’s death and Hecuba’s grief?
14. How will Shakespeare use the troupe of traveling players to advance the plot in Act Three?
15. Is Hamlet feigning (faking) insanity, or is his psychological distress beyond his control? Cite lines from the text to support your discussion.