HAMLET ACT 3 SCENE 2
The scene that I chose to analyze in Hamlet is Act 3 Scene 2. This scene happens after Hamlet’s famous speech “to be or not to be” soliloquy. In Act 3, Scene 2, Hamlet plan traps, trying to see if king Claudius shows any guilt that would justify the ghost’s claims that he had something to do with his father’s death. In the castle hall, which has now been turned into a theater, hamlet hurry along after the actors, let them know about his plan, and quickly prepare them for the performance. After telling Horatio what he heard from the ghost, Claudius murdered his father; he asks him to keep a close eye on Claudius during the play to compare their observations of his actions afterward. Horatio concurs, explaining that if Claudius displays any remorse symptoms, he will identify them.
The play-within-a-play tells Gonzago, the Duke of Vienna, and his wife, Baptista, who marries his murdering nephew, Lucianus. The play, Hamlet believes, provides an opportunity to create a more credible basis for Claudius’ guilt than the ghost’s arguments. He seeks to decide whether Claudius is guilty by reading his actions for signs of a psychological state of guilt since he has no means of knowing whether or not to believe a member of the spirit world. Hamlet teases Ophelia with oblique sexual references throughout the play while providing a running commentary on the characters and their behavior.
I chose this scene because it plays an important role in Hamlet’s plot to determine who killed his father. After watching the scene, I believe the interpretation is consistent with mine. Act 3 Scene 1 begins with Hamlet advising the actors, telling them what they should and should not do; he essentially gives them acting advice. Considering that the actors are professionals, and having Hamlet speak to them in this manner and tell them how to do their work is bound to irritate them. They had no choice but to appear to be polite because he was royalty.
Hamlet also determines who his true friends were in this scene, as he sees right through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s betrayal and dismisses them in the most awkward manner possible. As shown by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s effortless manipulations and his candid talk with Horatio, Hamlet appears to be more in control of his actions in this scene than in the previous one. He also demonstrates admiration and affection for Horatio’s rational threshold, one of his weaknesses.
