Lexie

This scene opens with King Claudius and Gertrude talking with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two men that Hamlet is good friends with. The King and Queen are sending the men to Hamlet to cheer him up from his depressed state after his father’s death and are hoping that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will be able to secretly find out what Hamlet’s problem for why he is acting insane. Next, the ambassadors that were sent to Norway to spy return; they say that Fortinbras is now going to attack Poland and not Norway. Fortinbras asks Claudius to travel his troops through Denmark to get to Poland, but King Claudius disregards the question for now because he is unsure of what to do. Next, Hamlet and Polonius meet and Hamlet acts crazy, he asks if Polonius is a fishmonger. Polonius is certain that Hamlet is mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia, and tells Claudius and Gertrude to spy with his so they can see for themselves. At the end of the scene, Hamlet decides that everyone will see the play, //The Murder of Gonzago//, and Claudius will express his guilt for killing his brother.