Act Study Questions

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

He tells him to go to France and spread all sorts of rumors about his son so to see if any of them end up actually to be true, it's his way of finding out what his son is doing, he is spying on him because he is worried that he might be doing something that would embarrass Polonius. 

2) What does this say about Polonius?

He is truly only worried about what other people think of him, and he is worried that people might judge him based entirely on the actions of his children. He doesn't really care about the feelings of his children as long as his reputation is protected. 

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

She has noticed that Hamlet has gone completely insane, he is actually starting to frighten her, for example he took her wrist and held on really hard and start giving her strange looks which is something only and insane person would do. 
4) Why have Rosencrantez and Guildenstern been sent to Denmark?

The King has sent them there to spy on hamlet, and figure out why he is so depressed. 

5) What does Hamlet ask the players to recite? How does the allusion mimic Hamlet’s position?

He chooses a play from Ancient Rome which shows the murder of Gonzago. The play is about a son avenging the murder of his father, and Hamlets chooses it as a way to send a message to the king and try and get a reaction out of him in order to prove that he killed his brother. 
Identify the following speaker of the following lines and discuss to whom the lines are being delivered, and what do 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 telling her father that she did what he asked her to and sent back his letters and refused to talk or see him. 
7) “More matter less art”

The Queen; Polonius is telling her that her son has gone mad but he is taking a long time and kind of avoiding the topic, so she tells him to stop building it up and just tell her already. 
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; One of his long speeches, where he talks about his plan of revenge against his uncle, and how he is receiving messages from different things like the ghost telling him to get that revenge. 
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; This is where he tells Reynaldo to go spread lies about his son in order to find out the truth in what he is up to. 

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

Hamlet; This refers to the pun son and sun, he is the sun of Denmark, and the actual son of Denmark , and this is also where Hamlet is poking at Polonius about Ophelia just because he simply doesn't like him. 

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


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

The letter that he sent Ophelia, it was quite strange, but he still in a very weird way confessed his love for her. 

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

There is no true classification for good or bad. No one can truly say something is bad because they don't know if that was in gods plan or not. People have taken those words and used them against people when they really don't know if what they are doing is actually good or bad, and who will it benefit. Hamlet thinks of Denmark as a terrible place, much like a prison, when most other men think of Denmark as a wonderful place, but who is to know which one of them are right on whether Denmark is good or bad?

14) What is a fishmonger?

A pimp, Hamlet is making fun of Polonius because he is pimping out his daughter and telling her who she can and cannot see. 

15) Who was Jephthah?


He killed his daughter for political reasons, in order to rise up in politics, much like Polonius uses his children for political gain.