Hamlet Act II

Victoria Becker
Hamlet: Act II Commentary

If Hamlet is only pretending to be mad, as he claims, he does almost too good a job of it. His performance is so convincing that it makes me think perhaps he is a bit shaken from seeing his father's ghost. However, the keen and cutting observations he makes while supposedly insane support the view that he is only pretending. He declares, "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw". That means, he is only "mad" at certain times, and the rest of the time he knows what he is doing. But he is certainly confused and upset, and his confusion makes him appear in an intense state of mind.

Claudius is not a proper ruler. Claudius is more concerned about threats from within his own country and Hamlet than running his country. Claudius actually allows Fortibras to ride through Denmark on his way to attack Poland. To me this seems like a trick and a huge threat of the possibility that the King of Norway is trying to trick Claudius into actually allowing a hostile army into his country. Meanwhile, Hamlet is technically the future King of Denmark and he is not taking the proper action of a King either. As I was reading this on my own, I admired Hamlet's quick, sarcastic, clever responses, but now I think he is immature and doesn't think in the long term. I think Hamlet is playing games and not thinking about potentially becoming King. Ultimately, Fortibras is the ideal King in this play. He is creating strategies and attempting to conquer land. I do not know the end of this play, but I am assuming that Claudius loses his power and land to Norway.

Another thing that I thought was interesting and a little hard to follow in Act II was the "play in a play". It shows a lot of symbolism because maybe Shakespeare is trying to say that maybe real-life in certain ways is theater and acting. I think the only reason Hamlet is writing the play is to catch Claudius feeling guilty about the murder of Hamlet Sr. He actually stages the plot around how his father was murdered and he is convinced that Claudius will show some sign of guilt or disbelief when he sees this. He says: "The plays the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King". I don't feel this is a smart idea because it will cause a scene and make things worse. From the beginning, I've felt that Hamlet should just confront his problems. He should have went up to Claudius and his mother and told him what he knew. Like I said, I have a feeling how this play will end, but it makes me a little angry because it's hardly realistic.