Hamlet act 2 scene 2. Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2 Translation 2022-10-20
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In Act 2, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," we see the titular character, Hamlet, interacting with a group of actors who have come to the court at Elsinore. This scene is significant because it reveals a number of important things about Hamlet's character and his relationships with others in the court.
At the beginning of the scene, Hamlet is excited to see the actors and greets them warmly. He asks them to perform a play called "The Murder of Gonzago," which he has rewritten to include a story that closely mirrors the events surrounding his own father's death. Hamlet believes that the play will serve as a "mousetrap" to expose the guilt of his uncle, Claudius, who he suspects murdered his father and took the throne.
As the scene progresses, we see Hamlet giving the actors detailed instructions on how to perform their roles, including specific lines and gestures. This reveals his intelligence and his ability to think critically and analyze a situation. He also shows his passion for theater and his creative writing skills, as he has rewritten the play to fit his needs.
We also see the complexity of Hamlet's relationships in this scene. On one hand, he is close with the actors and shows them a great deal of respect. On the other hand, he is disgusted by his uncle and mother, who he sees as complicit in his father's murder. He expresses his frustration and anger towards them, saying "O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever / The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom." This shows that Hamlet is torn between his loyalty to his family and his desire for justice.
Overall, Act 2, Scene 2 of "Hamlet" is an important scene that reveals much about Hamlet's character and his relationships with others. It shows us his intelligence, passion for theater, and the complexity of his emotional state as he navigates the events at the court of Elsinore.
Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2 Summary & Analysis
Out, out, thou strumpet, Fortune! Come, give us a taste of your quality. HAMLET In the secret parts of Fortune? POLONIUS Fare you well, my lord. After your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live. LORD POLONIUS My lord, I have news to tell you. HAMLET Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. Like Hamlet, Fortinbras is the grieving son of a dead king, a prince whose uncle inherited the throne in his place. I remember one critic commented that the play lacked spicy jokes to liven it up, and did not display any fancy language, but that it was well-done, and beautiful rather than showy.
ROSENCRANTZ Both your Majesties Might, by the sovereign power you have of us, Put your dread pleasures more into command 30 Than to entreaty. The section involving the Norwegian ambassadors develops another important contrast, this time between Hamlet and Fortinbras. Claudius asks them for the latest news from Norway. Consider this: I have a daughter— until she gets married—who in her obedience and duty to me has given me this letter. Mad let us grant him then, and now remains That we find out the cause of this effect, 110 Or, rather say, the cause of this defect, For this effect defective comes by cause. Still harping on 205 my daughter. VOLTIMAND Most fair return of greetings and desires.
GUILDENSTERN 40 Heavens make our presence and our practices Pleasant and helpful to him! But I, along with the better-informed critics, thought that it was excellent, with scenes that flowed one to the next and written in language that was clever and yet not overdone. HAMLET Nay, that follows not. And sure I am two men there are not living To whom he more adheres. Let me comply with you in this garb—lest my extent to the players, which, I tell you, must show fairly outwards, should more appear like entertainment than yours. Come on, show us a bit of your skill. Shall we to the court? What players are they? HAMLET 250 Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of her favors? I know a hawk from a handsaw: "Hawk" is the name of both a bird and a plasterer's tool.
Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light. KING O, speak of that! This is what Hamlet refuses to do. HAMLET A dream itself is but a shadow. I pray to God that your voice, like a gold coin, has not yet cracked. HAMLET I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the players; mark it. KING CLAUDIUS But how hath she Received his love? Out, out, thou strumpet Fortune! Act 2, scene 2 One speech in it I chiefly loved.
What would he do if he had the motive or reason for passion that I have? Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain! KING CLAUDIUS We will try it. All you gods should join together to take away her power—break all the spokes on her wheel of fortune, and roll it down the hill of heaven into hell. Polonius and the players leave, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern follow them out of the hall. POLONIUS What do you think of me? POLONIUS to FIRST PLAYER Tis well. In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! LORD POLONIUS Honest, my lord! What a piece of work is a man! Hamlet asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to answer him plainly, as friends, and tell him why they have returned to Elsinore. Is it your own inclining? Summary After attendants take the friends to visit Hamlet, "Old Norway," they say, has commanded Fortinbras to abandon any acts of force against Denmark. LORD POLONIUS Upon mine honour,— HAMLET Then came each actor on his ass,— LORD POLONIUS The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical- comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited: Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light.
AETLMH lIl llte uyo owysh yuo otnw hvae to tell me dan give yaaw any teecrss yuo avhe whit het gikn dan enueq. ROSENCRANTZ Then is the world one. Twas caviary to the general. HAMLET Excellent well; you are a fishmonger. We cdresos satph twhi a marad mnayopc tusj a welhi gao, dan rteeyh minocg to renentita ouy. Wecoelm, edar sennazrtRoc dan Genisrdutlne. ROSENCRANTZ I asw tsju ktingihn hatt if pepleo tnod rensttei yuo, lylou be typtre orebd by hte satrco on ihret wya ereh.
A taaioepnss ceehps, eplaes. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief: your noble son is mad. How dost thou, Guildenstern? Use them after your own honor and dignity. Come, come; nay, speak. Claudius thanks Voltemand and Cornelius for their service and sends them away, promising to read the letter, consider it, and reply. POLONIUS Not I, my lord.
HAMLET How comes it? Polonius, taking this as evidence of the prince's madness, excuses himself to go in search of Ophelia and plan a "chance" meeting. Which troupe is it? HAMLET Ay, sir; to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand. Hamlet arranges for them to perform The Murder of Gonzago in the court the following night—and to incorporate some lines he will give them. I am but mad north-north-west: i. HAMLET Oh, lies, sir.
Shakespeare's Original Hamlet Text: Act 2, Scene 2
O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Even so, my uncle-father and aunt-mother are confused. HAMLET Slanders, sir: for the satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams: all which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down, for yourself, sir, should be old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward. Pray God, your voice, like a piece of uncurrent gold, be not cracked within the ring. All you gods In general synod take away her power, Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven, As low as to the fiends! Who does me this? These two allusions say that the boy players have taken the world by storm and have taken away customers from the adult actors. ROSENCRANTZ Good my lord! MHLETA ltyuAlca, tis ton so nlausuu hwne you thkin tuoba it.
QUEEN GERTRUDE It may be, very likely. I vahe a aehgtdur I aveh hre tlinu hse segt mairedr show eginv me thsi retelt, sgdiicneonr it rhe tyud. But your news is not true. I will be faithful. ROSENCRANTZ Haply he is the second time come to them, for they say an old man is twice a child. FIRST PLAYER Soon he finds Priam vainly fighting off the Greeks.
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