Act 3

Scene 1:

1. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to Polonius?

Hamlet knows that his friends are spying on him so he won’t actually tell them the truth. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Polonius that Hamlet admits that he feels confused, but refuses to say why. They tell Polonius that Hamlet’s completely avoiding the question as to why he’s acting crazy – he’s dancing around it. 

2. How does Claudius react when Polonius says, "…with devotion's visage, And pious action we do sugar o'er/ The devil himself"?

Polonius is talking to Ophelia and telling her to read the bible so it looks normal that she’s alone. He says that people tend to act faithful in order to hide their mistakes or wrongdoings. This causes Claudius to feel guilty for killing the old King Hamlet.

3. What plan do Polonius, Claudius and Ophelia now put into action?

They want Ophelia to test Hamlet’s love by insulting him when she returns his love letters. Polonius and Claudius want to spy and listen to their conversation and see his reaction.

4. What is the nature of Hamlet's soliloquy, lines 57-91?

It discusses inaction, the good and bad sides of it, whether or not to stay that way or actually take action. He weighs the grief of killing Claudius to the duty he has to avenge his father’s death, and the affects that each would have on him. It’s really about making the choice between life and death. 

5. What is Hamlet's main argument against suicide?

He questions the afterlife, but seems to be afraid of it because he’s not sure what to expect, he doesn’t know "what dreams may come.” He believes that suicide is uncourageous.

6. Why does Hamlet treat Ophelia as cruelly as he does? What has changed him?

He was upset with her because she tried to return the letters, but when she lied to him straight in the face he became enraged. He treats her as cruelly as he does because he can no longer trust her, and she was one of the only ones left that he could. This is a huge push off the side of his sanity, he has lost everyone; his father, mother, his uncle, his friends, and now Ophelia.

7. What thinly veiled threat to Claudius does Hamlet voice, after he becomes of his hidden presence? (lines 148-150)

Hamlet warns Claudius that his marriage will be destroyed because Hamlet will kill him, and his mother will live. "Those that are married already-all but one -shall live; the rest shall keep as they are." Everyone else’s marriages will be left alone… also, except for Ophelia’s who he condemned to end up in a nunnery.

8. At the end of this scene, what does the King decide to do with Hamlet?

The king decides to send Hamlet to England to collect tribute and get his head back on straight. He wants something to distract him and keep him from going any madder. He is also afraid of what Hamlet may know, and what he could do to him and the kingdom.

Scene 2:

9. What qualities in Horatio cause Hamlet to enlist his assistance?

Horatio is a good friend, smart, reasonable, and loyal. He accepts everything in life in a calmly manner, and is grateful for both the good and bad. He thinks that Horatio can fully control his emotions. He is the only person he has left to trust.

10. What does Hamlet ask Horatio to do?

Hamlet asks Horatio to spy on Claudius during the opening scene of Mousetrap to see how he reacts to it. He wants to figure out if he has been going crazy for nothing and just wasting his time. He needs a second opinion.

11. Summarize what happens in the play-within-a-play.

In the play-within-a-play, a man is poisoned and his lover marries the killer. The killer’s nephew then says he’s going to seek revenge against the murderer. Hamlet as obscene and attracts attention by being loud. Claudius gets upset and embarrassed so he leaves.

12. Why, in line 233, does Hamlet refer to the play-within-a-play as "The Mouse-trap"?

It’s a mousetrap because he’s going to CATCH Cladius, eh hem, a mouse... or more probable in this case, a RAT, in his unholy deed! He wants the play to make Claudius react in a way that proves that he actually did kill his father.

13. What is the King's reaction to the play?

The king comes across very guilty and uneasy during the play, and then he eventually storms out of the theater because he ‘needs air’……. riiiigggghhhhtt!


14. In lines 354-363, to what object does Hamlet compare himself? Why?

He compares himself to a recorder or a flute. He asks Guildenstern to play it, but he doesn’t know how or how to find the rhythm to play it. Hamlet compares the way his friends play him to how simple it is to play a flute – they were able to know exactly how to play him, but they couldn’t produce music from a small instrument. He asked them if they thought he was easier to manipulate than a pipe. Hamlet says that they can’t play him like a flute because he’s too smart.

15. As Hamlet goes to his mother at the end of this scene, what does he admonish himself to do?

“I will speak daggers to her but use none. “ He wants to be cruel, but not inhuman. He doesn’t want to be like Nero who killed his mother, even though he does hate his mother very much. He just wants to hurt her by using words.