# Scene II explained — Hamlet

> Chapter companion for Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

## What happens

In a state room, King Claudius addresses the court about his recent marriage to Gertrude and dispatches ambassadors to Norway to curb Fortinbras's aggression. He grants Laertes permission to return to France. Hamlet, still mourning his father, is urged to stay in Denmark. After the court exits, Hamlet delivers a soliloquy expressing his despair and disgust at his mother's hasty remarriage. Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo inform Hamlet of the ghostly apparition resembling his father, and Hamlet resolves to watch for it that night.

## Themes in this chapter

### Appearance vs. Reality

Hamlet distinguishes between outward shows of grief and true inner feeling, while Claudius presents a facade of unity and mourning.

### Madness and Melancholy

Hamlet's deep melancholy and despair are evident in his soliloquy, foreshadowing his later feigned madness.

### Mortality and the Afterlife

Hamlet contemplates death and the afterlife, wishing his flesh would melt and considering self-slaughter.

### Deception and Spying

The ghost's appearance and the watchmen's secret report introduce an atmosphere of hidden truths and surveillance.

## Character check-ins

### Hamlet

Grieves deeply for his father and expresses disgust at his mother's remarriage; learns of the ghost and plans to watch for it.

### King Claudius

Delivers a speech justifying his marriage, dispatches ambassadors to Norway, and grants Laertes leave to return to France.

### Queen Gertrude

Urges Hamlet to cast off his mourning and accept the new marriage.

### Laertes

Requests and receives permission from the King to return to France.

### Polonius

Confirms Laertes's request to go to France, having given his reluctant consent.

### Horatio

Arrives from Wittenberg and tells Hamlet about the ghostly apparition.

### Marcellus

Accompanies Horatio and Bernardo to inform Hamlet of the ghost.

### Bernardo

One of the watchmen who witnessed the ghost and reports it to Hamlet.

## Key lines

> O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!

Hamlet wishes his body would dissolve into nothingness.

_Expresses his profound despair and desire to escape his grief._

> Frailty, thy name is woman!

Hamlet declares that women are inherently weak.

_Reflects his bitterness toward his mother's quick remarriage._

> But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings and the suits of woe.

Hamlet insists his true grief is internal and cannot be expressed by outward appearances.

_Highlights the theme of appearance versus reality._

> My father's spirit in arms! all is not well; I doubt some foul play.

Hamlet suspects that his father's ghost appearing in armor indicates something sinister.

_Sets up the central mystery and Hamlet's quest for truth._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hamlet_se/chapters/act-i-scene-ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hamlet_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hamlet_se/chapters