Miniature Scene In Hamlet
In act two scene two of the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare contains many mini-scenes within it. One of these miniature scenes, between lines 445 and 575, is an interaction between Hamlet, the First Player, and Polonius. This act is directed by Hamlet who wants the actors to put on a performance similar to his father’s death to see if what the ghost said was true and his uncle did kill his father. The First Player is the actor within the play and follows Hamlet’s directions because Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark and has great authority over him. The First Player hopes to get to perform in the palace, get paid, and possibly get stay the night and be served food. Polonius, who is present in this scene, is self directing in the hopes of finding
the reason for Hamlet’s madness. Untrue to character, Polonius remains very quiet during this mini-scene, while early in the play he is usually very long-winded. His reservation is due to the fact that he is trying spy on Hamlet. He stays on stage, listening to Hamlet’s conversations with others in an attempt to determine the cause of Hamlet’s madness. Almost all of the characters in the play each have their own reason for why Hamlet has become completely mad. In this mini-scene the characters who are on stage (Polonius, Hamlet, and the First Player) each have their own reason. Hamlet believes he is putting on an act of madness in order to find out the truth behind his father’s death. However he may be in self denial and truly is becoming mad. Polonius has his own theory for why Hamlet has become crazy. He believes it is because Hamlet is madly in love with his daughter Ophelia. Hamlet serves as a mirror in this scene, reflecting each character's fears. Polonius for example, says that he too had come to the point where he was so in love that he became mad. His fear is that Hamlet is so in love with his daughter Ophelia that he has become mad. He is also fearful that his daughter will not remain chaste and his theory behind Hamlet’s madness reflect both of Polonius’s fears.
the reason for Hamlet’s madness. Untrue to character, Polonius remains very quiet during this mini-scene, while early in the play he is usually very long-winded. His reservation is due to the fact that he is trying spy on Hamlet. He stays on stage, listening to Hamlet’s conversations with others in an attempt to determine the cause of Hamlet’s madness. Almost all of the characters in the play each have their own reason for why Hamlet has become completely mad. In this mini-scene the characters who are on stage (Polonius, Hamlet, and the First Player) each have their own reason. Hamlet believes he is putting on an act of madness in order to find out the truth behind his father’s death. However he may be in self denial and truly is becoming mad. Polonius has his own theory for why Hamlet has become crazy. He believes it is because Hamlet is madly in love with his daughter Ophelia. Hamlet serves as a mirror in this scene, reflecting each character's fears. Polonius for example, says that he too had come to the point where he was so in love that he became mad. His fear is that Hamlet is so in love with his daughter Ophelia that he has become mad. He is also fearful that his daughter will not remain chaste and his theory behind Hamlet’s madness reflect both of Polonius’s fears.