Act+II

Guiding questions for Act II

• Watch how the spying and lying start to take over the Danish court. – Polonious and Reynaldo set the scene

• Elizabethan ideas – Morally and physically frail • Eve – Unable to think with reason – Ideal woman • Virgin Mary – Completely dependent upon God – Women obedient to fathers, husbands, clergy How do Gertrude’s or Ophelia’s real or perceived “frailty” affect events?

– Some dangerous games begin to unravel = =

=== • What role do Rosencratz and Guildenstern play? • Is Polonious as smart as he thinks he is Does Hamlet really understand the game? ===