1. Why have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to court? What is their relation to Hamlet? What use does Claudius have for them? Does this remind you of Polonius' use for Reynaldo? Are there any significant differences?
2. We've now had several different explanations of Hamlet's madness: love, his father's death, and that plus "our o'erhasty marriage" (note Gertrude's awareness of impropriety). Are people content with these explanations? Are you?
3. What results have come from Cornelius' and Voltemand's trip to Norway? Has Claudius' use of diplomacy rather than war been justified? What will Fortinbras be doing next? Can we expect to see him in Denmark after all? Why?
4. Refer to the scene between Hamlet and Polonius. How does Hamlet behave when he enters? Does Polonius think he is mad? Is this the way we would expect Hamlet to act after Ophelia's description in 2.1? Why does he call Polonius a fishmonger? (It may help to know that fishmongers' wives, and daughters, apparently because of the fish, were assumed to be extremely fertile and thus able to conceive easily - and thus the connection.)
5. How does Hamlet behave initially with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Is it different from the way he just acted with Polonius? How does Hamlet change when he realizes that the two were sent for by Claudius and Gertrude?
6. What connections does the content of the First Player's speech have with the play Hamlet?
7. Read Hamlet's third soliloquy carefully. How does he use the player's response to show how different his own position is? Is the comparison justified by what we have seen happen in the play? He complains that he hasn't acted on his vengeance. Why hasn't he? Why does he need the play? What will he learn from it?