Act IV Scene I, II, & III

     Throughout the whole play so far, Gertrude and Claudius (mostly Claudius) have been using Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The two men are good, long-time friends of Hamlet. However, the King and Queen have asked them to secretly figure out what has been bothering Hamlet. In other words, Claudius is basically using them and putting them to work because it is a task that he himself can not take care of. Also the King and Queen, in a way, turned Hamlet's friends against him. In simple terms, the King and Queen treat the men very poorly because they boss them around and no one likes being bossed around; plus the men are not even getting paid for their duties (4.1.34-38).

       In Scene II, Hamlet's lines become very confusing, possibly to illustrate his craziness. One of the most confusing lines in this scene is when he says, "The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body. The king is a thing-" (4.2.25-26). One would read this and think that it makes no sense at all. It sounds like a very silly statement to say. Hamlet says this when Rosencrantz is trying to force Hamlet to tell them where he hid Polonius' body. I feel like this quote is referring to a spiritual aspect. Maybe Hamlet is saying that the body is in hell now, and so would the king be if the king had died. Considering that Hamlet would have rather it had been Claudius. But, Claudius is not really in hell because he is still alive on earth. Therefore in reality, the King cannot possibly be with the body. I am not sure if that is correct, but it's just a thought. And when Hamlet says, "...The king is a thing-" (4.2.26), he does not finish his sentence until Guildenstern asks him what he means. Then Hamlet says, "Of nothing" (4.2.28). Meaning the King is nothing of importance at all.

     While all the drama between Hamlet and Claudius is taking place, the reader is trying to figure out why Hamlet even bothered to hide Polonius' body. Why would Hamlet take time to hide the body when he most likely would not even be punished for the act? Hamlet may have hid it for his mother's sake. Because he loves his mother, in spite of what she has done. He does not want her to have to deal with the grief she has for what her son has done. Or maybe Hamlet hid it to get under Claudius' skin. Because Hamlet hid the body, Claudius is going crazy trying to figure out where the body is located. Hamlet hates Claudius with a burning passion and will do anything to agitate him. We may or may not find out what the true reason behind Hamlet's madness is.