HAMLET ACT II

When reading Act II of Hamlet, I liked the whole idea of a play inside a play.  Hamlet creates the play to basically catch his uncle, the new king in his lies and secret.  Deep down I believe Hamlet truly was unsure of what the ghost had told him.  He wasn't sure if he was crazy or if he was told the truth.  I also feel as if Hamlet didn't want to confront his Uncle Claudius and be wrong.  If he was wrong then more people would think he was crazy and his uncle would be mad at him for thinking like that in the first place.  I believe that Shakespeare creates suspense in the story by adding this into the plot.

I also noticed how all of the characters are hiding something or going behind each others backs to find our information.  In the beginning of Act II King Claudius and Queen Gertrude want to find out what's wrong with Hamlet.  Instead of confronting him themselves and trying to help him they basically hire his friends to find out for them.  I think this is strange because I feel like today most parents would just talk to their children.  The fact that Hamlet is also trying to find the truth about his father's death by putting on a play shows another way the characters are hiding things or trying to gain information.

Overall I think that Act II was very suspenseful and insightful.  Shakespeare creates many different stories going on inside the basic story.  He adds to the plot and shows some of the characters true colors.  By ending the act with Hamlet's soliloquy he set's the reader up for Act III.  I also feel as if at that point in the story you don't know what to believe.  When Hamlet starts screaming he really does seem crazy but is their a method to his maddness?