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What happens in Act 4, Scene 1 of Hamlet?
Gertrude tells Claudius about the murder of Polonius, and Claudius determines that they must send Hamlet to England immediately. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent to find Hamlet.
What happens in Act 4, Scene 2 of Hamlet?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find Hamlet, but he refuses to tell them where he has hidden Polonius’s body, accusing them of being spies for Claudius.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Act 4, Scenes 1 & 2. (2-minute read)
Is Hamlet a hero?
While Hamlet is definitely the protagonist of the play, any claim that he is a hero or an idealized version of a human being becomes far harder make after he kills Polonius and then speaks and acts bizarrely, including very non-heroically hiding his corpse—first at the end of Act 3 and then when he talks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Scene 2 of Act 4.
Read about Hamlet as the protagonist of the play. (2-minute read)
Is Claudius a villain?
By any definition, Claudius is a villain in Hamlet. Not only has he murdered his brother (and assassinated the king), setting the play’s narrative into motion, but then throughout the play he continuously schemes to hold onto the power and the privileges that the murder has gained him—always doing only what’s best for himself. This devious behavior is on display in Act 4, Scene 1 as he connives and manages the crisis that Hamlet’s careless killing of Polonius has created.
Read discussions of Hamlet and Claudius as the antagonists of the play. (2-minute read)
