Hamlet #5

              Hamlet's soliloquy found at the end of Act II helps develop his plan to reveal the evil deed of the current King Claudius. He does so by considering the many uncontrollable aspects of true emotion. As he observes one of the players perform a scene from a passionate play, he notices how emotional the actor becomes, weeping uncontrollably. He realizes the strength of excellent acting in portraying emotion: "He would drown the stage with tears / And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, / Make mad the guilty and appall the free, / Confound the ignorant and amaze indeed / The very faculties of eyes and ears" (II.ii.589-593). Everyone is affected and made true. The falseness that Hamlet so despises is washed away with successful acting. He also notes that he has "heard/ That guilty creatures sitting at the play / Been struck so to the soul that presently / They have proclaimed their malefactions" (II.ii.617-621). Hamlet understands that the King is protected physically, but his emotional reactions are not necessarily guarded. He believes the likeness of the play to the deed of the King will reveal to all watching that he stores a dark secret.