TIME+ACT+II

Act 2 scene 1 page 73 line 57 : Polonius says, "I saw him yesterday or th' other day" Act 2 scene 1 page 85 line 88 : Polonius says, "Why day is day, night night, and time is time." Act 2 scene 1 page 85 line 89 : Polonius says, "Were nothing but to waste night day, and time."

Those lines all show timeing because in the first line polonius is talking about seeing someone and doesnt know what day and not knowing what time everything takes place seems to happen a lot through out the play. The next lines from page 85 polonius is talking to the king and queen and syay things about time because he is saying he is going to be stright forward and not going to waste their time but he keeps dragging things on and thats when the queen says "more metter with less art" saying she wants him to hurry up and come out with what he is trying to say.

Jordyn Kerr

-Scene 2, page 79, lines 10-15: The King states, "I entreat you both That, being of so young days brought up with him And sith so neighbored to his youth and havior, That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court Some little time, so by your companies To draw him on to pleasures..." -Scene 2, page 79, lines 21-26: The Queen states, "If it will please you To show us so much gentry and goodwill As to expend your time with us awhile For the supply and profit of our hope, Your visitation shall receive such thanks As fits a king's remembrance." -Scene 2, page 97, lines 270-272: Hamlet states, "I will not sort you with the rest of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended."

In the lines above, all of which are spoken to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the central focus is that of time and each statement helps express how each character views the time at hand. To look particularily at the first two lines, I find it ironic that while the King describes their time as "little" while the Queen is asking them to "expend their time" with them. This gives an inside into how the King is feeling rushed and pressured by time and what's to happen soon. Then with the Queen, she seems more relaxed in her speech and gesture. As for the last line stated by Hamlet, it doesn't directly state a certain time, but I believe it definitely infers a certain time and plays into this motif. Hamlet is approached by his friends from his youth at this specific time and connects in his mind how lately he is "most dreadfully attended". To guess what he might be thinking, I feel he has connected the idea of his friends all of a sudden showing up to his present state in time. They showed up at one of the worst times and are found out by Hamlet because of it.

Melanie LaChapelle

-Scene 2, lines 60-75 Voltemand "Most fair of greetings and desires........So levied as before, against the Polack," -Scene 2, Lines 200,201 Hamlet "..; for you yourself, sir, should be as old as I am if, like a crab, you could go backward." -Scene 2, Lines 496-498 Hamlet "We'll ha't tomorrow night. You could for a nedd study a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines which I would set down and insert in't, could you not?"

The first line from Voltemand tells of a long list of accomplishments which seem to have happened overnight as it were. The travel between Denmark and old Norway seems to have been as easy as walking into a room and talking to everyone involved in a matter of minutes. When reality would place the round trip taking several months. Hamlet, in the second set of lines, is making fun of Polonius and saying that if he could age in reverse he would be as young as himself. This not only marks Polonius as old but all so the passage of time is suggested to be altered by Hamlet, in his plan to look crazy. Hamlet, in the last set, asks one of the players to memorize a speech overnight. But for the player to convey this as Hamlet would like, displaying all the passion that he himself has in this matter, would take a significant amount of time. Even the best of actors need more than one night to prepare for their parts and fit them well.

Kyle Davis