Act 3 Scene 1

1. Scene one of the third Act begins with a discussion between the King and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern discussing what they have decided after viewing Hamlet in his state of "madness." Coming to the conclusion that he protrayed a false sense of kindness to the two, the king decides they will go to the play that night to further spy on Hamlet. After the Queen has left, Polonius and the King discuss their plans to catch Hamlet in his madness with love being the source. Using Ophelia to set up the scene with a Bible in hand to disguise her sins, the King has a small aside in whith he admits to his guilty feelings that are brought out therough Polonius' idea of the Bible's masking abilities. Ophelia attempts to be sweet and cordial with Hamlet and he returns the qualities until she tries to give him back his belongings form a long lost love. Hamlet completely denies loving her and insists that she goes to a nunnery for she is a whore who should not marry. Polonius and the King decide after Hamlet's little outburst that the source of his madness is not love and the king becomes fearful of the intense soliloquy spoken by Hamlet about death and dreams.
2. The signigicance of this scene is to begin an exposure of the king's guilt; to suggest that the crimes accused of him may be true. Also, this scene proves to Ophelia, Polonius, and the King that the source of Hamlet's madness stems not from love, but possibly something much more deep and involving secrets he knows about the King. Hamlet shows great wit and control in this scene that develops him further as an intelligent young man that is not any sense of the word crazy, but yet very skilled.
4. If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell.

Hamlet speaks the above lines to Ophelia after realizing she is no longer on his side. I find his suggestion that she should marry a fool rather than a wise man for he will know she will cheat on him funny. Most of his accusations in this scene seem a bit far-fetched; however, his losing her trust evoked great emotion and he wanted to prove that loving her did not cause his so called "madness."