RALPH:  For me what’s so great about this scene is that Shakespeare develops a human, almost sympathetic side of Claudius.

SARAH:  He’s definitely not the stereotypical arch villain; he’s ambitious, competent, truly in love with Gertrude, and somehow capable of rationalizing his terrible crime.

RALPH:  Shakespeare perfectly captures his incongruous mental state, where he recognizes the sinfulness of his action but at the same time can’t quite condemn himself for it.

SARAH:  What I love about this scene is its dramatic brilliance. Look at what’s happening:  Hamlet’s standing over a kneeling Claudius with sword paused, ready to strike a mortal blow while Hamlet ponders the consequences of killing his enemy. This calls to mind the image of the Greek warrior Pyrrhus re-enacted by the traveling actor, in Act 2 scene 2.

RALPH:  That’s a great parallel, Sarah.  Pyrrhus’ image is frozen in time by a burst of flames from the collapsing walls of Troy as he towers over old King Priam, sword high in the air, poised to take revenge for a dead father.

SARAH:  But of course, in the Greek story, Pyrrhus strikes, whereas Hamlet quietly sheaths his sword. The tension resides and the irony sinks in – Hamlet could have followed the example of Pyrrhus and obtained the perfect revenge, but he decides to wait.

RALPH:  There’s also the wonderfully dramatic moment at the end, when Claudius gets up from his failed prayer.  Once we see that Claudius was not actually able to put his heart into it, we know that Hamlet missed the perfect opportunity to kill him.

SARAH:  It’s at this moment, I think, that we start to sense there will be larger forces at work in the conclusion of this story than the just the psychological struggles of the black prince, as Hamlet is sometimes called, and the pathetic soul of the fratricidal king.

RALPH:  And, as always, there’s plenty to decide for yourself.  Are we to feel a little sympathy here for Claudius, who at least knows he’s done wrong? Or, on the contrary, does he become more despicable now that you’ve heard him confess his own guilt?

SARAH:  Did Hamlet miss a perfect opportunity for vengeance, or would the vengeance be incomplete – or even not vengeance at all  -- if Claudius died while praying for forgiveness?

RALPH:  I have to say, on that one, Hamlet disappointed me a little.

SARAH:  How’s that, Ralph?

RALPH:  I mean really – the guy who killed your dad is sitting right in front of you, practically begging to be killed.  It’s time to just do it.

SARAH:  Just do it – that’s your advice for Hamlet…

RALPH:  Well, yeah.  And any decent Hollywood movie would end it right here, though Claudius and Hamlet would probably have to fight it out for a few minutes.

SARAH:  Hollywood movie?  Just do it?  How American of you.

RALPH:  Thanks, Sarah!