In Act II, the main conflict revolves around appearance versus reality: Hamlet, still reeling from the ghost's revelation that Claudius murdered his father, must determine what is real: is the ghost really the ghost of his father and did Claudius really kill his father? Much of the conflict in the plot revolves around Hamlet's quest for the truth. In Act II, scene ii, the travelling players arrive at the castle, and Hamlet determines he will solve the problem of whether or not Claudius is a killer by staging a play that enacts a murder that imitates the murder the ghost described to Hamlet. On a deeper level, Hamlet's conflict with a world that seems to him false and "rotten" continues: he watches the deep emotion an actor exhibits while playing a scene and wonders that the man can feel so deeply about an illusion.
In Act II Hamlet comes into conflict with Gertrude and Claudius. As Hamlet becomes increasingly erratic and "mad," Gertrude and Claudius feel increasingly confused and shut out. They assume his behavior is due to his father's death and their marriage, but then learn from Polonius that Hamlet may be lovesick over Ophelia. Whatever the case, Hamlet is trying to hide what is going on in his life from their scrutiny, while they are trying to uncover what is happening.
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