Scene II. A room of state in the castle.
King Claudius opens the court scene by addressing the kingdom’s mourning for his brother’s death while celebrating his marriage to Queen Gertrude. He announces diplomatic action against young Fortinbras by dispatching Cornelius and Voltimand to Norway and then turns to Laertes, granting him leave to return to France with Polonius’s approval. Claudius then turns his attention to Hamlet, chastising him for his lingering melancholy. Hamlet, in an aside, remarks that he is “a little more than kin, and less than kind” to Claudius. Gertrude urges Hamlet to abandon his mourning, warning him that all must die. Hamlet launches into a lengthy speech decrying the world’s decay and his mother’s hasty remarriage, culminating in his famous soliloquy ("O, that this too too solid flesh would melt…") where he laments his father’s death, his mother’s “incestuous sheets,” and his own existential despair.
The ghost’s appearance is then reported by Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo, who recount seeing a figure resembling King Hamlet on the battlements. Hamlet, intrigued and angry, decides he will watch the platform that night between eleven and twelve, promising to confront the specter if it appears. He orders the guards to keep silent about the sighting, pledges his love to them, and exits, leaving the other characters onstage. The scene ends with Hamlet alone, reflecting on his father’s spirit and the “foul deeds” that must be uncovered.