Act II, Scene 1: Ophelia tells her father about how a half-naked, deranged-looking Hamlet barged into her room, physically assaulted her, and ran off into the night. Since we never hear anything about Polonius’ wife, we must assume that the strain of raising two children on his own has rendered him non compos mentis, as this leads him to believe that Hamlet is in love and not a booze-shattered date rapist. He decides to tell the King and Queen about it, because Ophelia’s personal life...
