Hamlet Act IV.1, IV.2, and IV.3

     Gertrude, who immediately after her confrontation with Hamlet, goes and tells her husband of what Hamlet has done, that is, killing Polonius. She goes on to tell Claudius about what happened, and he summons Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to go retrieve Hamlet, along with the body, and bring him to Claudius. Gertrude and Claudius both seem to treat Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with firmness, yet not with any rudeness or hate towards them. They are very scared for the rest of the kingdom with Hamlet roaming around; however, the Queen and King seem to treat Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with firmness and haste that is all.

     "The body is with the King, but the King is not with the body" (IV.2.27-28) means that though the King does have a physical body, he does not have a part in the kingship of Denmark, or in the political body. The kingship of Denmark belongs to one person, and that is Hamlet Sr. Who knows, maybe Hamlet is saying that he should be king, but either way, the interpretation of this quote is that though Claudius does have an actual physical body, he has absolutely no right to the kingship of Denmark.

     It's funny; yes, Hamlet did hide Polonius' body from the King, but he soon revealed to him where it he hid it (IV.3.35-37), which was under the stairs in the castle lobby. What seems to be the only reason that Hamlet hid Polonius' body is so that Hamlet could send his uncle a message that even "...a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar" (IV.3.30-31). Hamlet, it seems from the text, wants to bring Claudius as low as humanly possible without killing him just yet, and that may mean through little things such as hiding Polonius' body from him. Hamlet is very clever in many of his answers, especially to Claudius. For instance, Hamlet was asked where Polonius' body was and he replied saying that he was at supper. He began to explain that he was having supper with the worms who were eating his dead body (IV.3.16-25). Hamlet wants to bring his uncle as far down as possible so that he may experience the true pain and suffering that he deserves.