how many scenes are in act 3 of hamlet
Hamlet
Gertrude summons Hamlet to her room to demand an explanation . Meanwhile , Claudius talks to himself about the impossibility of repenting , since he still has possession of his ill - gotten goods : his brother 's crown and wife . He sinks to his knees . Hamlet , on his way to visit his mother , sneaks up behind him , but does not kill him , reasoning that killing Claudius while he is praying will send him straight to heaven while his father 's ghost is stuck in purgatory . In the queen 's bedchamber , Hamlet and Gertrude fight bitterly . Polonius , spying on the conversation from behind a tapestry , makes a noise .
Gertrude summons Hamlet to her room to demand an explanation . Meanwhile , Claudius talks to himself about the impossibility of repenting , since he still has possession of his ill - gotten goods : his brother 's crown and wife . He sinks to his knees . Hamlet , on his way to visit his mother , sneaks up behind him , but does not kill him , reasoning that killing Claudius while he is praying will send him straight to heaven while his father 's ghost is stuck in purgatory . In the queen 's bedchamber , Hamlet and Gertrude fight bitterly . Polonius , spying on the conversation from behind a tapestry , makes a noise .