Critics traditionally regard Scene 2 as more of a glimpse into Shakespeare's theatrical world than insight into Hamlet. Indeed, the first 50 lines do relate how Shakespeare interpreted an actor's job, and what he expected of his actors. We know that he advocated a natural style of acting rather than the declamatory style — a style of acting in which players use large gestures such as "sawing the air" and exagerrated motion in conjunction with consistently loud line readings. We also know that he advocated that actors take their direction from the script.
In addition to a primer on acting, however, Scene 2 reveals a great deal about Hamlet's psycho-emotional makeup. Still imprisoned by words and surrounded by staging, acting, and seeming, Hamlet now directs his own world, if only for a moment. Ensuring that the play be "as 't were the mirror up to nature" is critical so that Claudius will not miss seeing his own reflection in the Player King's murderous nephew. Were the actors to fail to "suit the actor to the word," were they "too tame" or too cruel, then Claudius might dismiss the tragedy as mere melodrama. The "whirlwind of passion" would negate true feeling, and Claudius' conscience would miss its examination.
