I think that Act III scene ii is not pivotal to Hamlet, for three different reasons. Firstly why I think this is, the situation that Hamlet has with Claudius, after Claudius has killed his father. Secondly, the audience's and Claudius' reaction to the 'mousetrap' play, performed by the actors, in which Claudius kills Hamlet"s father. Finally the third reason is the treatment Hamlet gives towards Ophelia. Hamlet until this point has been very uncertain about what to do about the situation with Claudius. Hamlet has seen the Ghost of his father who explains that Claudius...
of her father"s death at the hands of her "beloved".

As I said in the introduction I think that Act III Scene ii is non-pivotal to Hamlet, because although Hamlet has made first and only positive decision he has not done anything about it. Hamlet"s mind and dilemma throughout the play is muddled because he finds out that Claudius has killed his father but has done nothing in revenge for this. Hamlet also has trouble with Ophelia that he needs to sort out but he doesn"t and then it is to late and Ophelia ends up dead.