What is the first open reaction of Claudius to Hamlet's madness in Hamlet?

The question of Hamlet's "antic disposition," whether it
is real or feigned and what other characters in the play think of Hamlet's bizarre
behaviour is a topic that has inspired much criticism. The first glimpse we gain as to
how Claudius interprets Hamlet's behaviour is in Act II scene 2, when Claudius entreats
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to help him in discovering what is the true reason behind
Hamlet's "madness" and whether it is anything else apart from his father's
death:

readability="16">

Something have you
heard

Of Hamlet's transformation: so I call
it,

Sith nor th'exterior nor the inward
man

Resembles that it was. What should it
be

More than his father's death, that thus hath put
him

So much from th'understanding of
himself,

I cannot deem
of...

Now, how we "read" this
speech will depend a lot on how you choose to "play" or "read" the character of Claudius
in the play at large. He can be shown here to be a genuinely concerned uncle, eager to
discover what is going on with his nephew and to try and bring him back to "himself."
However, you could also play him as a deceiver, who is manipulating Rosencrantz and
Guildernstern into manipulating Hamlet to find out if in some way Hamlet has suspected
that Claudius was responsible for King Hamlet's death. Certainly, he does his best to
appear as if he were a caring uncle in this speech. Note how he does not use
the pejorative term "madness," instead using the euphemistic "transformation" to
describe Hamlet's behaviour.