Discuss how the play-within-play contributes to the
development of action in Hamlet.
The play-within-play is a technical
device of the dramatist to interpret and intensify the play's governing theme.
The play within-play, The Murder of Gonzago enables Hamlet to put Claudius on
trial to catch his conscience and to determine whether he is guilty or not.
Hamlet has been entrusted with the
duty of avenging his father’s death by his father's ghost who reveals to him
King Claudius, his uncle to be his murderer. But Hamlet hesitates to execute
the command of the Ghost, because he has doubts about the veracity of the
Ghost's message. He wishes to have proof before taking revenge and allows time
to lapse. Musing over his ill fate and feigning madness.
Meanwhile some players
come to the court, Hamlet's old interest revives and he arranges the plan of
having The Murder of Gonzago played before the King and the Queen, with the
addition of a speech written py himself for the occasion.
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Polonius announces that their majesties, (the
King and the Queen) are ready to "hear this piece of work". Hamlet
then requests Horatio to observe his uncle's reaction to one particular speech.
The appointed evening arrives and while the court is assembling, Hamlet resumes
his lunatic demeanor and engages in banter with Claudius and Polonius. He
chooses to sit at Ophelia's feet rather than next to the Queen so that he could
see the King's pace clearly. Hamlet plays the role of the commentator, too.
The actual staging of the murder-play is
preceded by a dumb show which is a silent enactment of the main argument of the
play. It represents very closely the crime committed by Claudius. The dumb show
is followed by the actual play. When Lucianus, the player-kilig's nephew,
enters, Hamlet's excitement begins to grow and he urges the actor playing the
role of the murderer to get on with his speech. As the murderer pours poison
into the player-king's ear, Hamlet tells the audience that the king's name is
Gonzago, that the story is true and that soon they will see how Lucianus wins
Gonzago's wife. At this Claudius suddenly rises and cries out for light while
Polonius calls for an end to the play. Hamlet, alone with Horatio, is ecstatic
with the effect of his play and declares, he now believes the Ghost's
story. Horatio also agrees with him and
the next moment Rosencrantz and Guildenstern informs Hamlet that the King is
indisposed. Thus Claudius's guilt is confirmed.
To sum up, the 'play-within-play' has immense
dramatic significance. It serves to emphasize the fact that Hamlet is not the
hero of a traditional revenge play, because he fails to kill the king at prayer
on moral grounds even after getting confirmed of his guilt by the play-scene of
The Murder of Gonzago. The scene is important in the sense that it brings
Claudius and Hamlet to a full awareness of each other's true nature. Besides,
the "play-within-play" helps Shakespeare to reveal his own theories
of play-acting. Hamlet, who acts as the director plotting and arranging the
play, is Shakespeare's mouthpiece, through whom he expresses his ideas of
play-acting and shows his contempt for the contemporary actors.
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