‘Hamlet’ as a play-within-a-play

                       ‘Hamlet’  as a play-within-a-play

Name : Radha B. Ghevariya 

Std. : M.A. SEM-1

Sub : The Renaissance Literature

Roll no : 22 

Topic :‘Hamlet’  as a play-within-a-play

Submitted to : Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English 

 Introduction

                          William Shakespeare was born in 26^th April, 1564. He was an English poet , playwright , and actor . Widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. Shakespeare produced most of his work between 1589 and 1613 . Shakespeare wrote mainly tragedies  until about 1608 . than has wrote four great tragedies like Hamlet , King lear , Othello , and Macbeth . Hamlet was one of the great tragedy . In this play the uses his famous technique of ‘play- within-a- play’. Which makes his drama effective. Here by using this it clear his doubt about his father ‘s murder. Because in the beginning Act-1 hamlet meet his father’s ghost who reveals him about the reality of his father’s murder.

                         Since that hamlet was is dilemma about the ghost’s declaration. To verify it hamlet takes  the help of players who come to perform for hamlet. But hamlet convince them to act play, named ‘ The Murder of Ganzago’  in front of Claudius and Gertrude to show their concise. Hamlet is the same , story , like ‘The Murder  of Ganzago’ . Hamlet knew it showed the poising of a person a in the same way the ghost said his father was killed. Hamlet hopes Claudius will have a strong reaction to seeing that ,which will prove cludias’s gulit.   

                

          However , hamlet in director mode , tells the actor how he wants them to perform the play . he had like it to come off naturally . which means they shouldn’t be too loud , or gesticulate too much , as bad actor often do and they should use their discretions to build up suspense with their actions and after that as everyone gets settled . Hamlet pulls Horatio aside , Horatio is a Hamlet friend and Hamlet is a very famous early example of Meta- Theater because it contains a ply-within-a-play .  

                   

          The play- within-a-play is used  by Hamlet to give him more evidence  against Claudius . Hamlet has not yet carried through with his plan to avenge his father’s death . he blames himself and believe that this inaction is cowardly . however , he also suggests perhaps to make himself feel better , that he has no concrete evidence that Claudius is guilty . the ghost may have been a ‘devil’ and not to be believed ;         

                                

“ The spirit that I have seen may be a devil : And the devil hath power t’ assume  a   Pleasing  shape”

                   Hamlet has had the fortune of knowing he needs him to watch Claudius’s reactions to the play  and during the last scene of the play killing of the king in exactly the way Claudius would have killed king Hamlet and then they can figure out whether Claudius really did killed perform  is a variant of  ‘ The murder of gonzago’  . the first scene the queen repeatedly swears to bad husband . but the king that she will never remarry .  

                                           

“She is faithful now , but she will forget all her Faithfulness as soon as she’s in    her new Husband bad , which should happen roughly  About the time her old husband   dies”   

                              

      The play ‘The murder of gonzago’ the queen it is obviously like the Gertrude but she still keepsher  cool.          

                               

        “ The lady doth protest too much , methinks”

            She tells Hamlet and Hamlet  says the play called ‘The mouse trap’ and they a wicked peeve of work but wouldn’t brother anybody with a clean conscience  the play ‘Hamlet’ is the husband king is taking a nap when his nephew sneaks in and pours poison in his ear exactly what   Claudius died hamlet dismisses everyone to have a little soliloquy  about what’s going on in the dark corners of his mind the time when.                                           

“ Churchyards yawn and hell itself out  Contagion to this world”

               So , in hamlet the uses play-within - a -play technique to which Hamlet gives the title ‘the mouse trap’ . one of the most interesting plot device in hamlet is play - within - a - play. Then, the play he believe will prove his uncle’s  guilt for the murder of the king . the play  - within - a - play has been re - imaged in hundred of ways in various production of  Hamlet . in the text a queen Gertrude and king speak to each other with many professions of love ; the queen argues that should her husband ever die . she would be as bad as his killer to marry again and Hamlet uses the play to observe his uncle’s reaction.

Hamlet’s motive in staging a play
                     

                          In act-2 , scene-2 Hamlet conceives the plan of a play called ‘ The murder of gonzago’ and invite the king and the queen beside the courtiers . too see it . his motive in stage this play is to set a verification of the story of his father’s murder  as narrated to him by the ghost. In the soliloquy with which this scene closes Hamlet bitterly scolds himself for his delay in executing his revenge  but it occurs to him that the ghost he has seen might be the devil disguise and that the devil might have tried to  tempthim to commit an  evil deed by telling him a falsehood pertaining to his father’s death.                         

                                                 

  “ The spirit that I have seen may be the devil   And the devil hath power assume a pleasing   Shape yea and perhaps out of may weakness  And my melancholy as he  is very potent with   Such spirit abuses me to olumn me”                                                                                           ( ACT-2 , SCENE - 2 )       

Immediately after hamlet speaks with the  ghost and he tells about horatio , marcells and bernaldo

.                                   “ It is an honest ghost that let me tell you”  

                    

               Hamlet dos not believe his father’s ghost but  if he want into Claudius and told him that he  from a ghost that he is a murderer and after that hamlet meets the players and is alone and than  realize that he can have the actor play the scene of how is father was killed to see how it is performed and than Claudius guilt. And hamlet realize his father murder own uncle Claudius and his moth.       

              

             However, it is really not hamlet’s doubt about the ghost’s honesty or ambition that hinders his inaction to kill Claudius , but his inability to justify himself becoming a murderer and then finding the right opportunity to carry out the task . hamlet is young man and king of Denmark . it is a lot of ask for him to kill Claudius and live his mother Gertrude and to the judgement of god. Than , reason that motivates hamlet to have the players act out the murder scene isn’t really clear . but the end result is certainly effective enough to keep hamlet on the path to keep hamlet on the path of revenge.

 Horatio assistance needed  by hamlet

               In act-3 , scene - 2 hamlet seeks assistance of horatio . whom he had already taken into confidence regarding the secrete  that revealed to him by the ghost hamlet ask horatio to watch the kings take in the play ‘ the murder of gonzago’ . in the first two scene of act -3 . hamlet and Claudius both devices trap to catch one another’s secrete Claudius if hamlet to discovers the true nature of his madness and hamlet attempt ‘catch the conscience of the king” in the theatre ( act-3 , scene - 1 , 582)        

              

              The play - within - a - play  hamlet is the story of gonzago . gonzago is the duke of Vienna , and his wife bapista ,and bapista marries his murdering nephew lucianus . hamlet  believes in the  play is an more opportunity to establish a more realible for Claudius’s guilt than the  claims of the ghost . than the Claudius is guilty by reading his behaviour for sings of a psychological state of guilt. However , Claudius does not react to the dumbshow , which  exactly mimics the action of which the ghost aceuses Claudius than the ewact to the play itself which unlike dumbshow than makes   it clear that the king murdered by nephew . after that Claudius react being different with his own crimes  or to a play about the uncle killing and sponsored by his crazy  nephew ?        

            

           He even expresses admiration and affection for horatio’s clam  level headness the luck of which is his own weakest point;       

                              

“ Give me that man that is not passion’ slave  And I will wear him in my heart’s core , an in My heart of heart as I do  thee”                                                                                               ( act - 3 ,scene - 2 , 64 -) 67 )   

                                                    

                   Ihis  scene he clear and prove that he is not insance all and effortless with which he afternates between wild , erretic behaviour and focused the scene behaviour . the play ‘ the murder of gonzago’ and let him know after words the conclusion he comes to ;          

      

“ Give him needful note for I mine eyes will  Rivet to his face and after we will both our  Judgments join in censure of his seeming”                                                               ( act - 3 , scene - 2 )     

            

                      Horatio is hamlet’s closest friend and in act -3 , scene - 2 the  audience can see why because hamlet describes the best  qualities he see is in horatio. First hamlet  admires that horatio doesn’t allow himself to be broken down by the bad fortune . the horatio has experiences bad fortune as we all do he accept both good and Bad fortunewithout allowing himself to experience extreme unbridled emotion .

                                           “ Thou hast been as one in suffering all ,   That suffers nothing ; a man that fortune’s    Buffets and rewards hust ta ‘en with equal thanks”

 The king’s crime confirmed by his reaction to the play

            Claudius watching for a second time the re - enactment of his crime , is at breaking point and when hamlet  makes the  following comment ;

                                                                         “ You shall see anon how the murder gets the    Murder  gets the love of gonzago’s wife” 

                   

                        Hamlet has been informed of his father’s murder b a ghost  and then he devices this big scheme of confirming the king’s guilt  by staging a play mimicking the murder of king hamlet and hamlet was keeps thinking , confirming and planning but does nothing and hamlet told that the king of ghost and has had something Leartes  poison the sword that he had wounded hamlet with and hamlet’s father murder and incites  him to kill Claudius . however , the fact that he knew Claudius had planned his murder  we can still not say that he finally arranged his  father’s death . after  that his father  death and his mother Gertrude marry with own uncle Claudius . than  father’s death hasn’t caused him as much pain as his mother’s  incestuous relationship with Claudius.   

                                     

             Hamlet himself does not exactly know that his problem is he keeps deluding himself with all keeps deluding himself  with all kinds of excauses……….the second scene of the play makes it clear that it is the clear weak and corrupt condition of Denmark and then  the beginning of the play . hamlet  has had suspence which are gradually confirmed as the plot develops that claudius has exerted a very evil upon the country.  The king rises hamlet’s behaviour  must have struck all the courtiers witnessing the play . as untroubled . they must have clearly seen the resemblance between some of the events of the play  and the   familiar facts of his father’s  death and his mother’s remarriage . when hamlet shows the  expression of the claudius face he got confirmation  of the ghost’s story.

     Hamlet’s failure to take promett action
                                          

       It was clear to the play  that Claudius  murdered the king but  also hamlet fail to take a decision . if that uncertainty is over hamlet ought promptly now to  promptly now to proceed to his revenge . In a soliloquy at the end of this scene hamlet  expresses his mood of fury saying ;

“ Now could I  drink hat blood  and do such   Better business  a the day would quake t  Look  on”  

 (act - 3 , scene -2)                                                

               Hamlet tries  to kill Claudius three times . hamlet gets  to potentially kill  Claudius . sometimes when hamlet he could potentially pull a knife and just stab him to death they of course. Hamlet knows Claudius is the murder for   his father. Hamlet has an undoubted chance to kill cladius;                           

“ Now might I do it put,   Now he is praying ; And now I ‘ll dot”                                                               

( Act -3 , scene – 3)                                     

               Hamlet also talks himself out of it , and  after that , at which he sees Claudius  he could kill him. But the graveyard scene the “ where is polonius?” and by mistake he does eventually kill him

Conclusion :-    

                                             

The play - within - a- play  is the action occur in the play ‘ Hamlet’ . hamlet  the hero of the play uses this tendency  to confusion about his father’s murder . though the play he was confirm that his father’s murder was done by his uncle  Claudius and his mother Gertrude.

                                   “ The character of hamlet stands quite by itself  It is not a character marked by  strength of Will or even of passion but by refinement  of Thought and sentime………………”                                                                                    -        Hazlitt