SOURCE

Alvin Kernan

The Playwright as Magician. New Haven:

Yale University Press, 1979. pp.102-103.

From time to time this submerged or latent theater in Hamlet

becomes almost overt. It is close to the surface in Hamlet's

pretense of madness, the "antic disposition" he puts on to

protect himself and prevent his antagonists from plucking out

the heart of his mystery. It is even closer to the surface when

Hamlet enters his mother's room and holds up, side by side,

the pictures of the two kings, Old Hamlet and Claudius, and

proceeds to describe for her the true nature of the choice she

has made, presenting truth by means of a show. Similarly,

when he leaps into the open grave at Ophelia's funeral,

ranting in high heroic terms, he is acting out for Laertes, and

perhaps for himself as well, the folly of excessive,

melodramatic expressions of grief.

WRITER 1’S USE

Almost all of Shakespeare's Hamlet can be understood as a play about acting and the theater. For example, there is Hamlet's pretense of madness, the "antic disposition" that he puts on to protect himself and prevent his antagonists from plucking out the heart of his mystery. When Hamlet enters his mother’s room, he holds up, side by side, the pictures of the two kings, Old Hamlet and Claudius, and proceeds to describe for her the true nature of the choice she has made, presenting truth by means of a show. Similarly, when he leaps into the open grave at Ophelia's funeral, ranting in high heroic terms, he is acting out for Laertes, and perhaps for himself as well, the folly of excessive, melodramatic expressions of grief.

WRITER 2’S USE

Almost all of Shakespeare's Hamlet can be understood as a play about acting and the theater. For example, in Act 1, Hamlet adopts a pretense of madness that he uses to protect himself and prevent his antagonists from discovering his mission to revenge his father's murder. He also presents truth by means of a show when he compares the portraits of Gertrude's two husbands in order to describe for her the true nature of the choice she has made. And when he leaps in Ophelia's open grave ranting in high heroic terms, Hamlet is acting out the folly of excessive, melodramatic expressions of grief.

WRITER 3’S USE

Almost all of Shakespeare's Hamlet can be understood as a play about acting and the theater. For example, in Act 1, Hamlet pretends to be insane in order to make sure his enemies do not discover his mission to revenge his father's murder. The theme is even more obvious when Hamlet compares the pictures of his mother's two husbands to show her what a bad choice she has made, using their images to reveal the truth. Also, when he jumps into Ophelia's grave, hurling his challenge to Laertes, Hamlet demonstrates the foolishness of exaggerated expressions of emotion.