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Structure of Shakespeare's Hamlet

ShakespeareÆs tragedy Hamlet is structured in five acts, each of the acts serving a different purpose thematically. In A Structural Breakdown of Hamlet, the author argues the playÆs five acts follow the following order: exposition, the main conflict, rising action, climax, falling action and catastrophe (Structural 2003, 1-2). The different acts overlap with respect to these categories. For example, the falling action category encompasses the end of Act III, Act IV and the beginning of Act V. However, the climax of the play encompasses only Act III, Scene ii, in which the play The Mousetrap illustrates to Hamlet that Claudius is in deed the murderer of his father. In explaining the play, Hamlet is accusing Claudius, particularly now that his reaction has convinced Hamlet he has murdered his father, ôHe poisonÆs him IÆ the garden forÆs / estate. His nameÆs Gonzago: the story is / extant, and writ in choice Italian: you shall / see anon how the murderer gets the love of / GonzagoÆs wifeö (Shakespeare 1975, 1092).

The climax of the play might be considered Act V, Scene ii, in which all of the main characters of the play are killed. Gertrude dies when the poisoned wine Claudius meant for Hamlet is drunk by her. Hamlet is killed when the poisoned sword used by Laertes finds its mark. Claudius is killed by HamletÆs strike with the poisoned sword and from Hamlet forcing him to drink the poisoned wine. However, the structure of Hamlet makes Act III, Scene ii, represent the true climax of the play. This is because in Act III, Scene ii, Hamlet becomes convinced of ClaudiusÆ guilt. Up until this point he was not sure whether the ghost of his father and his thoughts had been mere visions or worse, reality. As he tells Horatio, ôObserve mine uncle: if his occulted guilt / Do not itself unkennel in one speech, / It is a damned ghost that we have seen; / And my imaginations are as foul / As VulcanÆs stithyö (Shakespeare...

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Structure of Shakespeare's Hamlet. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 15:58, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1711646.html