Hamlet by William Shakespeare - Essay Example

In fact, the dramatists had significant meaning to convey to the audience of their dramatic productions which is much superior to the one which is conveyed to the modern readers. The dramatic productions constitute interpretations of plays, not at least when they delete a scene or scenes from play. Significantly, the dramatic productions of the Shakespeare plays go down their ultimate meaning if a single scene of the entire play is deleted from the production. This can be best illustrated by an analysis of Hamlet, one of the most popular tragedies by this master dramatist.

If ACT IV scene 4 of Hamlet, for example, is deleted from a theatrical or cinematic production of the play, it affects the overall meaning of the play. Though apparently this particular scene does little to determine the meaning of the play, it is obvious that the scene mean a lot to the appreciation of the play by the audience of the dramatic performance. Thus, the scene places Hamlet, the protagonist of the play who is in great need of revenge against his uncle, in contrast to Fortinbras who leads his Norwegians troop toward Poland in order to conquer a worthless patch of land in Poland.

The resulting soliloquy by the protagonist put across significant meaning to the audience in view of the ultimate outcome of the plot. Therefore, it is indubitable that the dramatic productions of Hamlet constitute significant interpretations of the play, not at least when they delete a scene or scenes from the play. An insightful analysis of Hamlet in terms of plot, characterization, discourse, and dramatic significance confirms that the ACT IV scene 4 of the play has a significant implication to the overall interpretation of its meaning.

If a theatrical or cinematic production of the play chooses to cut this scene, the audience cannot completely comprehend the intricacies of the plot, characterization etc. Similarly, the scene is greatly important to the entire discourse or the attempt to create verbal meaning and to achieve poetic affects. Therefore, the audience realizes the beauty of the soliloquy uttered by the protagonist with superior feeling and determination. "How all occasions do inform against me / And spur my dull revenge!

What is a man, / If his chief good and market of his time / Be but to sleep and feed a beast, no more." (Shakespeare) Shakespeare also succeeds to demonstrate his dramatic skill through his poetic language, verbal connotations, plot development and characterization in the scene. The final soliloquy in the scene exhibits the quality of poetic feeling in the Shakespearean drama, apart from confirming the development in characterization and plot. The scene, therefore, has a central value to the protagonist in framing his ultimate decision to take revenge upon his enemy.

Here, the audience experiences the building up of the character of Hamlet who, by the end of the scene, is greatly determined about his future plans of revenge. Considering the development in the plot, the ACT IV scene 4 of the play may be considered greatly important and the scene is central to the ultimate result of the plot. Fortinbras and the troop have left their homeland "for an egg-shell" and Hamlet's need for revenge is more important than this. The following soliloquy by Hamlet may be considered as the nucleus of the plot development.

This soliloquy reflects the turning point in the plot development as well as in the characterization of Hamlet. Ultimately, Hamlet realizes