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Q

In Hamlet, act 1, scene 2, which dramatic convention does Shakespeare employ most?

A

The primary use of the dramatic convention in act 1 scene 2 is the introduction of a significant conflict. Claudius states that he has married the widow of his brother, King Hamlet. It results in the protagonist’s inner turmoils that influence the plot the most.

Detailed answer:

In act 1, scene 2 of Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces a conflict into the story. Each one, either internal or external, is a vital part of any play as it creates drama. Shakespeare uses this dramatic convention to introduce one of them in Hamlet to the audience. A summary of the conflict in act 1, scene 2, is that King Claudius plans to marry Hamlet’s mother. He recently widowed her by murdering her husband and Hamlet’s father.

The critical conflict centers around the hostile relationship between the main characters and Claudius. This conflict will ultimately end with Claudius’s death near the end of the play. In act 1, scene 2, Shakespeare uses a soliloquy to reinforce the conflict. It is an act of speaking solely to oneself aloud in a play without referring to other characters.

After King Claudius announces his plan to marry Queen Gertrude, Hamlet expresses his thoughts aloud. Alone in the throne room, he delivers his famous soliloquy. It reveals to the audience the major conflict of the play that will bother the protagonist:

O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on’t! ah fie! ’tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
(Act 1, Scene 2)

Hamlet addresses his despair at his father’s death and sadness at his mother’s hasty remarrying. Act 1, scene 2 ends with him learning of a ghost haunting the castle. It’s setting up the revelation that Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father.

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IvyPanda. (2024) 'In Hamlet, act 1, scene 2, which dramatic convention does Shakespeare employ most'. 20 August.

References

IvyPanda. 2024. "In Hamlet, act 1, scene 2, which dramatic convention does Shakespeare employ most?" August 20, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/q/in-hamlet-act-1-scene-2-which-dramatic-convention-does-shakespeare-employ-most/.

1. IvyPanda. "In Hamlet, act 1, scene 2, which dramatic convention does Shakespeare employ most?" August 20, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/q/in-hamlet-act-1-scene-2-which-dramatic-convention-does-shakespeare-employ-most/.


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IvyPanda. "In Hamlet, act 1, scene 2, which dramatic convention does Shakespeare employ most?" August 20, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/q/in-hamlet-act-1-scene-2-which-dramatic-convention-does-shakespeare-employ-most/.

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