The first act is an element of the exposition, this play has 5 scenes and it is quite long but very dramatic. The first scene is very dramatic and dark.

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Hamlet

In the 17th century William Shakespeare published Hamlet, it is a very apprehensive and dark play. In this piece of coursework I will be writing about why the audiences still get pleasure from watching the first act of hamlet, and how Shakespeare makes it attention-grabbing and exciting. This play is about a young man called Hamlet, whose father, has been brutally murdered by his fathers brother Claudius, and Hamlet will get revenge, in any manner. Hamlet is such a superior play it still appeals to audiences today, because of the way Shakespeare has written it. There is a lot of excitement, tension, dark and it is very interesting and audiences want to watch on as soon as they see it. There is a lot of difference between a 17th century audience and a 21st century audience, first of all in Shakespeare's time they didn't have any sophisticated special effects well in this case this play doesn't need any because Shakespeare has used such strong and effective language, and in the manner the play is set out, it doesn't need any special effects.

Secondly the play can be set out in any historical context. For example the revenge of tragedy. Thirdly, the impact, the precious and the exquisiteness of the plays language. The play stores some of the most truly memorable lines in the English language, and even the most preeminent ever lines written by anyone. These are, "something is rotten in the state of Denmark".

"To be or to not to be".

"O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain"!

"How now? A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead"!

The first act is an element of the exposition, this play has 5 scenes and it is quite long but very dramatic.

The first scene is very dramatic and dark. Bernado says, "Who's there", and then Francisco says, "I think I hear them - stand ho who is there". The tension is really building up at the start of the scene. This attracts the attention of the audience. The appearance and re-appearance is exceedingly powerful, it has a big effect on the audience therefore it makes the audience want to watch on. This makes the characters in the play petrified. At this point the ghost appears; the audience is arrested and involved. "Peace break thee off, I look it comes again", Marcellus says. This is where the audience first comes across the ghost; this makes the audience energized and wants to continue watching. The ghost disappears and enter Haratio is scepticle. "But soft behold, to where it comes again", Haratio says. At this point the ghost reappears for the first time and it is the first time Haratio has seen it. The audience is eager to see what Haratio will do; the language used here by Haratio is very apprehensive and you can tell that Haratio is frightened. In the 17th century there was no artificial lighting, so Shakespeare prepared the audience by using such powerful language. The atmosphere was tension and peculiar. The mounting tension which was done brilliantly by Shakespeare. "I think I hear them - stand ho who is there". "Nay answer me, stand and unfold yourself". It builds up the pressure and anxiety on the audience, and suddenly without all the artificial lighting they know what is about to happen. At this point of the scene the audience is eager to see Hamlet because they want to know his characteristics, and what kind of a person he is. He is the hero of the play so they want to find out how Hamlet will retort when he hears that someone has seen his father's ghost. This is a sense of expectation and anticipation.
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The second scene links with the first scene because at one stage it is very murky and creepy and on another it is very colorful, because there is a ceremony going on for the state occasion.

The audience attention is drawn back to the black - clad figure of hamlet, because of the bitter comments he makes and the skilful language he uses. "Not so, my lord; I am too much I' the sun". Here Hamlet says to the king that he has got over his fathers death. "A little more than kin, and less than ...

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