ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -So Hamlet devises a plan to have a troupe of actors put on a play called The Murder of Gonzago, portraying the suspected circumstances of his father’s death. Hamlet believes that a guilty reaction from Claudius will prove that Claudius murdered his father.

Detailed explanation-2: -This play-within-a-play not only helps Hamlet to judge Claudius’s guilt, but also acts as a spur for his own revenge: it shows him the murder that was done to his father and the murder that could be done to his uncle.

Detailed explanation-3: -Answer: The play-within-a-play in Act III of Hamlet represents Elizabethan drama by teaching a spiritual lesson to the characters of the play. This is a lesson to both Claudius who is now aware of the fact that Hamlet suspects him and to Hamlet, who has confirmed his doubts.

Detailed explanation-4: -The play-within-the-play always serves two functions – to comment on the events of the central narrative and to comment upon the nature of dramatic signification (often the commentary on the central narrative is channeled through the commentary on dramatic signification).