Form / Structure

Question 1

How does the comedic feature of the play link to the fact that this play uses the largest amount of prose than any of Shakespeare’s other tragedies

Answer 1

R&G, Hamlet and the gravedigger are all characters that add to the comedic value of the play through their witty jokes and jokes are often made at the expense of polonius > Shakespeare preferred to use verse when tackling more serious themes and prose when using comedy meaning that the form switches often

Question 2

How is prose and verse used to differentiate between disordered and careful speech

Answer 2

• hamlet spends a large proportion of the play acting mad and he deliberately speaks in a disordered way so uses prose
• when Ophelia goes mad at the end of the play she speaks in prose (except for her singing)