In Hamlet and 1 Henry IV are examples of Shakespeare including acting in the text as a central theme. Hamlet certainly shows us his acting talent throughout the play, but there is a more obvious preference for acting in the scene where Hamlet enacts his father's death in front of King Claudius. In 1 Henry IV the signs of Shakespeare's view that acting and governing are inseparable things are more ordinary and yet more substantial. The signs are more ordinary because Hal doesn't go so far as to put up a play in the room. But the signs are more substantial because each scene in which Hal appears demonstrates the skill of acting applied to everyday situations. Both Hamlet and Hal share two common traits: they are both princes, and they both use theater as a means to achieve their desires. I think Shakespeare makes a profound statement about leaders and doers. Managers and players alike have the difficult task of convincing their observers that they are other than they are. Because of this relationship between players and leaders, roles are often mixed, for example, leaders often behave like players and players often embody the role of leaders. Convincingly, Shakespeare demonstrates how skill in government and skill in acting are integrally linked and completely inseparable. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hamlet's reliance on theater confirms the connection between acting and governing. Hamlet says, "...it's the play that counts" (Ham. 2.2.604) when considering how best to expose Claudius as guilty of Hamlet Senior's murder. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, has many political and militaristic tools at his disposal. With these tools, Hamlet could consider exposing Claudius in different ways. But Hamlet chooses to rely on the gifts of the theater and those who live there: the actors. By using the players, Hamlet gains the subtle probe he needs to show the congregation a perfectly normal tragedy and, simultaneously, a perfectly real crime. It is no wonder that Hamlet chose theater as a way to show Claudius that he knows about the crime. For the assembled nobility, Hamlet's staged play reflects a stereotypical tragedy of the times, but for the few who recognize the deeper meanings of the actors' actions, the play functions as a warning. King Claudius certainly sees the deeper meanings as Hamlet wishes and comes out openly during the performance. No other tactic, whether political or militaristic, could provoke the reaction that Hamlet expects from Claudius. Hamlet knows that "it's the play that counts" because Claudius gives the precise reaction that Hamlet wants. Thus, a prince, having all the tools of government, relies instead on a tool as ambiguous as the game to achieve his objective. The tools of theater are ambiguous because drama has no single definition; Hamlet clearly exploits the ambiguity of the drama. Using the play within a play, Shakespeare demonstrates that the skills of kings and players are exceptionally similar. Hamlet relies on play to create deception, but Hal's acting talent allows him to create a mythic structure as the reformed prince returning to save England from civil war. Falstaff teaches Hal the importance of language and timing. Thanks to the valuable lessons Falstaff teaches Hal, Hal is able to manipulate everyone in the land until heactually prepares for a great moment of return to feign maturity: “I played hooky from school,... And will... Try fortune with him in a single fight” (1 Henry IV 5.1.94-100 ). Hal understands the importance of “revealing” his royal nature in the right place and at the right time. The entire congregation believes Hal's words despite his previous behavior because Hal chooses an extremely dramatic moment to stand up like a true prince. Likewise, actors deliver the most profound soliloquies and monologues during intense dramatic moments on stage. Kings and players understand the importance of timing a speech correctly in order to achieve maximum effect, for better or worse. Hal understands this idea of ​​timing, which is why he delivers his "coming-of-age speech" at a precise moment - much like the actor knows by sensing when he should deliver his lines. Hal shows the congregation that he is no longer a teenage thief; the congregation accepts Hal's words because he chooses the perfect moment to say them. Acting is essential to ruling because the training needed in acting allows a monarch (or prince in this case) to get a feel for the crowd. The mythic structure that Hal creates for himself is nothing more than an opportune stage moment. Fortunately for Hal, the congregation and audience unquestioningly accept Hal's divine right to challenge Hotspur. Hal commands the respect of the English army thanks to perfect timing. Hal knows that his true nature is not that of a thief and, likewise, although the character of Hamlet is real in the play, the actor-Hamlet is playing to an audience. Hamlet greets his mother in scene 2 in a gloomy mood: "Together will be all the forms, humors, forms of sorrow, that can truly designate me" (Ham. 1.2.82-83). Hamlet's adolescent tendency to mourn his father for an extremely long period of time presents a problem in the text. A 30 year old man should be able to emotionally deal with the loss of his father. Although Hamlet cannot internally overcome his father's death, he acts in such a way that his mother's suspicions are not aroused: "I will obey you as best I can, madam" (1.2.120). Hamlet dismisses his mother's concerns by playing the role of the obedient son. Gertrude functions as an audience in herself at this point in the play. Leading and acting require a person to constantly perform in front of an audience. The performance that Hamlet gives to his mother has a double meaning: Gertrude thinks that Hamlet is telling the truth about her obedience, but the real audience knows that Hamlet is simply saying that he will obey Gertrude in order to prevent her from bothering him any further. Hamlet has a strong sense of what it means to put on a show for the benefit of the spectators and, whether he learned it as a prince or elsewhere, Hamlet plays the role of both actor and prince in order to convince Gertrude that his greatest wish is to obey him. An interesting difference between Hamlet and Gertrude appears in the previously mentioned exchange. Hamlet does not allow himself to take anything literally; on the other hand, Gertrude accepts what she considers to be true. "So excellent a king as this Hyperion was a satyr..." (1.2.139-40). Hamlet cannot stop mourning his father, but Gertrude has already taken a new husband before the play begins. Hamlet suspects that his father did not die of natural causes while Gertrude never mentions that she once questioned Hamlet Senior's death. Hamlet can act so convincingly for his mother because Gertrude wholeheartedly accepts the things she hears and sees. A king understands that he cannot accept as truth everything he hears or sees; similarly, an actor strives to dissect a play in order to understand a deeper meaning. Hamlet is obviously the actor andthe leader of this scene. Gertrude acts as an audience would; an audience exists simply to absorb the drama as it unfolds. Both Hamlet and Hal must be able to convince others that their appearance is different from their true identities, and they are able to achieve this deception through the manipulation of language. Hamlet seems to inherently understand how to manipulate language; Hal, meanwhile, needs a teacher, so he spends time with Falstaff in order to learn everything he can about language manipulation. Hal spends most of 1 Henry IV goofing off with his companion Falstaff. Falstaff teaches Hal many valuable lessons about manipulating language; The manipulation of language is at the center of all drama. Nothing in life is quite simple, so nothing on stage is quite simple either. Falstaff teaches Hal how to perform in front of an audience with his tongue. Each actor learns to create emotional reactions through language. Hal realizes during Act 2 that he no longer needs Falstaff and dismisses him thus: "That wicked abominable deceiver of youth, Falstaff, that old Sahtan with the white beard" (1H4 2.4.262 -264). Hal no longer needs Falstaff to teach him to speak. Hal uses the lessons Falstaff taught him to finally dismiss Falstaff from his presence. Almost in the same way that a ruler would conceal his true intentions, Hal uses the lessons Falstaff teaches him to obscure his intentions. Hal calls Falstaff a "deceiver of youth" and obviously calls him "Sahtan", but Falstaff fails to see how competent Hal really is and simply asks, "Who does that mean, Your Grace?" (2.4.261). The Kings manipulate treaties and alliances with language; actors manipulate the audience and other characters with language. When Hal feels he has learned all he can from Falstaff, he dismisses him as an actor dismisses the watching audience or a king dismisses his court. Hal's dismissal differs greatly from the way Hamlet decides to dismiss Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but Hamlet depends on his position as prince and his ability to act to free himself from the problem posed by the presence of his friends. "How are you, Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good fellows, how are you two?" (Hamlet 2.2.225-226). Hamlet performs in front of his friends as if he is very happy to see them. Hamlet knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern only came to Denmark at the request of the king. Even though Hamlet calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern “good fellows,” he does not care at all about their deaths: “They are not near my conscience. Their defeat increases, by their own insinuation” (5.2.58-59). The method behind all this madness lies in Hamlet's acting talent. Without Hamlet's addiction to gambling, he would have a harder time fooling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. There are times in the play where Hamlet manipulates people almost as skillfully as Hal. Hamlet manipulates almost every character in the play into believing that he is only suffering from a bout of depression and a bit of stress-induced madness. But from the episodes with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet demonstrates that he can use the persuasive powers of play to trick people into believing his outward appearance instead of seeing through the facade to Hamlet's true feelings. At the end of Hamlet and 1 Henry IV the true motivations of the main characters are revealed in much the same way that a play reveals its true meaning at the end. Hal assumes his role as prodigal son returned to the battlefield. “As if there had been mastered a double spirit Of instantaneous teaching and learning” (1H4 5.2.64-65). Hal convinces Vernon that he has indeed., 1997. 1189-1234.