Hamlet Meta-Theatre Analysis

The idea of breaking the fourth wall is not exactly a new concept in modern times. However, in the Elizabethan era, the concept of meta-theatre was one of the first iterations of this. In a nutshell, meta-theatre describes the blurred line between the world and the stage, audience and actor, reality and illusion, seeming and being; much like the breaking of the fourth wall does today in digital media. In Hamlet, this concept of meta-theatre is depicted through Hamlet’s viewing of himself being in a play. Whereas he is truly mourning his father’s death, he views those around him as only acting that way. This is what Shakespeare is presenting to us in the passage. Hamlet accuses his mother of only seeming to be in mourning, and goes on to compare mournful traits as only being an illusion hiding away what one truly feels inside -- an idea which emerges once again later on when Polonius believes Hamlet’s unusual behaviour is due to his feelings for Ophelia. Through Shakespeare’s use of language, we can understand why …show more content…
Hamlet states that he has “that within which passeth show” (1.2.), which refers to his grief, and continues on to say “these but the . . . suits of woe” (1.2.), connecting his sense of grief with the clothing that he wears, like a costume would convey something about a character. Hamlet states, however, that his dark clothing--his costume--merely represents the surface of how he truly feels, his true grief. In saying this, he once again separates himself from those around him, implying that whereas his dark clothing can, like moans and tears, represent grief, these matters of appearance are almost not indicative at all as to how somebody truly feels on the inside. This furthers the idea of Hamlet watching a play around him, the characters merely wearing the costumes of grief, while acting