Within Hamlet and 1 Henry IV are examples of Shakespeare including the craft of acting within the text as a central theme. Hamlet certainly shows us his skill as an actor throughout the play, but there is a more obvious preference for acting in the scene where Hamlet stages his father's death before King Claudius. In 1 Henry IV, the signs of Shakespeare's view of acting and governing as inseparable things are more ordinary and yet more substantial. The signs are more ordinary because Hal doesn't get to the point of putting on a show within a show. But the signs are more substantial because every scene Hal appears in demonstrates acting skill applied to everyday situations. Hamlet and Hal both share two common traits: they are both princes, and they both use acting as a means to achieve their desires. I think Shakespeare makes a profound statement about rulers and actors. Both rulers and players have the difficult task of convincing their observers that they are other than they are. Because of this relationship between players and rulers, roles are often mixed, for example, rulers often act like players and players often play the part of rulers. Shakespeare convincingly demonstrates how the ability to govern and the ability to play are integrally related and entirely inseparable. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Hamlet's addiction to the theater confirms the connection between playing and ruling. Hamlet says, “…the important thing is the play” (Ham. 2.2.604) when he thinks about the best way to expose Claudius as guilty of the murder of Hamlet Senior. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, has many political and militaristic tools at his disposal. With these tools, Hamlet could plan to expose Claudius in many different ways. But Hamlet chooses to rely on the gifts of the theater and those who live within it: the actors. By using actors, Hamlet gets the subtle probe he needs to show the assembly a perfectly normal tragedy and, at the same time, a perfectly real crime. It is no wonder that Hamlet chooses theater as a means to demonstrate to Claudius that he knows about the crime. For the assembled nobility, the play staged by Hamlet reflects a stereotypical tragedy of the time, but for those few people who recognize deeper meanings in the players' actions, the play functions as a warning. King Claudius certainly sees the deeper meanings as Hamlet intends and leaves openly throughout the play. No other tactic, whether political or militaristic, could get the reaction Hamlet wants from Claudius. Hamlet knows that "the important thing is the play" because Claudius gives the precise reaction Hamlet wants. So a prince, having all the tools of government at his disposal, instead relies on an ambiguous tool such as gaming to achieve his goal. The tools of drama are ambiguous because drama does not have a unique definition; Hamlet clearly makes use of the ambiguity of the play. By using the play within the play, Shakespeare demonstrates that the skills of kings and actors are exceptionally similar. Hamlet relies on acting to create deception, but Hal's skill in acting allows him to create a mythic structure as the reformed prince returns to save England from civil war. Falstaff teaches Hal the importance of language and timing. Thanks to the valuable lessons that Falstaff teaches Hal, Hal is able to manipulate everyone in the country until he actually prepares for agreat moment of return in which to feign maturity: "I have trumped chivalry, ... And will ... To try my luck with him in single combat" (1 Henry IV 5.1.94-100). Hal understands the importance of "reveal" his royal nature at the right time and place. The entire assembly believes Hal's words despite his previous behavior because Hal chooses an extremely dramatic moment to set himself up as a true prince and the deeper monologues during moments of intense drama on stage. Kings and actors understand the importance of timing a speech correctly for maximum effect for better or for worse. Hal understands this idea of ​​timing, so he delivers his " graduation speech" at a precise moment, just as the actor knows to feel the moment in which he should pronounce his lines. Hal shows the assembly that he is no longer a teenage thief; the assembly accepts Hal's words because he chooses the perfect time to tell them. Acting is essential to ruling because the training involved in acting allows a monarch (or prince in this case) to become familiar with the crowd. The mythic structure that Hal creates for himself is nothing more than a timely moment on stage. Fortunately for Hal, the assembly and audience unquestioningly accept Hal's divine right to challenge Hotspur. Hal earns the respect of the English army with perfect timing. Hal knows that his true nature is not that of a thief and, similarly, even though the character of Hamlet is real within the play, the actor-Hamlet plays before the audience. Hamlet bids farewell to his mother in Scene 2 in a sad mood: “Together shall be all shapes, moods, shapes of sorrow, that can denote me truly” (Ham. 1.2.82-83). Hamlet's adolescent tendency to mourn his father for an extremely long period of time presents a problem within the text. A 30-year-old man should be able to deal emotionally with the loss of his father. Although Hamlet cannot inwardly overcome his father's death, he behaves in such a way as not to arouse his mother's suspicions: "I will obey you with all my best, lady" (1.2.120). Hamlet dismisses his mother's concerns by playing the part of the obedient son. Gertrude functions as an audience within herself at this point in the play. Governing 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 believes that Hamlet is telling the truth about obeying her, but the real audience knows that Hamlet is simply saying that he will obey Gertrude to prevent her from disturbing him further. Hamlet has a clear idea of ​​what it means to put on a play for the benefit of the spectators, and whether he learned it by being a prince or elsewhere, Hamlet performs as both an actor and a prince to convince Gertrude that his highest desire is to obey it. An interesting difference between Hamlet and Gertrude emerges in the previously mentioned exchange. Hamlet does not allow himself to take anything at face value; Gertrude, however, accepts what she sees as true. "So excellent a king, that was for this Hyperion for a satyr..." (1.2.139-40). Hamlet cannot stop mourning his father, yet 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 ever questioned Hamlet Senior's death. Hamlet can act for his mother so convincingly because Gertrude accepts the things she hears and sees without question. A king understands that he cannot accept as truth everything he hears or sees; similarly, an actor strives to analyze a play to understand adeeper meaning. Hamlet is obviously the actor and ruler of this scene. Gertrude behaves as an audience would behave; an audience exists simply to absorb the drama as it unfolds. Both Hamlet and Hal must be able to convince other people that their appearance is different from their true identity, and they are able to achieve this deception through the manipulation of language. Hamlet seems to intrinsically understand how to manipulate language; Hal, on the other hand, needs a teacher, so he spends time with Falstaff to learn everything he can about manipulating language. Hal spends most of 1 Henry the Fourth joking with his companion Falstaff. Falstaff teaches Hal many valuable lessons in the manipulation of language; The manipulation of language is at the heart of every drama. Nothing in life is completely simple, so nothing is completely simple on stage either. Falstaff teaches Hal how to perform before an audience with his tongue. Every actor learns how to create emotional reactions through language. Hal realizes during Act 2 that he no longer needs Falstaff and dismisses him thus: "That wicked and abominable leader of the youth, Falstaff, that old white-bearded Sahtan" (1H4 2.4.262-264). Hal no longer needs Falstaff to teach him to speak. Hal uses the lessons Falstaff taught him to finally remove Falstaff from his presence. In much the same way that a ruler hides his true intentions, Hal uses the lessons Falstaff teaches him to obfuscate his intentions. Hal refers to Falstaff as a "mislead of the youth" and calls him "Sahtan" quite obviously, but Falstaff does not realize how clever Hal really is and simply asks, "Who does Your Grace refer to?" (2.4.261). Kings manipulate treaties and alliances with language; actors manipulate the audience and other characters with language. When Hal feels that he has learned all he can from Falstaff, he dismisses him as an actor dismisses a watching audience or a king dismisses his court. Hal's dismissal is very different from the way Hamlet decides to dismiss Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but Hamlet depends on Falstaff. from his position as a prince and his ability to act to free himself from the problem presented by the presence of his friends. "How do you do, Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Well done boys, how do you do?" (Hamlet 2.2.225-226). Hamlet performs for his friends as if he is very happy to see them. Hamlet knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern only came to Denmark at the king's request. Even though Hamlet calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern "good fellows," he does not care in the least about their deaths: "They are not near my conscience. Their defeat grows by their own insinuations" (5.2.58-59). The method behind all this madness lies in Hamlet's skill as an actor. Without Hamlet's addiction to gambling, he would have had a more difficult time deceiving Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. There are moments in the play where Hamlet manipulates people as skillfully as Hal. Hamlet manipulates nearly every character in the play into believing that they are suffering from nothing more than a bout of depression and a bit of stress-induced insanity. But from the episodes with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet proves that he can use the persuasive power of play to make people believe his outward appearance instead of seeing Hamlet's true feelings through the facade. At the end of both 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 steps into his role as the prodigal son returning to the battlefield. "As if a double spirit had developed there'., 1997. 1189-1234.