e. ‘…the play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.’ (Act II, scene ii lines 579-580)Hamlet thinks that Claudius’ reaction to theatre (the unreal) is sufficient to prove his guilt in the real world. However during the play itself he says to Claudius who is annoyed at the plot of the play:“No. no, they do but jest; no offence I’ th’ / world.”(Act III, scene ii lines 221-222)Hamlet makes a metadramatic reference concerning the theatre crossing into reality saying that it is only theatre and cannot be taken seriously. This line can be seen as one of the reasons that Shakespeare used to excuse any sensitive material in his play that might have got him into trouble with certain audiences. Shakespeare sets plays in faraway, strange lands – it is only England if you make it about England yourself. Some of content is politically sensitive, for example Coriolanus, Richard II and Julius Caesar.The theatre is most like life in revealing that people play roles for example a man in the same day can be a father, a mechanic, a cook. Claudius has no moral right to the throne - he is only an actor. It is possible to say that all kings usurp a role at which they are not skilled, since they have never done it before. Hamlet says, “He that plays the king shall be welcome;” (Act II, scene ii, line 309) foregrounding this concept for the audience...
