ce death on a regular basis. This juxtaposition not onlyforeshadows the conclusion of the play but also adds to the mood ofdisgust. One of the elements contributing to mood is character, however itis used in a non-aristotelian way. Aristotle ignored the concept that a play could take place in manydifferent settings and still retain meaning. In his elements of tragedyAristotle mentions "Plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle andsong.(Aristotle 39)." He does not include setting as a separate entity. Itis implicit, however, in his conception of "Unities" that more than onesetting was not acceptable. One example may be found in Oedipus the King,where all of the action takes place in one setting, and where thegeographical setting of the play, in terms of a historical context, doesnot in itself add any meaning. Aristotle did, however, believe in "Unity ofTime", where each action follows the previous action, and builds to form asingle "thread" of action. We would include the time in play as part of thesetting. Another axiom of Unity of time is that one stage minute equals onreal minute. It is only by ignoring Aristotelian convention in setting,specifically unity of time, that Shakespeare can properly tell his story.Hamlet takes place entirely in Castle Elsinore and on its grounds. Thefirst scene takes place at approximately midnight as does Act 1, Scene 4.Shakespeare completely ignores the Aristotelian convention of "Unity ofTime". It is only by ignoring this convention that Shakespeare can allowHamlet to have the scene with the ghost, a twenty minute scene, thatShakespeare elongates from midnight to dawn. By the same token it is thiselongation that allows Hamlet to talk with the ghost and gives the ghost adramatic reason, the dawn, to leave the stage. This allows Shakespeare todevelop his plot and therefore to develop his theme. These temporalmanipulations do not end here. Hamlet leaves for England by boat, iswaylaid by pirates and retu...
