Dramatic significance of I.i of Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth : a study of the relationship between the opening scene and the complete drama

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the dramatic significance of I.i of Hamiet. Othello and Macbeth in terms of the opening scene’s relationship with the complete drama. To facilitate the reader’s understanding of this relationship between the opening scene and the whole drama and to illustrate how Shakespeare uses certain expository or dramatic devices in effecting this relationship, the concept of exposition in drama is discussed. Special attention is given to the differences between expository method/device and expository function in general and the expository function of Shakespearean drama in particular. This is followed by an analysis of the rationale for the choice of Hamlet. 0thel1o and Macbeth as the focus of this study, / an analysis of how Shakespeare’s expository methods/devices in Hamlet. Othello and Macbeth are different from, and similar to, the methods applied in any other of his plays and a discussion of the act and scene division of Shakespearean drama. The text of the thesis is divided into three chapters, each dealing with an individual play. Each chapter is, again, organized in the following order; (a) introduction to the chapter, (b) a description of the expository details of I.i of a play, (c) an examination of the implications of the exposition in I.i for the complete drama, (this involves describing a specific area of exposition or an expository method/device and its role in establishing a relationship between I.i and the rest of the drama), and (d) chapter summary.