Act 1, Scene I

It is easy to overlook the vital importance of the opening lines in a play. As well as establishing the tone, mood and setting for all that is to follow, in just a few words the playwright must grab the audience’s attention and excite curiosity about the characters, action and story to come.

T.S Eliot, believed that the first scene of Hamlet was ‘as well constructed as that of any play ever written’. He described the opening twenty-two lines as ‘built of the simplest words in the most homely idiom . . . No poet has begun to master dramatic verse until he can write lines which, like these in Hamlet, are transparent’.

In Hamlet, it is this transparency that allows a series of purposeful delays in exposition. Instead of setting out elements of the coming plot, the opening lines evoke a powerful mood of tension, anxiety and suspicion as one sentinel relieves another’s watch:

Bernardo. Who’s there?
Francisco. Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.
Bernardo. Long live the King!
Francisco. Bernardo?
Bernardo. He.
Francisco. You come most carefully upon your hour.
Bernardo. ‘Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to bed, Francisco.
Francisco. For this relief much thanks. ‘Tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart.

Although these minor characters are of little significance to the plot, their brief dialogue sets the scene for the appearance of the silent ghost of Hamlet’s father, the late King of Denmark, which will set in motion all the tragic events that follow.

In this study we will read – on the page and aloud – a variety of opening scenes from Shakespeare plays to explore their working, their impact on the audience, and how this most celebrated English language playwright developed his craft into an art.

JOINING DETAILS:

• Single meeting study, live on Zoom, led by Jane Wymark
• Monday 11 May, 6.00-8.00 pm (UK time)
• £35.00 for one two-hour meeting, to include notes and background resources.

REDUCED COSTS: we are committed to making our studies as affordable as possible. We have a fund in place to support anyone who would like to register for a study but finds the cost difficult to afford. We can’t promise to help, but please email us at litsalon@gmail.com in confidence if you would like to request a reduction in the cost of a study.