Implicit Poetics in Henry V and Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Abstract

The reflection on dramaturgical procedures, the actor's work and theatrical staging promoted by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) within some of his plays gains the stature of Implicit Poetics in two works written in the maturity of his dramaturgy: Henry V (1599) and Hamlet (1601). Even though Shakespeare has not dedicated himself to the elaboration of a theory of drama, this paper supports the existence of a Poetics configured in the referred plays, which contributes to an understanding of the Elizabethan theatrical model. Regarding this, we will approach, on the one hand, the appeal made to an exercise of imagination on the part of the audience in order to make up for the deficiencies of the scene (Henry V), and, on the other hand, Hamlet's relationship with the theater and his creation of a meta-theatrical character, considered here as his double, as a practical expression of his theoretical reflections (Hamlet).