Play within a play

[Athanassios]

Hey guys, im new to this forum. i stumbled upon it while looking for something to write about on the topic 'the play within the play'.

Im having a hard time thinking of points to write an essay on for the play within the play. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[ayesha.maya]

Try this link, it helped me brainstorm on the topic :) :-
http://www.hamlethaven.com/mousetrap.html#top

[kelby_lake]

Hey guys, im new to this forum. i stumbled upon it while looking for something to write about on the topic 'the play within the play'.

Im having a hard time thinking of points to write an essay on for the play within the play. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Think about why Shakespeare might have included it and perhaps look at other plays where he used the device (A Midsummer Night's Dream is the most obvious one). With The Mousetrap, Shakespeare is showing the power of theatre- how everyone else thinks the play is perfectly fine but Claudius' guilt has got to him. By showing a charicature of Claudius, Hamlet is shaming him.