Action in the Mind's Eye

Hamlet is a play full of action and events. Most of them do not take place on stage. They are described and occur in the “mind’s eye” and imagination of the audience. The audience is an active participant, rather than a passive observer. The events and actions are more vivid when created in the mind and imagination, and leave a more lasting impression, since, in many ways, they are seen more clearly than if performed on the stage. Each member of the audience sees the event or action in an individual way. As the chorus says in the prologue of King Henry the Fifth: “And let us, ciphers to this great accompt, on your imaginary forces work. . . . For this your thoughts that now must deck our kings, carry them here and there, jumping o’er the times, turning the accomplishment of many years into an hour glass.” (Prologue: 17-18, 28-31).
Many of the actions and events are described in detail, including:
The murder of King Hamlet, described by the Ghost: 1.5.59-79; Hamlet frightening Ophelia in her chamber, described by Ophelia: 2.1.74-97;
Hamlet stealing the letter from Claudius to the English and substituting another ordering the death of Rosencrantz and Guildernstern: described by Hamlet: 5.2.13-53; The pirate attack on Hamlet’s ship and his capture, described in Hamlet’s letter to Horatio: 4.6.13-20; The drowning of Ophelia, described by Gertrude: 4.7.163-184; The arming of Denmark against the threat by Fortinbras, described by Marcellus: 1.1.70-78; Hamlet plays with Yorick: 5.1.174-182.
Some are classical references, not directly involved in the play:
The events in Rome on the death of Caesar, described by Horatio: 1.1.113-125; and the killing of Priam by Pyrrhus, recited by the player: 2.2.455-505.
There are also many events and actions which are described briefly, but are sufficient to create a mental image, including:
“So frowned he [King Hamlet] once, when in an angry parle, he smote the sledded Placks on the ice.” (1.1.62-63); King Hamlet slew Fortinbras (1.1.80-86); Gertrude’s hypocrisy at King Hamlet’s funeral: (1.2.146-156); “Thrift, thrift, Horatio: the funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage table. (1.2.180-181); “Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death, have burst their cerements, why the sepulcher wherein we saw thee quietly interred, hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws to cast thee up again.” (1.4.47-51); Purgatory described by the ghost: (1.5.9-22); Claudius seduces Gertrude: (1.5.42-52); Hamlet walks four hours together in the lobby: (2.2.158-159); the state of the theatre in the city: (2.2.321-351), and many more.
The continuing popularity of the play may well be due to the actions and events being described rather than performed on the stage. The play speaks to the imagination of the audience and is continually updated as seen in the mind’s eye.