SETTING
When I was on the set of Oklahoma! the lighting and the placing of each object on stage made a great difference. We had to put a table in an exact location where we put a spike mark so that Jud and Curley can fight properly without any obstacle stymieing the plays progress. FJ
The circumstances and the mood of the play change when the setting is altered. For example, when Hamlet kills Polonius, it occurs in Gertrude’s bedchamber. Because this scene does not occur in the main hall of the castle, there is a more secretive feel to the death, hence why most of the characters were unaware that Hamlet stabbed Polonius. Also in the play, when Hamlet speaks to the ghost of his father, the setting is dark and outside during the night. in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, the tone of the novel shifts as the characters move from one estate to the other. For instance, there is a more pretentious feel at the Pemberly house and a more sarcastic tone in the Bennet’s house. SSh
The setting of a play, novel, poem, or short story becomes a huge role in the story itself. Setting contributes to the story as a whole, creates tension, and ultimately sets the mood for the whole story. For example, Hamlet's dark, mysterious setting of Denmark ads to the tragedy of the play, and makes the tragedy come to life. Also, the subtlety of Pride and Prejudice's vast countryside sets a very obeying and light tone to allow characters to outshine the lack-of-detailed setting. In poetry, setting is usually described with vivid imagery which usually sets the tone and creates a story for the reader. Moreover, when watching a play live, the audience will usually notice the setting and will feel they are in the setting with the actors, as the setting always comes to life with the play itself. When a setting is dark and mysterious, the play will seem to have a tragic ending. However, when there is a colorful, vivid setting, the play will tend to end in a happy marriage or other exciting event. Therefore, setting becomes a huge contributor to the overall plot and storyline of a novel, play, poem, or any other work, and contributes the audience or reader's feelings while reading or watching the story unravel. SSt
CHARACTER
There were flat characters who doe not undergo any substantial change or growth in a story and acts as a minor character. Such was the case for Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Collins served a role in advancing the story between Elizabeth and Darcy by providing comedy, but throughout the whole book his character stays unchanged. Similarly, Horatio is a flat character in Hamlet. Horatio acts as the loyal and trustworthy companion to Hamlet and witness to his death, but does not undergo any significant transformation throughout the whole play. MC
Character is, to me, the most important part of a story. With the employment of flat and multi dimensional characters within the same story line, the reader or audience is able to relate with at least one person in the tale. Hamlet, the protagonist, and Horatio are probably the most multi-dimensional characters throughout the entire play. Their ability to change views based on situation is vastly different than any other character. Furthermore, Hamlet's continuous inner conflicts are also a reflection of his multi-dimensional persona. The flat characters Shakespeare tends to use are: Polonius and Ophelia. GK
Apprehension is a personality trait that is present in all three works. Hamlet's apprehension is what drives the plot of Shakespeare's play, Elizabeth's lack of apprehension in assigning value to Mr. Darcy's character is the focus of Elizabeth's entire character arc, and the apprehension and anxiety of Prufrock doom him to a life of anonymity. EM
Despite the fact that the fiction Hamlet is different from the drama Pride & Prejudice, the main characters in each work are quite similar. First, in P&P, Elizabeth is undergoes an internal problem out through the play, just like Hamlet does in Shakespeare's play. RL
The way characters operate in fiction and drama are relatively the same. There is usually always a protagonist and an antagonist and then the plot revolves around the two. SD
Though the plot setup and structure of each are much different, the main protagonists in Hamlet and Pride and Prejudice are actually quite similar. Their both seemingly the most educated characters in their respective roles. Hamlet is very philosophical and reflective and seems to understand the workings of the world better than his counterparts while Elizabeth also possess a sort of intellectual curiosity that puts her above hers sisters, mothers, and friends. But let me expand on the reflectiveness of both characters for I believe that this trait is clear demonstrated in both characters. When Elizabeth received the love letter from Darcy, she went into a deep period of reflection where she contemplated all her views and morals. Likewise when Hamlet witnessed an actor cry with a very real and sincere emotion he too contemplated his worth and on numerous occasion Hamlet reflected on such topics as suicide. AA
Like plot, characters with their conflicts bring a story to life in a drama or narrative. Any story has a main character called the protagonist. The protagonist has a conflict with another character called the antagonist who is usually mean and out to get the main character in trouble. A protagonist may have struggles with society or their setting like Liz Bennet in 19th century England. On the other hand some conflicts may be internal. For instance, Hamlet has contemplated suicide, murder, and revenge throughout the play. Shakespeare frames Hamlet to have a conflict with internal indecision. Furthermore, in plays the characters have an exchange in speech which is called a dialogue. FJ
PLOT
It is interesting to compare plot in fiction (Pride and Prejudice) vs. Drama (Hamlet). In Pride and Prejudice the story unfolds through the gossip of other people; however, this contributes to the rising action of the story. It can be argued that the climax of the story comes however, through the veracity revealed through Darcy's letter to Elizabeth. The climax is the most honest part of the novel. Elizabeth's realization of her love for Darcy and the fact that she has been foolish up until this point can be seen as the denouement. In Hamlet the climax of the story comes when the sword fight occurs. This is what Hamlet has been waiting for. The denouement is everything that follows--which is the ultimate deaths of many characters. LG
the rising and falling action is much more dynamic in Hamlet than in Pride and Prejudice. For in Hamlet it is clear that the rising action begins when Hamlet begins to contemplate killing Claudius while Claudius and Laertes begin to contemplate killing Hamlet. Moreover it is very clear when this play reaches its climax; the death of Polonius and this extends on to the death of Hamlet. This is then followed by a few lines for falling action and then the denouement. This is in deep contrast to Pride and Prejudice where the rising action and climax are much more subtle and could be easily skipped by the reader. Moreover, Austen's structure simply is not as rigid and as clear cut as Shakespeare. For the flow of a story like Austen's is constantly shifting with the introduction of new characters and issues. AA
In Pride and Prejudice, the main plot operators are characters acting out of social compulsion and being rejected by Elizabeth's strongly willed personality. In Hamlet, the plot is driven by apprehension and political maneuvering. These are two completely different plots where the similarities are more complex than simply what happens. EM
All plots have five main points: The exposition, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the denouement. The exposition serves to set context to the coming action and to also provide any background detail necessary for understanding. The exposition ends when the inciting incident causes rising action. Rising action tends to be the longest part any narrative and involves conflict for the main character or characters. The climax serves as the turning point in any narrative and is the point where the conflicts brought upon the main characters during the rising action are solved in some way or another. The falling action follows the turning point and serves to finish off any unresolved conflicts. The final resolution then spurs the denouement which tends to be very short and can even come in the form of a single sentence like: 'they lived happily ever after'. JB
While in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth shapes the story through her rejection of social norms, Hamlet shapes his story through his indecision. BD
With an intricate plot, Shakespeare offers various climaxes to stress the urgency and tension within the play itself. However, on the other hand, Austen's Pride & Prejudice follows a tight narrative of a more 'standard' approach. Each action is revealed through a clear and well-timed manner, albeit predictable; however, Austen emphasizes her mocking and sarcastic tone throughout to give the novel a fresh feeling. Ultimately, both Shakespeare and Austen succeed tremendously in conveying the thematic significances in their work: Shakespeare exploits friendship, betrayal, and violence within a war torn Denmark, whilst Austen focuses on true love within a monotonous, traditional 19th century England. BD
Both Elizabeth and Hamlet take the whole book and a full venture to make up their minds for Elizabeth to finally elope with Mr. Darcy and Hamlet to finally kill his uncle. The difference in both novels is the type of journey both characters take but the similarities is that both major characters need to make a life altering decision. JZ
Pride and Prejudice, the plot is more conventional. It comes from within the characters. Two people think they hate each other, they can't be together because of their different stature in society, they realize they are in love, and they make their love work! But in Hamlet, we have an external and internal plot. The external being all that is happening in Denmark with the change of Kings, etc. And internally because of the way the plot centralizes and focuses around Hamlet, and what he reveals to the audience. AS
After perceiving the diagram shown on page 60, I noticed that both Hamlet and P and P follow the conventional narrative, even though one is a drama and one is fiction. In “Hamlet” the exposition is the introduction to the major characters, such as the king, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Horatio. The exposition also introduces the nature of the conflict, which occurs when Hamlet discovers from his father’s ghost that Claudius assassinated his father and that he must seek revenge. In “Pride and Prejudice” an example from the exposition is when the we first meet the Bennets in their household, where each character is shown in dialogue with one another after the father Mr. Bennet finds out that a new man has come into the town (Mr Bingley). EM
