Question

Hamlet: Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you overstep not the modesty of nature; for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature . . . –Hamlet, William Shakespeare Based on the passage, what is Hamlet’s opinion about theater?

Answer 1

Answer: Actors should try to represent people as they really are.

Answer 2

Hamlet's opinion about theatre is that the latter should stand as a reflection of reality ("...as 'twere, the mirror up to nature"), therefore actors shouldn't exaggerate but rather act naturally ("...with this special observance, that you overstep not the modesty of nature") . In other words, theatre is a place where a reflection of what happens in real life can be seen, and the audience that enjoys theatre likes to see actors that perform naturally. Hamlet criticizes actors that exaggerate ("...let your own discretion be your tutor") because that kind of performance distorts what happens in reality.