Question

Why does Claudius cry out for more LIGHT when he is watching the play within the play?

Answer 1

Claudius calls for more light to escape the emotional discomfort caused by a play that mirrors his own guilt, a literary motif where light represents truth and knowledge.

Step-by-step explanation:

Claudius' demand for more light during the play within the play in Shakespeare's Hamlet is a response to the psychological and emotional discomfort he experiences as the performance mirrors his own heinous actions. The metaphorical light in literature often symbolizes truth and knowledge. In this context, calling for physical light can be seen as an attempt to escape the revelation of truth, as Claudius' guilt is illuminated by the plot of the play. This mirrors the use of light as a symbol in various literary texts, where characters seek or shun light based on their comfort with the truth it represents.

Answer 2

That evening, in the castle hall now doubling as a theater, Hamlet anxiously lectures the players on how to act the parts he has written for them. Polonius shuffles by with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Hamlet dispatches them to hurry the players in their preparations. Horatio enters, and Hamlet, pleased to see him, praises him heartily, expressing his affection for and high opinion of Horatio’s mind and manner, especially Horatio’s qualities of self-control and reserve. Having told Horatio what he learned from the ghost—that Claudius murdered his father—he now asks him to watch Claudius carefully during the play so that they might compare their impressions of his behavior afterward. Horatio agrees, saying that if Claudius shows any signs of guilt, he will detect them.