Final answer:
The use of figurative language in Shakespeare's plays, particularly through imagery, sound, and structure, creates a mood that engages the audience emotionally. His meticulous word choice and varying line structures indicate character and theme, affecting the overall mood of scenes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The impact of Shakespeare's use of figurative language in Act 2 Scene 1 Part 1 greatly affects the mood by providing texture and depth to the play's atmosphere. Shakespeare’s mastery of word choice often includes vivid imagery which helps to create a mental picture, setting the tone and helping the audience to feel the emotions being portrayed. The structure of lines and stanzas, with a measured use of iambic pentameter, gives the play a rhythm that can elevate the mood or provide a somber cadence depending on the context. The use of sound through meter, rhyme, and rhythm further affects the auditory experience, leading to a more immersive mood.
Shakespeare's employment of figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification breathes life into the characters and their experiences. This enhances the emotional engagement of the audience. For example, Shakespeare’s comparison of the morning draped in a 'russet mantle' to someone walking across a hill evokes a sense of grandeur and freshness that influences the audience’s emotional perception.
The selective use of prose and iambic pentameter can also indicate social class or mental states such as madness, as seen when Hamlet’s speech patterns fluctuate. Such shifts in the form of dialogue, intentionally done by Shakespeare, hint at the underlying themes of the play.