Stage Directions

Stage directions for Hamlet vary somewhat among the three early editions, and are most detailed and frequent in the First Quarto (1603). While the First Quarto (one of the so-called "bad" quartos) may be, as many scholars have claimed, a memorial reconstruction prepared by actors, this same theory provides some validation for its stage directions, since events occurring on stage would be likely to be accurately transmitted by those involved in a production.

One of the most commented on stage directions from the Hamlet First Quarto (1603) is from the Closet Scene (3.4):


First Quarto (1603)

The First Folio's stage direction is far less specific:


First Folio (1623)

 

Have you ever seen a version of the play in which the Ghost enters the Queen's chamber according to Q1's directions?

What difference could it make to the scene to have the Ghost enter in his nightgown instead of his armor, as is so often the case?

 

The First Quarto's stage directions repeatedly give us a more vivid stage picture than those we see in the First Folio.

When Ophelia first enters mad, for example, the First Quarto helps us to imagine one way that the early modern stage might have portrayed a "distracted" character:


Hamlet First Quarto (1603)


First Folio (1623)

 

In the Graveyard Scene (5.1), the First Quarto even seems to suggest an order for characters to enter the stage:


Hamlet First Quarto (1603)


First Folio (1623)

 

The First Quarto's stage direction for the final battle between Hamlet and Laertes is especially precise, moving far beyond the less specific stage direction in the First Folio:


Hamlet First Quarto (1603)


First Folio (1623)

 

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