“The Murder of Gonzago”, “Hamlet” and “Meta-Hamlet”

Abstract

Shakespeare and Hamlet both use existing sources for the plots of “Hamlet” and “The Murder of Gonzago” respectively. 1 Shakespeare, who is said to have played the role of the ghost of Hamlet’s father at the Globe Theatre, could be regarded not only as the writer but also as the first director of “Hamlet”. 2 Like him, Hamlet is also staging a play in “Hamlet”, and even makes some modifications to it. As Marvin Hunt puts it, “In contributing ‘some dozen lines, or sixteen lines’ to “The Murder of Gonzago”, Hamlet becomes, as it were, a coauthor of “Hamlet” [Hunt, 2007: 213]. 3 However, the idea of staging this play has been hinted to him by the story of the ghost of his father.