The play’s the thing

E494607

"The play’s the thing" is a famous line from William Shakespeare’s tragedy *Hamlet*, in which the prince declares his plan to use a staged performance to expose King Claudius’s guilt.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
The play’s the thing canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (32)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary line ⓘ
quotation ⓘ
addressesCharacter King Claudius (indirectly) ⓘ
linked to: King Claudius
appearsInAct Act 2 ⓘ
appearsInScene Scene 2 ⓘ
associatedWork The Mousetrap ⓘ
creator William Shakespeare ⓘ
dramaticContext Hamlet planning to confirm the Ghost’s accusation ⓘ
dramaticDevice play within a play ⓘ
dramaticFunction to reveal King Claudius’s guilt ⓘ
firstPerformanceApproximateYear circa 1600 ⓘ
fullLine The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king. ⓘ
genreOfSourceWork tragedy ⓘ
hasFamousStatus yes ⓘ
language English ⓘ
literaryPeriod Elizabethan drama ⓘ
meter blank verse (largely iambic pentameter) ⓘ
oftenQuotedIn literary studies ⓘ
popular culture ⓘ
theatre criticism ⓘ
partOf Hamlet ⓘ
playTitleMentioned The Murder of Gonzago ⓘ
quotationFrom Hamlet, Prince of Denmark ⓘ
linked to: Hamlet
quotationStatus proverbial expression about theatre’s revelatory power ⓘ
refersTo a staged performance ⓘ
sourceWorkAuthorNationality English ⓘ
spokenByCharacter Prince Hamlet ⓘ
linked to: Hamlet
theme appearance versus reality ⓘ
guilt and conscience ⓘ
theatre as a mirror of truth ⓘ
usedByCharacterTo test the king’s reaction ⓘ
workType dramatic line ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hamlet → notableQuotation → The play’s the thing ⓘ