The play was written around 1902-03 at the period of time when Elizabethan London was a melting pot of unprecedented intellectual and artistic ferment. The atmosphere was politically disturbed and dangerous and the climate was vigorous and experimental. No other play in the world literature has such rich and varied incidents, characterization, subject matter and use of language. One of the main techniques is how Shakespeare represented characters. He manipulated audience's minds by changing the way characters behaved in certain situations.
Act III Scene 4 plays a very important role in the play "Hamlet" because it reveals aspects of Hamlets" and Gertrude's characters which help us understand how Shakespeare manipulates the audience's feelings about these characters by changing the way the characters act and react in different situations. This is first seen when Hamlet kills Polonius, and Hamlet's words "Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! ." are an impact on those who were on his side, because they realize that Hamlet is capable of murder, and is not even concerned that he killed the wrong person. Shakespeare's technique of manipulating the audience is seen here because later in Act 5 we see that Hamlet feels sorry that he had fought with Laertes because Laertes is in the same state of revenge for the death of his father. This shows that Hamlet and Laertes are similar in the way they associate with their families. Laertes highly respects and loves his father Polonius, so does Hamlet (Hamlet compares his father to a sun god "Hyperion") .
Hamlet is able to persuade Gertrude he is not mad but only "mad in craft" and manipulates her to follow his instructions, he directs his mother to convince Claudius of Hamlet's madness "Make you to ravel all this matter out, That I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft". Hamlet is able to make his mother reflect upon her part in the death of his father and feel guilt "Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul, and there I see such black and grained spots as will not leave their tinct.
