Curious construction. Why is this question:
“What do you call the play?”
Wouldn’t it make more sense to say, “What is the play called?”
Does he think Hamlet wrote it?
Did Hamlet suggest that he did?
Or is there some implication of a pet name for the play? Like the play’s actually called Death of a Salesman but I like to call it Uncle in the Closet.
Or, like, the play’s called Macbeth but I call it The One with the Witches. JK. I call it Mackers. JK. I call it The Scottish Play. JK. I just call it Macbeth. Seriously.
Furthermore –
Why does Claudius use the formal YOU here?
For that matter, why is EVERYONE in this scene speaking formally?
Is it because it is a public event?
Or because it is happening in front of actors?
Is it because they’re all nobles talking to each other in front of the artist class? Very Curious.
The Hamlet Project 