Firslty, Shakespeare goes about his exposition through a very indirect means. He never directly tells the audience who each character is and give a list of their traits; however, I believe the audience may have previously known all the players in the play through some sort of introductory pamphlet. But primarily Shakespeare employs an indirect means of describing the back story and the situation the characters are in through speeches such as that of King Claudius when he famously states, "with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage....Taken to wife". From King Claudius' speech the audience learns of what he has previously done. This is in stark contrast to Austen's manner of introduction. As we all know, Austen is direct and economical in her way of introducing characters. The plot of Pride and Prejudice stems from the characters interaction with each other unlike Hamlet where the plot stems from past experiences.
Secondly, the rising and falling action is much more dynamic in Hamlet than in Pride and Prejudice. For in Hamlet it is clear that the rising action begins when Hamlet begins to comtemplate killing Claudius while Claudius and Laertes begin to contemplate killing Hamlet. Moreover it is very clear when this play reaches its climax; the death of Polonius and this extends on to the death of Hamlet. This is then followed by a few lines for falling action and then the denouement. This is in deep contrast to Pride and Prejudice where the rising action and climax are much more subtle and could be easily skipped by the reader. Moreover, Austen's structure simply is not as rigid and as clear cut as Shakespeare. For the flow of a story like Austen's is constanlty shifting with the introduction of new characters and issues.
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