Question

the tragedy of hamlet, prince of denmark
act i. scene ii.
king hamlet’s brother, claudius, is now king of denmark. he has married queen gertrude, the former king’s wife and prince hamlet’s mother. in a speech to the royal court, king claudius defends his decision to marry his former sister - in - law.
a room of state in the castle.
enter king claudius, queen gertrude, hamlet, polonius, laertes, voltimand, cornelius, lords, and attendants.
claudius: though yet of hamlet our dear brother’s death
the memory be green, and that it us befitted
to bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom (5)
to be contracted in one brow of woe,
yet so far hath discretion fought with nature
that we with wisest sorrow think on him,
together with remembrance of ourselves.
therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, (10)
the imperial jointress of this war - like state,
have we, as ’twere with a defeated joy,
with one auspicious and one dropping eye,
that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
possess it merely. that it should come to this!
what effect does the stage direction have on the scene?
when the audience sees hamlet by himself they assume he has no friends.
having just hamlet on the stage makes him the most appealing character.
by leaving hamlet alone on stage, the audience learns how truly upset he is.
when everyone leaves, it shows how the rest of the family shuns hamlet.

Explanation:

In the context of "Hamlet", when Hamlet is left alone on stage (after others exit), his soliloquy or his alone - time on stage allows the audience to focus on his emotions. The other options are incorrect: assuming he has no friends is not a typical effect of stage direction here; being the most appealing is not related to being alone; and the family shunning him is not shown by others leaving the stage in this scene. The main effect of him being alone is to let the audience see his true emotional state of being upset.

Answer:

By leaving Hamlet alone on stage, the audience learns how truly upset he is.