Farewell Ophelia

Young, beautiful, and noble Ophelia, oh how I wish you could receive the burial rights you truly deserve. They deny you your entitlements to a Christian burial because they believe the cause of your death was that of suicide. Suicide is never the answer but I truly believe your death was a fatality from your mental illness. In essence, one like you should not be blamed for contemplating suicide, especially with all that has happened in your life these past few days. 

Talk of Ophelia being the potential wife for prince Hamlet was always common conversation throughout Denmark. The people loved her and had high hopes for her. She was extremely obedient and was able to follow through with any request given to her without question. The queen loved her and she was a great help in the castle.

Ophelia’s sudden death occurred at the willow not far from the castle. Trying to collect flowers, she climbed a tree and walked out on a weak branch. This frail branch broke, causing her to fall into the water. Her heavy garments were of no help to her distress for they weighed her down, causing her to drown. Ophelia, in the mad state she was in, probably had no idea she was drowning. Instead of crying for help she continued to sing a song about flowers as if she was not aware of her danger. Verse after verse she continued to sing, putting up no fight to the water and then…silence.

As we say our final farewells to the late Ophelia, we hope to remember her as a woman of Denmark, prospective wife to Hamlet, sister to Laertes, and daughter to Polonius. Her last few moments on Earth did not depict her righteous lifestyle at all. For in her final days, Ophelia was struck with madness. This insanity is said to have diverged off from her mourning the death of her father, Polonius. It was far too much for poor Ophelia to handle.

Hamlet's Dilemma .

Hamlet’s hesitation to kill Claudius was very wise. From the ghost scene, we all know that Hamlet was given specific instructions from his father, to seek revenge against his uncle Claudius. We are also familiar with the fact that King Hamlet died and was not able to repent and ask God for forgiveness (which is why he is in purgatory). When Hamlet saw Claudius in the confession booth, he realized that if he killed Claudius it would be pointless. The main reason behind his logic is that in Christianity, if someone asks God for forgiveness, God will grant you mercy (thus having a chance to go to heaven). Hamlet was completely right for waiting and thinking about it carefully. If he did not, Claudius might have gone to heaven while King Hamlet’s spirit hopelessly roams the Earth. This scene helped further my understanding of Hamlet because I learned that he is patient and is able to fully think everything through before taking action. As for Claudius I still have my doubts. In the play, although he was confessing, he really was not trying to make anything better. Like he was asking God for forgiveness but at the same time, he wanted to keep the perks he received from his sin. In essence, it was not really a confession for clemency. It was just a statement.

As much as I want Hamlet to kill Claudius for his filial obligations, there are always draw backs. Nearly everyone thinks Hamlet is crazy; so it would be difficult getting them to believe Hamlet’s reasoning to murdering his uncle. Also, killing Claudius does not guarantee King Hamlet getting into heaven and the same goes for Hamlet. I’m pretty sure they’re ultimate goal is to go to heaven and committing murder is not going to help them get there.

To Blog or Not To Blog ?

I believe Oliver’s version of Hamlet is the most dramatic out of the four versions that we watched. The director places Hamlet on a rock looking over a troubled sea. The weather is very misty and gloomy which provides a visual of what Hamlet’s mind is like while he contemplates suicide. In the back ground, the music playing was very dark and creepy; setting a mysterious tone to the scene. Even though the play was in black and white, I don’t think that that took away from the importance of the speech. By having Hamlet toy with the knife throughout his soliloquy, Oliver definitely added a feeling of suspense to the scene. His use of symbolism mainly comes from the setting he used. However, the way he makes Hamlet recite the speech is quite interesting. Some parts were spoken aloud, while others were spoken in Hamlet’s mind. I think this was a wise decision because the soliloquy was based off of Hamlet wrestling with his thoughts.

Zeffirelli places Hamlet in a tomb/ basement where dead bodies are kept, to deliver his famous soliloquy. This setting added to the objective of the scene because he’s thinking about death, while surrounded by death.  In comparison to the others, this setting would have persuaded Hamlet to commit suicide more than anything. The lighting is still dark but this time it didn’t take away from the scene.  When Hamlet recites the speech, he speaks with a lot of passion. You could really tell that this is something he had really thought about. In the beginning of the scene he spoke quietly, but as you got deeper and deeper into the speech his voice raised as if he was yelling at someone else.  Hamlet’s body language was also very believable. He would often fold his hands as if he were praying or drape his body over a tomb as if that was where he found comfort.

I think the setting that Branaugh used was very clever. Hamlet stands in front of a mirror as he says the speech. This was smart because in reality he was conversing with himself in his head on whether or not he should die. Hamlet saying his speech in a mirror where he was able to see himself, adds on to the depth of the soliloquy. The music in the background is very calm and soothing; which corresponds to Hamlets tone in this scene. Yet, it does provide a contrast because Hamlets mood in the play was not tranquil. The lighting was bright, just like in the ghost scene directed by Branaugh. This scene was probably my least favorite out of the four because it seemed very boring. I expected more drama and theatrics from the director.

Almereyda’s version will always differ from the others because this is the most modern version of them all. The setting was located in a Block Buster.  Hamlet delivered the “To be or not to be” speech while walking up and down the action aisles of the store. He is not making a decision on which action movie to choose just like how he is not making a decision on which action he should follow through with in real life (suicide).  The symbolism in this movie was very significant. Hamlet’s emotion was very vague. He had the same nonchalant tone throughout the whole scene. I kind of liked it because I felt like his relaxed attitude would lead to something big toward the end (nothing happened, but that’s beside the point).  

I believe there are so many versions of this play because each of the scenes can easily be manipulated. This shows that Hamlet is extremely universal and can appeal to several different crowds and audiences. My favorite version would probably be Zeffirelli’s, simply because the director’s choices were more realistic to the time period.

Halloween Hits Hamlet!

In Zeffirelli's take on Hamlet, actor Mel Gibson portrays a frantic and vengeful protagonist. Hamlet was extremely grief stricken from his father’s death and was not comfortable with his mothers quick remarriage to his uncle. With that being said, Hamlet’s mood throughout the scene was irrational. The ghost however, talked in a very informative tone. The lighting in the scene was very dark, it definetly took a way from the importance of the scene because I could barely see the ghost’s facial expressions. However, I think Zeffirelli used this type of lighting to emphasize how deep the scene truly was. Near the end of the scene, Hamlet’s anger builds up and he becomes very distraught. His prop, a sword is what he uses to release his anger. During a monologue, he swings it back and forth and stabs it in rocks as he watches his mother and uncle display their affection. I believe that this is symbolism and foreshadows something tragic that will occur in the future.

Branagh’s version of Hamlet was the most dramatic out of the three. 

Surprisingly, Branagh did not use Hamlet as a major contributor to the scene. Majority of the excitement came from the special effects and the ghost of Hamlet. As Prince Hamlet ran through the woods to find his fathers ghost, he anxiously shared his thoughts (that was most of his words throughout the scene). On the other hand, the ghost of King Hamlet had A LOT to say. He spoke in an eerie type of whisper as he told Hamlet about how he died. The lighting was perfect, there was a bluish type of tint the complemented the special effects really well. The flashback of King Hamlet being poisoned provided a graphic visual of his death. It also showed a quick glimpse of how Claudius felt after he murdered his brother; guilt.

Almeryda’s version differed from the other two in many ways. This scene was really bright and I felt like I could believe this one more. The ghost looked like an average man and the setting was in a messy NY apartment. The director added many delicate things to the scene that added to the climax.  The ghost kept wiping his ear because that's where Claudius placed the poison. The ghost was very touchy feely, consistently pushing Hamlet into the wall. The ghost also hugged Hamlet at the end of the scene (making the scene more realistic). Hamlet's fear played a big part in this. Since he was being pushed and shoved he had this look of fright in his eyes. You weren’t able to tell if he was going to act on what his father told him to do or if he was just going to continuing mourning his fathers death.

In conclusion I believe these effects made each of the versions unique. I disagree with some of the decisions made by the directors but it is kind of hard to say because i did not watch the whole movie.