Ophelia's Eulogy

     Poor Ophelia... She was once so young and loving. She was so loving that she took her own life when she could not cherish her beloved anymore. She lived for the people she loved, and when they were taken away from her, she did not want to live anymore. 
     When Hamlet became bitter over his mother's hasty marriage- to the man (and uncle) who  killed his father, he became bitter towards all women, including Ophelia. The love he once had for both Ophelia and his mother faded away as he mentally changed into a different person. The same happened for Ophelia when her father was killed and she no longer had Hamlet to be her shoulder to cry on and to have for emotional security and love. She changed into a different person too. 
     Love does that to people, and sometimes it can turn into something psychologically disturbing. Once they have been broken to that extreme, there is no going back to the way they once were. 
     The loving Ophelia we once knew was turned into a confused, lost, and extremely devastated and heartbroken girl. She could not come to her senses to realize that things would turn out better for her. She did not see that she had a brighter future waiting for her, when she could one day live happily and in memory of her father beside her future husband. That did not exist in her mind. All she could see was what seemed like endless darkness and pain for the rest of her life. 
     Ophelia deserves a Christian burial. She lived and loved like a Christian and spread her love to everyone around her until she had none left for herself when she needed it the most. She deserves to remembered and praised for how she lived. Not how she died. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Hamlet's Dilemma

     It is far better to be a man of action, rather than a man of thought. Hamlet's hesitation to kill Claudius was very foolish in my opinion. Although Claudius was forgiven for his sins in that moment when he was praying for forgiveness, it could have been the only chance Hamlet had to kill him. If Claudius had succeeded in killing Hamlet before Hamlet could kill Claudius; then Claudius would just be able to live and rule in tyranny. That is not what he deserved for his actions of killing King Hamlet. Also, Hamlet would have never had to bear the pain of watching his mother be poisoned and killed, because of Claudius, who was the root of all of the trouble.
     I don't think that Hamlet has much at stake, because everyone realizes that he hasn't been the same since his father died. Hamlet's actions are somewhat justified because of his psychological state, and I do not think there would be serious consequences for him killing Claudius, being in that mental state. If Claudius would be able to get away with killing Hamlet, Hamlet should be able to get away with killing Claudius.
     Of course with religion or any ethics, murder is not taken lightly. Although characters throughout the play and throughout history, many get away with it. People will claim they are doing God's will by doing the most evil things, even racial cleansing, and still have no consequences. In reality, a "god" who does good works would not want his people to be killing each other. 
     I believe that Claudius is guilty, but what makes it worse is his insincerity towards Hamlet, when he knows that he killed his father. If he were not guilty, he would try to act more sympathetic and caring to prove it, but instead it's all fake. Even in the end when we see that he was only proven guilty when everyone was poisoned and even then, only Hamlet was doing something about it. This situation between the two, has not been interfered by anyone else, so it is like a battle that doesn't really end until many others die. Hamlet would be better off to end Claudius' life sooner than waiting on it and just thinking about it. 

To Be Or Not To Be

     The Olivier version of the soliloquy was very simple, but effective. The scene starts out with Hamlet looking over the cliff at the waves crashing. The sky is cloudy and looming over his head. This adds to the meaning of the first few lines when he is contemplating suicide. There is no music, but there are sound effects of waves crashing, which gives the scene a realistic feel. During one moment of the soliloquy he isn't speaking aloud, just thinking in his head and we hear a voice over. The actor is very concentrated in his thought at this point, and he looks very troubled. Hamlet has a very emotionless and dull tone in his voice, as if he is defeated. This gives the effect that he is ready to die and give up on all the troubles he is facing. When he says the lines " with a bare bodkin" he pulls out a dagger, which gives the lines a literal meaning, and the audience can more clearly understand the language of the piece. For a moment, if you hadn't read the soliloquy before, you may think he will end his life right there with it. Then, he walks over to the edge of the cliff, and it seems as if he may jump, but he walks away, ending the scene, which leaves the audience wondering what may have been going on in his head, even though we know he calls himself a coward for not committing suicide. Although this version is very simple and to the point, it shows that Hamlet can be a more defeated and dull character in this scene, rather than angry or sad, which are others ways he can be interpreted in other plays or movies.
   
     In the Zeffirelli version, Hamlet walks down the stairs from the light of the upstairs in the castle down into the dark catacombs, perhaps symbolizing his decent into a dark mindset. This is a very connected way to also emphasize the theme of contemplating death. Hamlet gets very emotional for a moment, and bends down next to what we can assume is his father's body and he puts his hands together as if praying and closes his eyes for a moment. He looks as if he is on the verge of tears. My take on is is that he is clearly still mourning over his father's death and can't take the pain anymore, based on this adaptation of the soliloquy. There is no music, but the lighting makes up for that. While he is surrounded by darkness, the only light is when he looks at the wall, with the dead bodies, and when he is walking around towards the end. This symbolizes that he is choosing life, and moving on, as he walks back up the stairs into the castle. He also seemed angry at himself for being cowardly and backing out of his feelings of wanting death, but he still pulls through.

     The Branaugh version starts off with Hamlet delivering his soliloquy to himself in a mirror. He is speaking very softly and calmly at first, although the message still has its dark undertones. The music starts once he starts to walk slowly towards the mirror, and it becomes more dramatic. AT first, we can see from behind him, but as the shot gets closer, until we can only see his shoulders and up, in the mirror. He takes a dagger at when he says "with a bare bodkin". He moves is slowly across his face and leaves it there and continues the soliloquy, as if thinking of ending his life right there, as he says "cowards turn awry" he places the dagger on the mirror as if to challenge himself. His tone changes into an arguing and debating type of tone, as if he is fighting with himself to decide to live or kill himself.

     In the Amereyda version, Hamlet is in a Blockbuster, in the Action section. He is looking around and slowly walking through the store. At first, he is not talking out loud, and the soliloquy is a voice over going on in his head. When he starts speaking out loud, he looks at the TV's which show destruction and fire. When he says "cowards of us all", there is a close up shot to emphasize how he is mad at himself for not following through. Throughout the whole scene, he is very emotionless and numb seeming. it is ironic because he is in a Blockbuster in the action section, but he is not taking action on what he is contemplating the whole time.
   
     I think there are so many versions of Hamlet, for the purpose of showing so many different ways that it can be interpreted. We can see the play as how it would have been in real life at the time in which it was set by Shakespeare, or in our own modern time. The directors of each of the versions we have watched in class has a different take on it, and it was very beneficial to see and try to understand other ways to analyze the text. My favorite version was the Zeffirelli and the Branaugh version of this scene, because they were very true to the text, and I liked the choices the directors made to make it realistic seeming. 




   

The Ghost Scene

     The three versions of The Ghost Scene were not only very different from each other, but left different impressions on the audience.

     In the first version, (Zeffirelli) the audience was left feeling very connected with the emotions that Hamlet was experiencing. Gibson portrayed Hamlet as being very scared, surprised and in shock while he interacts with the ghost of his father. The camera work shows only the faces of the actors to make it feel very personal. The colors were cool and dark, and gave it an eerie feeling. Only when Hamlet was angry and wanting revenge on his uncle, was when there were warm colors. This added to the emotions the audience feels while watching. Hamlet's father had almost a shadow over.him so you couldn't see him clearly, and he did not have any armor on. I think that this version feels the most realistic to the setting, and I like it the best.

     The Branagh version used many special effects, such as music and sounds and pictures flashing which make the audience feel as if Hamlet is panicked. His father's ghost speaks very fast in a monotone, cold voice. It seems scary at first, almost. When he explains how his brother was responsible for his murder to Hamlet, (and throughout the clip) everything is acted out with bright colors. It makes it seem as if those were happier times, rather than the cold colors used in the present. The ghost had armor on, like written in the play. I did not enjoy this version as much, because I feel like all the special effects take away from the play and the meaning in it. It's almost too artificial.

     The Almereyda version had the least of the special effects and was very humanistic. Hamlet's father looked like a normal person, and was speaking normally. In the background, there was a television showing anarchy and scenes that looked like war and destruction, but had warm colors, such as red. I enjoyed this version, but I prefer when plays are true to the time setting instead of modernized.