Exploring the Depths of Hamlet's Character

1194 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of Prince Hamlet's character to the Elizabethans

Introduction Hamlet’s madness, authentic? This question has been debated by scholars and professors throughout the ages. This lecture will explore the depths of Prince Hamlet’s character in Shakespeare’s original play, as well as Michael Almereyda’s modern interpretation of this tragedy. / Through the use of cinematic tools and critical literacy, the Bard and Almereyda both equally portray the theme of madness, in their respective media. Shakespeare and Almereyda carefully constructed their representations of the Prince based on the surrounding cultural and religious attitudes, values and beliefs of the eras they lived in. / Shakespeare portrays Hamlet’s madness as spurious with purpose towards the deception of the king; in contrast to Almereyda’s version in which the Prince’s thirst for revenge genuinely drives him to the brink of insanity. / Shakespeare creates his representation of Hamlet through the use of a mix of Elizabethan cultural and religious attitudes, values and beliefs. This allowed the Bard to deliver a strong understanding and appeal to his Elizabethan audience. / On the other hand, Almereyda takes a different approach in which he portrays Hamlet’s madness as genuine. Almereyda cunningly massages modern day attitudes, values and beliefs into the precise construction of Hamlet in order to maximise his appeal to a modern audience. Body Let’s start with Shakespeare’s representation of the prince. Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as a tragic hero, a man of radical contradictions. In the play, the Prince meets his father’s death with a strong sense of mourning, one which quickly turns to a lust for revenge when he finds out that his father was murdered by his uncle. Gertrude at this point notices Ham... ... middle of paper ... ...it in with the colour and mood of the rest of the photo. The camera moves backwards following Hamlet’s movement and creates a strong sense of loneliness and isolation with no others in the store. Throughout the movie, Almereyda manipulates Shakespeare’s representation of the Prince and allows modern attitudes, values and beliefs like urban isolation and consumerism to shine through. Conclusion Both Shakespeare and Almereyda offer appealing media to their respective eras by creating representations of the characters which reflect their attitudes, values and beliefs. In conclusion, the effective manipulation of Modern and Elizabethan CAVBs allows Almereyda to appeal to a modern audience in order to bridge Shakespeare’s representation of Prince Hamlet into a modern representation of Prince Hamlet. Alas, your verdict – Was Prince Hamlet madness authentic?

Show More
Related

  • The Tempest: A Comparison Of The Film 'Forbidden Planet'

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    The works of William Shakespeare have been one of the diligent hotspots for adaptation and appropriation. We see dramatic adaptation of Shakespearean playtexts began as early as Restoration period. Different fields like poetry, novels, advertisements, and movies have connected themselves with Shakespeare as well. The adaptation of Shakespeare makes him fit for new social settings and distinctive political philosophies.

    Read More

  • Fortinbras as Foil for Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    Manning, John. "Symbola and Emblemata in Hamlet." New Essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 11-18.

    Read More

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream Compare And Contrast

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    The modern setting naturally incorporates the use of modern inventions, modern clothing, and modern behavior. These factors change the audience’s perspective and analyzation from the original play to the movie. For example, the use of bicycles made transportation easier and the running away seem less impossible. The modern clothing took away from the inherent magic, much like changing the setting originally affected this. The behavior of the characters that changed due to this setting change, however, disturbed the original emotions and analyzations one might make from reading the work as intended, through William Shakespeare’s original

    Read More

  • Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado About Nothing"

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kenneth Branagh creates his own individualistic adaptation of this classic through the use of visual imagery, characterization, and setting. Branagh cut many lines and speeches from the text to better support his interpretation of a more open and informal society of warm-hearted, affectionate characters. Though Shakespeare's mood is more formal, Branagh remains true to the essence of the play as all of the same characters and most of the dialogue are justly included in the film. Although distinct differences can be made between Branagh’s film and Shakespeare’s written work, they both share a common denominator of good old-fashioned entertainment; and in the world of theater, nothing else really matters.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Sanity

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Targeting the Audience in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this speech, Shakespeare targeted his Elizabethan audience through allusions to the Great Chain of Being, which governed their society, with the intent of influencing the themes that his audience interpreted. Targeting the audience with that aspect of their lives had the effect of developing Hamlet’s underlying themes: the frailty of man, appearance versus reality, and the uncertainty of death.

    Read More

  • Technology In Hamlet Analysis

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    The use of telephones in the film show a lack of interpersonal communication, especially with Hamlet. Hamlet internalizes the majority of his thoughts and rarely speaks to other characters in the film. This allows for the film to critique the kinds of conversations that the characters take part of as vapid. The kinds of communication represented in the film lack substance and is over-saturated by mass media. Isolation and alienation are prevalent themes scattered throughout the film. Almereyda 's Hamlet is a poignant depiction of a fragmented postmodern world that culturally devalues

    Read More

  • Hamlet-identity Crisis

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.

    Read More

  • Modernizing Hamlet: Michael Almereyda

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    There have been numerous remarks of William Shakespeare’s most celebrated drama Hamlet. Almereyda managed to make Hamlet a theoretical play, into an intense, action-driven movie without losing much of the initial tragic atmosphere of the original play. The play Hamlet focuses strictly on the state of Denmark on the original Elsinore castle, however Michael Almereyda was able to modernize the movie to New York City. In many ways I think that the modernized version of Hamlet is easier to appreciate but in review that diminishes the play’s “greatness,” in my personal opinion.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Hamlet as a Tragic Hero

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits.  A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development.  When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King.  In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair.   Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration.  The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character.  One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.

    Read More

  • The Complex Character of Shakespeare's Hamlet

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    Upon examining Shakespeare's characters in this play, Hamlet proves to be a very complex character, and functions as the key element to the development of the play. Throughout the play we see the many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction.

    Read More

  • The Overpowering Emotions of Hamlet and Antony in Hamlet and The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Two of the most the most complicated characters in Shakespeare’s plays are Mark Antony, in The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, and Hamlet, in The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. They share many similarities, but also have notable differences. The biggest trait that they have in common is the effect that their emotional state of mind has on their actions. Antony and Hamlet are overcome by their emotions and lose their objective reasoning power. They are both irrational and disorientated in the decisions they make. Hamlet differs from Antony on a personal level. This is to say that his mood does not shift as sporadically as Antony’s, and his melancholia is present throughout the entire play. Antony, on the other hand, has mood swings that take him from love to anger in short periods of time. The biggest difference between the two is the speed of their actions. Antony has many different affairs throughout the play and wastes no time carrying them out or thinking about them. Hamlet’s revenge on Claudius is his sole task in the play, and it takes him months to accomplish. Another clear distinction is that there is a theme of madness in Hamlet that is not as evident in Antony and Cleopatra. The question of Hamlet’s madness, or ‘Antic Disposition’, is one of the most debated in English literature. Antony’s mental state, on the other hand, is never questioned, but he is still very irrational. Love is a key theme. There is a question of love in Hamlet, but it does not play such an important role. Both characters are obsessive and delusional; all of these factors cause their inevitable deaths.

    Read More

  • Hamlet – its Universality

    1937 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare’s tragic play Hamlet is an excellent example, perhaps the best in English literature, of a work that has universal appeal. This essay will analyze the incredible universality of this drama, with the input of literary critics.

    Read More

  • Hamlet as the Tragic Hero

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.

    Read More

  • Hamlet- A Revenge Tragedy

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all of the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy which include plotting, ghosts, and madness, but its complexity as a story far transcends its functionality as a revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedies are often closely tied to the real or feigned madness in the play. Hamlet is such a complex revenge tragedy because there truly is a question about the sanity of the main character Prince Hamlet. Interestingly enough, this deepens the psychology of his character and affects the way that the revenge tragedy takes place. An evaluation of Hamlet’s actions and words over the course of the play can be determined to see that his ‘outsider’ outlook on society, coupled with his innate tendency to over-think his actions, leads to an unfocused mission of vengeance that brings about not only his own death, but also the unnecessary deaths of nearly all of the other main characters in the revenge tragedy.

    Read More

More about Exploring the Depths of Hamlet's Character

Open Document