Soliloquies In Branagh's To Be Or Not To Be

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Recommended: Branagh's adaptation of Hamlet film and text

Despite not being the newest film version of Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh’s take on Hamlet’s over famous soliloquy “To be or not to be” (Shakespeare 3.1.57-90) is the most bold and contemporary version. Branagh’s interpretation of this scene brings suspense, maintains a steady pace and adds drama to the soliloquy. The use of gestures, music and camera shots effectively improve the scene.
In Zeffirelli take on this scene, Hamlet is roaming around a tomb-like building. Although this location parallels the theme of mortality, it is unfitting because Hamlet would not usually visit the tomb in the plot. In Almereyda’s interpretation of the soliloquy, a modern Hamlet says his soliloquy in a movie store. The blockbuster has many symbols and images that …show more content…

Often, it is a challenge for the director to find an appropriate level of background sound. In Zeffirelli’s interpretation, there was little to no ambient noise. Although Hamlet’s speech was clearly audible, the lack of sound made the scene dull and uninteresting. The opposite goes for Almereyda’s interpretation. In this version the background music and the noise from the films were overshadowing the soliloquy. There were parts in that scene that were barely audible or parts where the music and noise distracted me from the words he was saying. In Branagh’s version, there was the perfect amount of background sound; it accompanied the speech instead of overshadowing it. There was no ambient music until he intensified his speech. When he started to talk about death, an eerie sound started to appear. When Hamlet calms down and lowers his dagger, the eerie noise settles. This relates to the theme or mortality because the eerie sound may represent the soul of King Hamlet. The only things holding Hamlet back from suicide are fear and revenge. The eerie sound was effective because it may show that Hamlet remembers that he has to avenge his father’s murder before he dies. Branagh found the perfect level of background noise to accompany Hamlet’s

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