Tough Love in Mel Gibson's Hamlet and Branagh's Hamlet
One of the most emotional and moving scenes in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is in Act III, Scene I lines 90-155 in which the title character becomes somewhat abusive toward his once loved girlfriend Ophelia. It is interesting to examine the possible motives behind Hamlet's blatant harshness in this "Get the to a nunnery" scene toward the easily manipulated and mild mannered girl. While watching Kenneth Branagh and Mel Gibson's film adaptations of the play, the audience may recognize two possibilities of the many that may exist which may explain the Prince's contemptible behavior; Kenneth Branaugh seems to suggest that this display of animosity will help the troubled man convince his enemies that he is in fact demented, whereas the Mel Gibson work may infer that Hamlet's repressed anger toward his mother causes him to "vent" his frustrations upon Ophelia, the other female of importance in his life.
Though the reader realizes Hamlet's extreme anger and brooding throughout the entire play, he has no actual confrontation with another character until the aforementioned lines in Act III Scene I. One may notice the Prince's biting tone aimed at Claudius, Polonius or even Gertrude, but until his "Get the to a nunnery!" speech, no outbursts of pure rage in the presence of others can be found. This harshness in relation to Ophelia may be one of Hamlet's first moments of "action." The Prince seems reluctant to act upon any of his emotions toward anyone, though he often does give off an aura of discontentment and sorrow over his father's death. However, in these specific lines the audience sees Hamlet take an active stance in purging this young lady's once p...
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...he primary cause of the violent reaction to Ophelia.
Living in an environment of deception and hostility, the reader can easily identify with Hamlet's anger. Most all compassionate audiences will be sympathetic to his plight. However, the origins of Hamlet's vehement actions toward his once beloved Ophelia can be debated from several different points of view. Whatever his reasoning may be, it is probably correct to assume that he regrets deeply every harsh world spoken toward Ophelia. He only realizes again what a beautiful and kind person she was- after her death.
Works Cited
Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Videocassette. Warner Home Video, 1990.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, and Kate Winslet. Videocassette. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1996.
While Hamlet may still be feeling depressed Hamlet moves into the stage of denial and isolation. Hamlet feels the effects of denial and isolation mostly due to his love, Ophelia. Both Hamlet’s grief and his task constrain him from realizing this love, but Ophelia’s own behavior clearly intensifies his frustration and anguish. By keeping the worldly and disbelieving advice of her brother and father as “watchmen” to her “heart” (I.iii.46), she denies the heart’s affection not only in Hamlet, but in herself; and both denials add immeasurably to Hamlet’s sense of loneliness and loss—and anger. Her rejection of him echoes his mother’s inconstancy and denies him the possibility even of imagining the experience of loving an...
Pennington, Michael. "Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.
Hamlet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare shows a lot of adaptations to movies. Hamlet by Mel Gibson (1990) and Kenneth Branagh (1996) interpret and portray the play by Shakespeare in different ways. The two film versions of Act IV of Hamlet have many differences and similarities. Kenneth Branagh’s version of Hamlet is seen covering most of the original text of Shakespeare’s play of Hamlet unlike the Mel Gibson version which omits many scenes and dialogues. The film version of Hamlet featuring Kenneth Branagh is a more successful production of Shakespeare’s play of Act IV according to its setting, editing choices and character portrayal.
Even though Hamlet is a prince, he has little control over the course of his life. In that time many things were decided for the princes and princesses such as their education and even who they married. This was more or less the normal way of life for a child of the monarch. But in the case of Hamlet, any of the control he thought he had, fell away with the murder of his father. Having his father, the king, be killed by his own brother, sent Hamlet into a state of feeling helpless and out of control. Cooped up in a palace with no real outlet, he tries to control at least one aspect of his life. Hamlet deliberately toys with Ophelia's emotions in order to feel in control of something since he cannot control the situation with Claudius.
There has been an expediential growth in the number of teenager’s beginning to smokes do to facts such as curiousness, peer
As per the American Heart Association in 2013, an expected 23 percent of grown-up men and 18 percent of grown-up ladies in the United States are smokers. What’s even more troubling is the prevalence of juvenile smoking in our society. juvenile smoking is a very real danger among U.S. youngsters and high schoolers. About 25 percent of U.S. secondary school understudies are smokers, and an extra 8 percent use smokeless tobacco items, for example, snuff and plunge. But what is most disheartening, is that 30 percent of all juvenile smokers will become addicted and suffer health related complications due to prolonged smoking. Numerous components play into a kid's choice to attempt tobacco. A craving to seem "cooler", more advanced, or to
Smoking actually increases anxiety and tension. It does create an immediate sense of relaxation. However, This feeling of relaxation is temporary and soon gives way to withdrawal symptoms and increased cravings.
Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Barnagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Kate Winslet, Brian Blessed, Richard Briars, Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Derek Jacobi, Michael Maloney. Castle Rock, 1996.
It bonds the people together. Smoking cigarettes is a cult, a religion, a philosophy. It’s not only a lifestyle, but it’s a belief-system. Smoking is all about the illusion of freedom. The illusion of freedom is most powerful among teenagers of junior high or high school age. The lit cigarette in your mouth your badge of freedom and defiance. It’s fun to smoke precisely because we live in a world where we’re not supposed to smoke. Smoking a cigarette separates you from your actual lame self and turns you into the cool person you want to
A second example of Hamlet’s immaturity, which stems from his plotting against Claudius, can be seen in his treatment of Ophelia, the daughter of a court advisor. Hamlet himself gives cause for belief that he is in love with Ophelia. He writes to her informing her that she is his “…soul’s idol…” (Polonius 2:2). How ever when Hamlet affects insanity he treats Ophelia in a very ribald manner. After a litany of insults directed at Ophelia because of Hamlet’s belief that she is in league with Polonius in trying to trap him he goes so far as to proclaim “I loved you not.” (Hamlet 3:1) Hamlet used Ophelia quite cruelly in order to strike a blow at her father and Claudius. Instead of acting like a man and telling them directly what he thought of them he abused a trusting, loving, girl in order to deliver his message of loathing.
Different adaptations of William Shakespeare’s works have taken various forms. Through the creative license that artists, directors, and actors take, diverse incarnations of his classic works continue to arise. Gregory Doran’s Hamlet and Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet bring William Shakespeare’s work by the same title to the screen. These two film adaptations take different approaches in presenting the turmoil of Hamlet. From the diverging takes on atmosphere to the characterization of the characters themselves, the many possible readings of Hamlet create the ability for the modification of the presentation and the meaning of the play itself. Doran presents David Tenant as Hamlet in a dark, eerie, and minimal setting; his direction highlighting the
Smoking holds many negative impacts on your general health. One basic statistic on smoking is, it causes more deaths annually than HIV, drugs, alcohol, car accidents, and gun related deaths combined (Health Effects). According to a study done by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes nearly 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 480,000 deaths annually are smoking related. Smoking harms nearly every organ of your body (Health effects). These stats effectively show how deadly tobacco smoke is, and what it can do to your body over time. Shown in a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking immediately increases heart rate and blood pressure in all young adult smokers. It attacks your vital organs including your lungs, stomach, and bladder. Smoking effects attacks your lungs by causing inflammation in the small airways and tissues of your lungs (National Institute). This can cause a person to wheeze or make your chest feel tight. Continued inflammation to an individual’s lungs can also cause chronic cough with mucus. The National Institute on Drug abuse also states that it can affect men’s sperm, which decreases their fertility and increases their chance of offspring with severe birth defects.
Smokers typically experience shortness of breath, persistent coughs, reduced fitness, yellow stains on fingers and teeth and decreased sense of taste and smell. Smokers have more colds and flu than non-smokers and find it harder to recover from minor illnesses. Smoking can cause impotence in men, while women who smoke are less fertile than non-smokers.
There is a certain mystery that lies within the meaning of angels. It is known that angels are among us. They are carriers of the messages from God (Gasparri 14). However, little is known about what and who angels are, why they are present, and even what they look like. They everything that human want to be and more (Stevenson 1). Angels go above and beyond the limitations of humans to give hints of what life is like in heaven or even hell.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.