Hamlet is a world renowned play written by William Shakespeare. I will be discussing the theatrical film adaptation of the 1996 production of Hamlet directed by Kenneth Branagh. To give a brief synopsis in Branagh’s own words, Hamlet is an incredibly flawed man who is the rightful heir to the Danish throne. His father, the king, has just died and to Hamlet’s detest the queen is quickly remarrying to the king’s brother Claudius. The ghost of the fallen king appears to Hamlet and informs him that Claudius
Was Hamlet’s insanity to be present throughout the book? Sanity can be a difficult character trait to figure out, but even harder to determine his sanity. Throughout the story Hamlet presented himself as insane yet he was sane the whole time. Considering the fact of what happened after Hamlet’s first encounter with the ghost, plotting the mousetrap play on Claudius, and knowing what Claudius’ cunning plan was. The first point to agreeing on Hamlet’s sanity was what happened after he encountered the
I chose “Here We Aren’t, So Quickly” by Johnathan Sofran Foer, and “Wake Up Call” by Megan McGuire. They have similar underlying themes and will be an interesting comparison. “Here We Aren’t, So Quickly” is about what seems to be a daydream about the future relationship between two lovers and how it evolves over the course of their adults lives. “Wake Up Call” is about the relationship between a girl and her parents as she grows up from adolescence in to young adulthood. . In “Here We Aren’t, So
“If only it was as simple as planned,” thought Thomas. Reminiscing on past conversations he recalled the specific words, “Let’s keep this simple, shall we? I don’t the slightest bit of suspicion towards me. When we walk in I will give you the supplies, all you need to do is finish the deal.” After that said, the tall man wearing a trench coat walked away leaving a trail of questions to be answered, but none were asked. “Where is he?” the princess shouts. Being born into a family that caters the
In every great play, there must be a villain to assist in forming the base of the plot. Without a villain, no story or play will be successful or interesting. Shakespeare is well known for his use of different types of villains in his plays. “What constitutes a villain? -- You could probably write a whole thesis on that one. I'm going to adopt a rather loose working definition - villains are people who do bad stuff.” (Dooley) Dooley’s description of villains is a very accurate summary of the
King Claudius is proved to be a power hungry antagonist throughout the whole entire play. In many instances he is shown to do whatever it takes to convince himself and others around him that he had done absolutely nothing wrong. Although knowing that someone one knows his truth, he makes plans to get rid of this spy as well as anyone who gets in his way. Within the first couple pages of the play you find out the hidden truth behind Claudius’ disguise. When you start to read the play, you can sense
Humans experience a broad variety of emotions during their life. Every human comes into contact with all of their emotions at least once in their life. One of those emotions is anger. Anger can be seen in every aspect of human culture. This emotion is frequently expressed in many forms of literature from subtle sub points to main themes. Understanding anger is necessary before understanding how it plays into the stories, Hamlet, “A Raisin in the Sun,” and “Sweat.” Anger is something that everyone
Iago and Polonius are two Shakespearean characters. Polonius appears in Hamlet and Iago in Othello. These two men share many qualities, such as their attitude towards women and their position in society, but they also have some very important differences, like how they use their positions, their diction and style of speaking, and what fates meet them in the plays. The differences, although sometimes very slight, ultimately create two very different characters. Iago, has a more direct role in the
In the play Hamlet, the young prince never does have the chance to become king. Shortly after his uncle Claudius dies, so does young Hamlet. Therefore, many readers wonder whether the prince would have made a good king. Hamlet would indeed make a great king due to his compassion, loyalty, and intelligence. Any great king must be compassionate, and Hamlet is the embodiment of compassion. He shows this through his great sadness after his father’s death. Unlike many others in the play, Hamlet continues
Hamlet and Fifth Business: The Theme of Guilt One particular human emotion can cripple humans mentally and physically. It can cause people to do things they do not want to do. It can lead them to twist the truth and lie not only to themselves, but people around them as well. It is something that they cannot hide. It is more like a disease, however, it is better known as guilt. Along with guilt, comes dishonesty, shamefulness, peculiar behavior, and even suicidal thoughts. Guilt is a recurring theme
least. To contribute to his overall vulnerability, Hamlet continues to make rash decisions without getting the facts. From killing Polonius to eventually causing the deaths of the entire royal family, Hamlet shows his friends and subordinates that he makes his choices based on his emotions. This ignorance and overall weakness becomes the layout for all of Hamlets choices, thus eventually leading him to his own demise. Next, Othello 's ignorance and overall poor decision making shows just how
There is a moment at the start of this film when Hamlet, until then holding himself rigidly erect through sheer force of will, seizes a moment of privacy and literally deflates with exhaustion and despair. In itself, this perfect gesture would mark Branagh's portrayal a masterful work. But what follows raises his performance to the sublime: He embarks on the "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, /Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew..." soliloquy not with Burton's anger, Olivier's melancholy
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular hero and tragic figure of the play constantly finds himself unable to act on the Ghost’s instructions to take revenge on King Claudius despite the compelling reasons he realizes for doing so. The reason for this delay is Hamlet’s tragic flaw – his tendency towards thought and introspection rather than impulse and action. Because of this flaw, Hamlet is unable to ignore the moral aspects of his actions and “thereby becomes the creature of mere meditation, and [he]
Applying Plato's Allegory of the Cave to Oedipus Rex, Hamlet,and Thomas Becket Plato was one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He is recognized all over the world as one of the greatest minds of all time. Knowledge is required under compulsion has not hold on the mind.(Durant 24). Plato's dialogues are the fruit of a rare mind; but the could not have kept their perennial freshness if they had not somehow succeeded in expressing he problems and the convictions that are common to Plato's
Claudius Driving Story-line “Rightly to be great/ Is not to stir without great argument, But greatly to find quarrel in a straw/ When honour 's at the stake”- Hamlet, Hamlet Hamlet, a play filled with action, words, revenge, recognition, focus and hate. Even though we may see the play Hamlet as a story about Hamlet himself, some may also argue it is a play about Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. Taking into consideration the aspects that make a character a protagonist, it is shown that Hamlet may not
Power and the gaining of power has always been and will remain one of the most sought out forms of status. However, for the common people, the definition of power was transformed and evolved over the years. In the time period of Shakespeare 's Hamlet, power was defined as one of the most important things needed for a good life. In modern times, power is defined as something that gives someone a temporary advantage over another. Power is more over petty or insignificant things and that power isn 't
Many see Gertrude as a voiceless character, that she is simple minded or witless. It is important to note, that whether she is a strong character or not in the play, she is innocent of murder. She has no part in the murder of her husband, but that does not mean she is not an adulterer. Hamlet sees Gertrude’s moral offence and is disgusted by it. In Hamlet’s mind, Gertrude was guilty simply by association with Claudius. Though, would Hamlet have condemned her to the same fate as Claudius in the end
A Comparison of Olivier and Branagh's Adaptations of Henry V Media Comparative Essay: (in the medium of film) concerning the 2 well known film versions of Shakespeare’s Henry V of Olivier (1944) and Branagh (1989) in the specific scenes of “A Little Touch of Harry in the Night” and “The Crispin Crispian Speech” A comparison of these scenes in the two film versions of Henry V indicated above in a discussion of all the major cinematic issues in integrating a story like Shakespeare’s and
Comparing the Presentation of War in the Oliver and Branagh Film Versions of Henry the Fifth Many films have been made of Shakespeare’s play, “Henry V”. The two I am analysing are by Laurence Olivier (1944) and Kenneth Branagh (1988). They are made for very different audiences with different aims. Although they seem very different, in some ways, Branagh’s version used many techniques of Olivier’s. Both productions were performed to communicate the director’s feelings on war to the audience
fulfillment is what people live for, without it how can a person live? A failed search for self-fulfillment often leads to death. Demonstrated in A Tale of Two Cites, Hamlet, and A Death of a Salesman, each novel includes one character that struggles to fulfill his life, which results in death. Self-fulfillment can include being loved, wealthy, happiness, remembered, respected, or even a being hero. Sadly if none of these objectives is met, the character seems to think death is the only way option