Hamlet: self assessing your writing style

        For this particular essay, the lack of prof reading is what affected my score the most. In my case I focused so much more on the story and descriptions aspect of my essay that I disregarded the quotation and grammatical errors. Normally in my writing the main weakness would be the story/ analysis parts so I tried to focus more on that to improve my essay. I strive in the future to find the perfect balance between the two. Although I feel that I have already improved a lot this senior year, my essays still need to improve to be on the same level of those assigned in college

Hamlet: Act III Scene1

"To be or not to be" the most famous line in English literature. Hamlet is contemplating what to do. At this point Hamlet knows his uncle has killed his father. So in the soliloquy Hamlet is contemplating weather or not to kill himself out of frustration with the entire situation.

From the very beginning of the scene it is easy to spot Hamlets indecisiveness, so the best way to portray it would be to display a very unsure/uncertain Hamlet. Hamlet is clearly coming from a very dark place, placing him in a dark room by himself would only help further portray his indecisiveness making the scene dark and cynical. Further adding to the dramatics of the scene dressing hamlet in dark clothes only adds the dark place Hamlet is coming from. Very low lighting and hamlet speaking slowly and softly would only make it seem more dramatic.  

Hamlet: Essay response

Dr. Forman,

I really thought this essay was easier than the last one mainly because of the introduction film. I am more of a visual learner which for this essay... made it way easier to express my thoughts on the paper. The only thing I disliked about this essay was the fact that the videos were not available to us the entire time.

Hamlet: 2nd and 3rd body

Franco Zeffirellis version of Act 1 scene 2 is presented to us from a much different approach that strived away from Kenneth Branaghs and other directors’ Hamlet. Hamlets discussions with his mom and step dad are first introduced to us at their castle in a vastly different way through setting and style. Rather than Branaghs prominate  entrance, Zeffirelli takes an opposite approach and makes the setting in a small room cluttered with books. The clothes they wore were similar to the same rags that peasants wore. Their speech was even slowed down to seem less formal. The colors around were dull and did not stand out at all to signify royalty. It could be taken into consideration that Zeffirelli wanted to strive for a less complex version of Hamlet so it could be understood by many more. Although Zeffirelli drove away from the visual shock and awe aspect of Hamlet, he made up for it by shifting more of a focus on Hamlet and Gertrudes relationship.

            Cinematography in Hamlet is a very critical to the making of the film because it allows you to see what the director wants you to see. A close, personal, facial shot could be used to capture facial expression while they speak or a wide dropped back shot could be used to amplify the loneliness of someone in a room. Both styles are used in the production of Hamlet to better familiarize you with the directors’ interpretation of the play. Franco Zeffirelli first introduces Hamlet with a lighting technique by putting him in the shadows of his room to metaphorically reveal that Hamlet has an evil side. This is also metaphorically revealed in Kenneth Branaghs version by dressing Hamlet up in a black suit. His cinematography later focused more on Mel Gibson’s face in unveiling Hamlets anger and rage caused by the murder of his father, his uncle overtaking the throne, and then his mother swiftly getting married to his uncle. This is also partially used in Kenneth Branaghs version but his dark side and anger are more so expressed though Hamlets directed lines and tone that the actor uses. In both versions as the scene closes Hamlet is left alone. Kenneth Branaghs desired more of a loneness feeling in this scene so he added a drop back shot to capture more of a wide angle to capture the greater amount of the emptiness in the room.

Hamlet: 1st body

Kenneth Branaghs Act 1, Scene 2 version of Hamlet is first presented to us in a magnificent room filled with hundreds of people just briefly after Claudius took King Hamlets position on the throne and recited his speech to the audience in the. Kenneth Branagh hyperbolically sets up the scene with an array of royalty aspects from the set to the costumes. On the inside, the building was painted white with intricate gold accents, a chandelier hung from the ceiling, furniture, and spotless checkered floors. The colors in the room were all pristine and bold. The crowd all in white royal suits, Gertrudes white wedding dress with gold jewelry and Claudius’s vibrant red uniform outfitted with multiple badges. This vast expression of royalty from Kenneth Branagh version shows how much he values the importance of how social status and ranking play into the story of Hamlet.

Hamlet: Introduction

As originally performed in the early 1600’s, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, since then has been open to multiple directors’ ideas and their own interpretation of the play to change them into their own. Kenneth Branagh who directed the 1996 version staring himself as Hamlet and Franco Zeffirelli who directed the 1990 version staring Mel Gibson as Hamlet both show us how drastically they can alter the meaning of the script without even changing a single word of it. In Act 1, Scene 2 both directors are aware of the importance of portraying the family relationship between Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius but both strive for a different take on how that is exactly established.  

It is can be understood of how crucial of a role the director plays in in directing the setting, costume, lighting, actors, camera angles etc. that although the two more recent versions were based off of the same script, they resemble almost two completely different films.