Literature Essay on Hamlets Revenge through Branagh and the BBC

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Literature Essay on Hamlet's Revenge through Branagh and the BBC

Tormented by the implications of righting his father's murder, Hamlet, the hero of William Shakespeare's 'The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark' has been presented on film, stage and television in many different ways.As a man of action, in the 1990 film by Franco Zeffirelli, as a member of staff for a corporation called 'Denmark', in the 2000 film of Michael Almereyda and in Laurance Olivier's production in 1948 as 'a man who could not make up his mind'. In all these different styles of character, Hamlet, most renowned for the 'to be or not to be' soliloquy on life, is characterised by indecision.

However, the long speeches of Hamlet and his indecision, are what make him a tragic revenge hero and why the play, in all its different adaptations fits into the category of revenge tragedy.

Revenge tragedy has been around for centuries. An example of ancient Greek revenge tragedy that survives is Aeschylus' 'Oresteia'. In this play, the tragic hero, like Hamlet, must avenge his Father's death.

The 1600's in England were a popular time for the revenge play. Many of them were based on Seneca's revenge plays and contained a 'pay-back' type of theme. Shakespeare may not have read any Greek tragedy but may have had access to Seneca.Revenge as a theme may be the motivation for a comic text, to right a social slight, such as what becomes of the upstart Malvolio in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'. However, for a text to fit the category of revenge tragedy it must contain death and the revenge code-how the death is to be righted.

What makes a revenge tragedy tragic is not merely the death of the hero or others but the implications of avenging a death. A tragic revenge hero must suffer the complications of his acts. Not only because 'blood will have blood' (Barton p14) but because of what it does to the character and life of the avenger.

Questions of divine intervention, religion, justice, mortality and the importance of human life are all issues a tragic revenge hero must encounter. The reason why 'Hamlet' is such a lengthy play is not merely because he is hesitant or cannot make up his mind but because he must deal with facing the consequences for his actions.

In taking revenge there will always be social consequences. A civilised society cannot ignore murder. Therefore, revenge is not a straightforward act; it will always ensue implications. The deed that a revenger sets out to do may change them forever; they may become bitter or bloodthirsty.

Some avengers such as Hamlet go mad or appear to have become mad or irrational, not because the text requires it for length, but because 'the strains imposed upon them by the period of lonely preparation and waiting become psychologically intolerable' (Barton, p14).

Revenge is viewed sympathetically by an audience or reader where the law has failed to pass justice or where there is not enough evidence to convict the murderer. However, in revenge tragedy, a hero may lose sympathy after he commits murder, for he is then stained by it.

This is, however, not an issue in 'Hamlet', either for Hamlet himself or the other avengers in the play. Hamlet retains sympathy by his complex character, in his words, thoughts and soliloquies, and on his questions of mortality and life.

Hamlet does not include any point in which the hero should relinquish his acts and leave the revenge to the state or God, as is the case in other texts of revenge tragedy. However, Hamlets' ultimate tragedy is that revenge will not give him back the world he has lost forever. Hamlet is not the only avenger in the play; the tragedy contains the strong theme of revenge.

Tied in with the theme of revenge are father and son relationships and blood ties. Laertes whishes to avenge his Father and later his sister, young Fortinbras whishes to avenge his father, killed by Hamlet's father and Hamlet of course has to avenge his father. Avenging the death of one's blood kin is a popular choice for revenge tragedy.'The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark' was written as a theatrical production. Any reproduction of the play on screen is therefore an adaptation, and it is to the director's discretion what is included or omitted, what themes are focused on and how the scenes are linked together, in transferring the play to the screen.

The two productions I have chosen to focus on are 'William Shakespeare's Hamlet' (1996) directed and starring Kenneth Branagh and 'The BBC Shakespeare Hamlet' (1990) directed by Rodney Bennet, taped for television.

The productions are greatly different from each other, yet share some similarities.In terms of the period of production these two follow Laurance Olivier's 'Hamlet' in (1948), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 production of 'Hamlet' starring Mel Gibson.
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The BBC version is influenced by neither, it is in colour, not black and white like Olivier's' and it does not cut any lines or scenes from the original play, like Zeffirelli's. Olivier, however may have influenced Branagh, in that he has bleached his hair for this role.

Branagh has also chosen to make some the same choices of Shakespearian play adaptations as Olivier, and is recognised as the 'current steward' (McDonald p378) of that tradition. Like Olivier, Branagh was also nominated for an Academy Award.Originally, the theatre was a form of entertainment that was mainly verbal, ...

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