The Portrayal of Shakespeare's Hamlet in Cinema
Chapter One Introduction This dissertation is an exploration of William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, on film, looking into the beginnings and history of Shakespeare on film and studying three famous and very different films of Hamlet; Laurence Olivier's Hamlet made in 1948, Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet made in 1990 starring Mel Gibson in the title role and Kenneth Branagh's full text Hamlet made in 1996. I have decided to look at Hamlet on film because I believe film is relatively new medium and is interesting to see Shakespeare that was originally written for the stage to be brought to a mass audience in different and innovative ways. It is also important to discuss the different interpretations of Hamlet by different directors. I have chosen my three focus films because Olivier's was the first big cinematic work of Hamlet, Zeffirelli's was the first all-star Hollywood Hamlet and Branagh's was the first full text Hamlet. This therefore shows the various original ways in which Hamlet has been exposed to the film world. I also intend to illustrate why film is an appropriate medium for modern day Shakespeare fans and critics. My first chapter will outline and explore the dawn of cinema, the transition from theatre to cinema and the role of Shakespeare's plays in early cinema referring specifically to Hamlet. I will look at the earliest films of Hamlet and how they were
Can we write about the tragedy of Hamlet in any meaningful fashion
Can we write about the tragedy of 'Hamlet' in any meaningful fashion? It is highly problematic to use the word 'tragedy' when referring to Shakespeare's works. 'Hamlet' has long been considered the best example of what one would call a tragedy out of all Shakespeare's plays, yet this generalisation, as it proves to be, is the most troublesome of all. Perhaps the reason for this lies in the unknown extent of Shakespeare's familiarity with what one would call traditional tragedy, whose routes lie in the principles set down by the Greeks and Aristotle. Aristotle, in setting down the so-called rules of tragedy in his 'Poetics' talks of an essential element; 'Hamartia', fundamental in the downfall of the prominent (usually this prominence is reflected in a high up hierarchical figure, perhaps of the nobility)'tragic hero' and which, furthermore the character must recognise. This fall from grace marks a reversal of the character's fortune, placing great emphasis on an element of fate; the 'strumpet fortune' that Hamlet so frequently refers to. Aristotle, echoing the Greek view that tragedy is didactic also talks of a fundamental element, Catharsis, at the tragic hero's downfall where the audience's emotions are purged and purified. Taking this into account, the links between Shakespeare's dramatic works and Greek tragedy are nevertheless unproved and tenuous. It is likely,
In conclusion the attitudes towards women in the plays Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida and As You Like It are that women are weak. This weakness is shown in different ways
Discuss the attitudes towards women in two or more of the plays studied. There are in fact only two female characters in the play Hamlet. These are the characters of Queen Gertrude of Denmark and the character of Ophelia who is Prince Hamlet's love interest. It seems as though the character of Ophelia is always being told what to do, both by her father and her brother. An example of this would be when her farther Polonius tells her to stop seeing Hamlet: I would not in plain terms from this forth Have you so slander any moment leisure As to give worlds of talk with the Lord Hamlet1 Here Ophelia is told that she is not allowed to continue seeing Hamlet because her father sees it as inappropriate. There is no argument against her father's orders; 'I shall obey, my lord.'2Ophelia replies that she will obey her father's instructions, even though it seems to us that she loves Hamlet. Her doings are based on what other people say. In Act one, in the third scene Laertes (Ophelia's brother) is leaving for France. Before he leaves he tells Ophelia that the 'best safety lies in fear'3 Ophelia is expected to follow Laertes judgment on safety and fear. Orphelia is motherless giving her more male dominance in her life, her character relies on others as 'her whole education is geared on relying on other people's judgments'4 and due to this 'Ophelia has no chance to develop an
Shakespeare's play Othello.
Abdul In Shakespeare's play Othello many issues are undertaken and explored. The three women play a vital role in this. Only one of the women in this play survives. All the women have no separate identity within the play; all three are married or associated with a male character. Bianca is the mistress of Cassio, Emilia is married to Iago and Desdemona is married with Othello. According to the time that the play was written in and the general hierarchy within Venetian society men hold all the power and women are considered to be of low intellect. Yet it is the women that speak the most sense throughout the play and it is also the women that are able to trust other characters in the play. Each woman represents a different social level, Desdemona being the highest and Bianca being of the lowest. Each sexual relationship in the play provokes some jealousy between the couple. essaybank.co.uk Bianca does not appear in the play as much as the other female characters yet her presence is key to the death of Desdemona as well as other play themes. Iago often refers to her as a prostitute, "A house wife that by selling her desires, Buys herself bread and clothes". She has fallen in love with Cassio, yet he does not speak of his returned affection for her due to his desire for status, and her social standing would affect this dramatically. She is the jealous partner in this
Compare the representation of family relationships in the work of 2 writers you have studied this term (Hamlet and Swift's 'Modest Proposal')
Compare the representation of family relationships in the work of 2 writers you have studied this term (Hamlet and Swift's 'Modest Proposal') These two texts are very different in many aspects. Not only in form, style and structure, but also in content. They show obvious differences with reference to family relationships. 'Hamlet' focuses on a single family with severe problems needing research into psychoanalysis to make these truly clear, whereas a 'A Modest Proposal' shows the problems of families in an Irish Society in the 18th Century, namely those of the poorer classes. The similarity between them is singularly that the families portrayed are unhappy and certainly not stereotypical. Swift's society is portrayed as miserable and in need of political help, Shakespeare's protagonist family, and indeed other more minor ones are crying out for help which they never get, and may have been far beyond. It is the way in which they are presented by the writers which needs further analysis. Swift's satirical taint on 'A Modest Proposal' makes it difficult to take much of the contents too seriously. However, his acute observations on society as a whole, and the way that we treat each other are both profound and sensible. He shows us a society which is impoverished and in dire need of help from it's government. He is trying to make clear the full horror of Ireland's economic
Contrast an Elizabethan and a modern audience's understanding of Hamlet's views".
Danièle Evans 29.12.01 'Hamlet thou hast cleft my heart in twain' "Most productions present Gertrude and Ophelia as sympathetic victims of Hamlet's cruelty. As your starting point, refer to either the closet or the nunnery scene, and, paying close attention to the language, show how it reveals the interaction between Hamlet and the women characters here and throughout the play. Contrast an Elizabethan and a modern audience's understanding of Hamlet's views". As the main female characters in the play, Ophelia and Gertrude are subjected to the worst of Hamlet's madness. 'Hamlet' depicts the popular Elizabethan viewpoint and treatment of women which is palpably clear from Hamlet's contemptuous and disrespectful behaviour. This is especially obvious in both the nunnery and the closet scenes, primarily from the language and exchanges between the characters. The 'nunnery' scene, mainly focusing on the exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia, is structurally similar to the later 'closet scene' of Act 3 Scene 4. 'Soft you now', says Hamlet as he catches a glimpse of his former love, 'The fair Ophelia', a comment which is instinctively tender. Notably, it also echoes his description of Ophelia at her grave, in Act 5 Scene 1, where he openly declares his love for her, admitting that 'forty thousand brothers/Could not with all their quantity of love/Make up my sum'. It is also at
Many of the plays revolve around the central question of 'killing the King.' What are the political
Many of the plays revolve around the central question of 'killing the King.' What are the political Kings are everywhere in Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Richard the Second, from Henry the Eighth to Macbeth; many of the plays contain a central element of a king or autocratic head of state such as Julius Caesar, for example. They focus more specifically on the nature of that person's power, especially on the question of removing it; what it means on both a political and psychological level, how it can be achieved, and what will happen afterwards. This is not surprising, considering the times Shakespeare was living in: with the question of who ruled and where their authority came from being ever more increasingly asked in Elizabethan and Jacobean times the observations he makes are especially pertinent. Kings and kingship also lend themselves well to drama; the king is a symbol of the order (or disorder) of the day and a man who possesses (almost) absolute authority and the status that accompanies that, whilst in contrast he is also a human being with the ordinary weaknesses of that condition. Shakespeare is also said to have loved the drama of killing; according to legend he would "make a speech when he killed a calf" in his father's abattoir (Richard Wilson: 'A Brute Part'.) The dramatic image of sacrifice is particularly prevalent in Julius Caesar; Brutus says: " Let us be
Michael Almereyda's Hamlet
One of Shakespeare's most famous plays; Hamlet has been adapted to film at least 43 times1. Michael Almereyda's Hamlet is the most recent adaptation; he describes his film as 'an attempt at Hamlet' and 'a patchwork of ideas'. Looking at how this patchwork comes together to form a Hamlet for the modern world is what this essay will concentrate on. In particular, the directors mise-en-scene, textual adjustments and how these affect the overall authenticity of the performance. In the Hamlet play text 1.1, it is unclear what the conflict is or whether there is any conflict at all and Hamlet does not appear until the play's second scene where he is sullen, the reason for this mood only becomes clear at the end of the scene. In Michael Almereyda's film, he uses the introduction to explain that Hamlet is suspicious of his fathers' death, justifying his mood from the outset. The first line of the play, 'who's there?'2 spoken by Bernardo, immediately highlights the theme of mystery in the play. This scene involves three soldiers Francisco, Barnardo and Marcellus and Hamlets close friend, Horatio, all of whom see the ghost of Hamlets father. These first words are prose, spoken by ordinary men which according to Brooke express a theme of 'normality'3 as opposed to 'sick- mindedness'4 quickly followed by the 'abnormal'5 and the 'ominous'6 particularly the movement of the text through
Portrayal of women in 'Hamlet'
Sophie Ryle 12JDM An exploration of Shakespeare's portrayal of women in 'Hamlet' Although not as fully realised as the main male characters, the female characters in 'Hamlet' play an absolutely crucial part in developing the deep running themes in the play, and prompting fundamental questions about human psychology for the audience. Hamlet's relationships with the two women in the play are complicated and turbulent. The cold rejection of Hamlet by his childhood love, Ophelia, and the disloyalty and gross, publicised sexual activity of his over-sensual mother, conspire to produce misogynous feeling in Hamlet. Hamlet often expresses his thoughts and feelings, conscious and unconscious, through imagery. In Act II scene ii, he describes fortune as a "strumpet", or whore. This comment hints at his misogyny, but these feelings can perhaps be best illustrated by his exasperated cry, "Frailty, thy name is woman". The female characters in the play can be interpreted as either manipulative, using those around them to gain for themselves, or manipulated, being pushed around by those in more powerful positions. Certainly in a patriarchal society like the one described in Hamlet, (or indeed the society in which Shakespeare lived), women had very little independent power, and therefore had no choice but to use the men around them if they wanted any influence whatsoever. Perhaps
Several modern dramas have had a strong social impact shortly after production and/or publication. Discuss the reasons for this in TWO cases.
Several modern dramas have had a strong social impact shortly after production and/or publication. Discuss the reasons for this in TWO cases. November 2003 Submitted by: - 0163330/1 Submitted to: - Keverne Smith Word Count: - 2000 Words Several modern dramas have had a strong social impact shortly after production and/or publication. Discuss the reasons for this in TWO cases. In this essay I am going to study what social impact both Look Back in Anger by John Osborne and Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett had shortly after their production and publication. I will consider what theatrical conventions are or are not in each play, which could explain why people were drawn to the plays; as well as considering why the plays may be seen as controversial by some. Look Back in Anger and Waiting for Godot are unarguably placed at the beginning of a revolution in the British theatre. Both plays introduced new ideas and concepts into the world of drama. However they were both influenced by playwright Bertolt Brecht. Brecht's plays used a bare stage, placards to indicate location and non-atmospheric lighting. In Brecht's plays he is keen for his audience to think about what is happening and question things, which are happening rather than switching off. John Osborne's Look Back in Anger represented not a revolution in form but instead a revolution in content. The Brechtian