His mother’s quick marriage to Claudius, his father’s brother, leaves him bitter and disillusioned. In the first act of Hamlet that Hamlet’s state of mind is explored and his quest for the meaning of life begins. The soliloquy “Oh that this too too solid flesh would melt…” is a dramatic technique used by Shakespeare to reveal Hamlet’s true emotions and marks the beginning of Hamlet’s philosophical journey. The dominant imagery used in this soliloquy is one of corruption and disease. His disgust at his mother’s “incestuous” marriage is also revealed in this soliloquy.
The acting is spot-on in this film. Some other interpretations of Macbeth through film, or even in a theater production, can tend to be overdramatized and can really turn you off from the film/play from the get go. This is not the case in the Goold film. Patrick Stewart as Macbeth and Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth speaking these lovely verses bring just the right amount of excitement and coyness to their roles. Its elements such as this that hook you from the beginning and keep you engrossed until the very end.
It becomes clear that Hamlet did truly love Ophelia, yet hid it because he was a coward. The “ White Lie” is not only depicted through Hamlet denying his love but also putting a front up for the selfish betterment of his life style. After his outrageous lecture on self worth that Hamlet gives Ophelia, she grows incredibly mad, which ultimately leads to her death. Although the intentions of his lecture were clearly to hurt Ophelia and gain power over her, once he realizes she is dead he feels the need to express his actual love for her. His change of attitude grows confusing as he professes his dear love after her awful death, “ I loved Ophelia.
Frailty In William Shakespeare’s “ Hamlet”, the author portrays the disgusted and depressing tone with the “Frailty” speech performed by Hamlet. The speech is based upon his mother’s dreadful decision of quickly remarrying, after her husband’s death, to his uncle. The targeting diction he has towards his mother, he is really upset with the poor decision his mother made, therefore leading to Hamlet targeting “woman!” in general and with the structured syntax. The weakness his mother has, the remarriage, that Hamlet quickly exposes deals with the disgust he has towards his mother. To begin with, is the targeting diction the author implies towards his mother in the speech.
Hamlet Movie Comparison From the two versions of Hamlet that we watched, Mel Gibson/Glenn Close and Kenneth Branagh; despite the fact they have the same plot but there are few differences between the both versions. Hamlet acting is really different in both versions of the movie. In Kenneth Branagh version we see the movie is done with strong emotions but Hamlet overacts in most of the scenes. We also see that Hamlet is not a calm thinker by watching how Hamlet amplifies his manners throughout the movie. In Mel Gibson’s version of Hamlet, Hamlet’s acting is outstanding because while watching the play we can see the effort and talent Gibson has put in the movie.
This may be why he has adapted some of Shakespeare's techniques and included scenes of passion, romance, comedy and violence into his film. Baz Lurhman also explains how in the making of the film, they used clashing low comedy with high tragedy, to help the audience embrace the steep emotions of the affliction. Therefore, it engages the audience one more, and encourages them to feel included in the couples situation. Lurhman incorporated lively, modern imagery accompanied by hip actors and a hard rock soundtrack to appeal more to his hungry audience and remind them that Shakespeare's plays should not be taken as a chore to be studied at school. He shows us that by borrowing aspects from such diverse periods as the 1940's, 1970's and 1990's, he can create an adaptation of the film and reset it in a more modern setting.
This allows Hamlet to show how much he really loved her. Shakespeare shows how two characters can care for someone so much, yet dislike each other completely. When Opheliah dies, both are upset and enraged. As a result of Hamlet and Leartes’ strong love for Opheliah they both end up jumping into her grave at her funeral and fighting for her dead body. Also, Laertes, like his father, has the same spontaneity as Hamlet.
Shakespeare had to make recourse to a wholly artificial device in order to show Hamlet in action, or inaction – the soliloquy. Another strain that goes through Hamlet, and a disturbing one, is the abuse by Hamlet of his former beloved and his mother, Ophelia and Gertrude. In his scenes with Ophelia, Hamlet is relentlessly cruel, charging her with a lustful nature, a dishonest heart, a dissembling appearance, and so on. He builds up, in scene three, to an utterly misogynistic rant, beginning, “I have heard of your paintings well enough.” Men in the English Renaissance were obsessed with women’s make-up, which they took to be a symbol of feminine wiles, excuses, manipulations, artifices, and hypocrisies. Shakespeare, especially, has a long rhetorical history with this line of vitriol; it shows up in many of his plays and features strongly in his Sonnets.
Characterisation is extremely similar in the play and film. In each text, Macbeth has an extensive moment of doubt before murdering Duncan, and again, when the feat is completed, both feel dreadfully guilty. After killing Duncan they both know that they have done the wrong thing and were pressured into doing so by their wife. Instead of using a soliloquy, Brozel uses a slow dolly in onto Joe to underline the thoughts, emotions, and most of all regret that is running through his mind not unfrequently. This new uncertain and anxious Macbeth is just like that of Shakespeare's.
Hamlet who is focused on getting revenge on Claudius ends up stabbing Polonius who is behind the curtains as Polonius drops to the floor, Gertrude calls Hamlet's deed “most rash and bloody”(3.4.27). The ghost suddenly enters, visible only to Hamlet. He addresses it, prompting Gertrude (who sees nothing) to think he has now positively lost his mind. The most prominent confession of sanity then comes after as Hamlet says to Queen Gertrude, “I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft” ( 3.5.188). He is trying to reveal to his mother that he is not truly insane but is instead acting.